How-To: Mod a Blowgun

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MrCrowley
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Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:29 am

This is how I mod my blowguns for increased flow.

WARNING: If you mod your blowgun following this tutorial, do not blame me if it leaks. I have done this several times and have never got a leak. Though at 400PSI, the trigger is a bit harder to pull. :)

Oh and you can choose to drill the 'pilot' (1/8" thread port) port hole bigger like you do with the 'chamber' (1/4" thread port) side, but I choose not to so I don't damage the threads where the blowgun valve threads in to.

TIP: Make sure to clean and sand all holes you have drilled before reassemblying the valve, if you drill a hole and not clean it up, the o-rings from the blowgun valve may get damaged from stray pieces of metal.

Edit: In true Spudfiles fashion, the order of the images has been screwed up. Shouldn't be too hard to understand what's going on though.
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This is the blowgun that I am modding.
This is the blowgun that I am modding.
Valve from blowgun before modification
Valve from blowgun before modification
This is the 1/4" side of the blowgun, which is connected to the chamber and holds the pressure. Originally the hole at the very bottom of this is only a few mm in diameter, use a drill bit to increase the size of this hole and allow for more flow to the valve
This is the 1/4" side of the blowgun, which is connected to the chamber and holds the pressure. Originally the hole at the very bottom of this is only a few mm in diameter, use a drill bit to increase the size of this hole and allow for more flow to the valve
New, bigger hole drilled into the valve inside the blowgun. I used a 5.5mm drill bit. Make sure to remove the 'push button' part first and to clean the hole afterwards.
New, bigger hole drilled into the valve inside the blowgun. I used a 5.5mm drill bit. Make sure to remove the 'push button' part first and to clean the hole afterwards.
05IMG_4607.JPG (36.41 KiB) Viewed 7344 times
Piece of plastic I found in the garage. Anything hard, that wont compress, will do. This plastic is about 3mm thick
Piece of plastic I found in the garage. Anything hard, that wont compress, will do. This plastic is about 3mm thick
Piece of plastic glued under the handle to further depress the push button and allow for more flow
Piece of plastic glued under the handle to further depress the push button and allow for more flow
With the bigger hole drilled through the 'chamber port' of the blowgun and the plastic added under the handle, the valve opens with more flow
With the bigger hole drilled through the 'chamber port' of the blowgun and the plastic added under the handle, the valve opens with more flow
08IMG_4613.JPG (24.62 KiB) Viewed 7344 times
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twizi
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Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:31 am

great turtoral man looks good tried this on my gun it helped a little i think i am gonna make a sleeve valve for it because my pilot qev is crap for piloting
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jackssmirkingrevenge
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Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:37 am

Nice one :) though you should use the macro setting on your camera when taking closeup pics :P

BBMG enthusiasts are advised to take this tutorial seriously :)
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Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:50 am

MrCrowley....have you been reading the Wiki again? :shock: :P
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geardog32
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Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:55 am

nice job, i had to do this a while back on my sprinkler valve gun in order to get it to pilot correctly. another thing you might add, you can take the pin that gets depressed out and make it a little thinner with a dremmel. then to finish it up chuck it in a drill and polish it up with different sandpaper.
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MrCrowley
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Mon Sep 07, 2009 2:14 pm

jackssmirkingrevenge wrote:Nice one :) though you should use the macro setting on your camera when taking closeup pics :P
Think it was the cheap batteries I was using. The in focus pictures are with macro and good batteries, the out of focus ones are with macro and cheap batteries. Couldn't even get the camera to flash for awhile with the cheap batts.
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spudnutbutthut
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 12:27 pm

thanks so much ;)
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c11man
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 2:44 pm

wouldnt you get more flow m y filing down the pin to a smaller diameter?

otherwise great work
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MrCrowley
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:50 pm

c11man wrote:wouldnt you get more flow m y filing down the pin to a smaller diameter?

otherwise great work
You mean the pin inside of the push-button assembly? That would give it more flow but I couldn't really be bothered :D
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c11man
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:54 pm

yeah thats the pin im talking a bout. ive only done it once but that was cuz i was using it as a main valve on a cannon that was going to a friend. it had a 3/4inch barrel for corks, it did supprizingly good
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THUNDERLORD
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:53 pm

Cool!, I plan to try this one soon.
Hopefully not to off topic, but is there any reason ball valves are used on hybrids rather than these with a check valve (nozzle side)?

(I was thinking of one for fueling, then adding the air through another,
and a pressure switch in the chamber connected to the spark).

BTW, you have my permission to "sticky" this how-to. :P 8)
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MrCrowley
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 10:55 pm

Hopefully not to off topic, but is there any reason ball valves are used on hybrids rather than these with a check valve (nozzle side)?
Apparently the nozzle side can seal at lower pressures so you might not need the checkvalve but I think ball valves are just easier, probably cheaper too, with the blowgun you'll have to change the 1/8" threads back to 1/4" most likely.

I have seen people use them on combustion fuel meters though.
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noname
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:28 pm

I'm also not sure if a standard blowgun could handle the pressure spike resulting from the standard hybrid mix nowadays, which seems to be around 7-8x. Most of the 1/4" ball valves that I've bought have "40 bar" written on the side, which converts to around 600 psi.
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THUNDERLORD
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:34 pm

I'm also not sure if a standard blowgun could handle the pressure spike resulting from the standard hybrid mix nowadays, which seems to be around 7-8x. Most of the 1/4" ball valves that I've bought have "40 bar" written on the side, which converts to around 600 psi.
Hence the "check valve" mentioned...
Seems like such a set up could fare better than a ball valve due to far less surface area (exposed to pressure), (edit:coupled with a sturdy one way valve) Or not(?) 8)
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inonickname
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:52 pm

If the pressure from the outside gets to high the valve will open, which is why they can't be used in this application.

Ball valves are cheap, readily available and will rarely fail in standard hybrid duties.
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