Thread: Just Something To Think About.

Tweet

Anyone ever build an animated prop using water pressure? I've used electric motors. I've been wanting to use air. I was just wondering if this was possible.

water? hmmm im not sure but i bet its out there. but water and electronics might be tricky to put together

Closest thing I ever did with water was make a fog cooler out of an automotive heater core,a 5 gallon bucket,pond pump and ice water.

I am not sure you would want to build a prop being controled by water pressure. There is the weight factor not to mention, if one of the hoses break, there will be a puddle.

It's basically hydraulics only with a mildly corrosive liquid. I wouldn't suggest it but it would work. If you are using air or hydraulic cylinders they will corrode eventually and quit working. Water also freezes so that could be a problem.

You could use PVC homemade cylinders, and this would be much safer than using air. Water doesn't compress like air will so if you have a catastrophic failure it won't explode the pvc causing shrapnel. Water is cheap and supplied to your house under pressure so you don't need a pump. you can just dump it on the lawn if there isn't to much motion(flooding).

I'm thinking the response time on the cylinder wouldn't be as good as an air cylinder; especially on the exhaust side.

Originally Posted by thisain'tmayberry

I'm thinking the response time on the cylinder wouldn't be as good as an air cylinder; especially on the exhaust side.

Your probably right, it all depends on port size...

you know now this sort of makes me want to try something like that. i thing you would still need air pressure behide it tho right?

The wife and I were just down in our basement last night musing over that very possibility. We HAD one of those 5000 gal. inflato-pools and were trying to figure out what to do with the very powerful filter pump that came with it....lol.
We contemplated the following:

1. A river of blood that flows endlessly downhill into a catch basin (modded kiddie pool with skulls and a floater) with a second smaller pump on an x10 controlled motion detector that triggers a gusher of blood when people get too close. Fog on "Pool" and some sort of drowning sound effect with water washing up "tide". The river would be a sort of black/dark green poly plastic slip and slide thing with pool noodles to keep the sides from overflowing. I imagine 20-30 ft. Fresh grass clipping would effectively hide the "edges".

2. House that POURED Blood. Upping a popular movie, we'd hook up some temporary gutters that are drilled out to bleed into a trough before being recycled. Again on some sort of get too close thing. A poly tarp would cover a little walkway where you can pass safely under the bloody rain and enter the garage set.

3. SOme sort of Puker with barrel thing. Though this is not hardly original it would be gross at high water volumes.

4. Some sort of motion triggered or remote triggered volcano or maybe "shower set" that fires at the curtain obscene ammounts of blood. Psycho with a fire hose!

5. Some sort of inflatable that is water powered instead of air. Sea monster rises from a small pool made to look like a shoreline or something. Still musing this one. A timer would have to be made to work this one soit didnt explode or overtax the pump. Though a one shot would be spectacular.

s for freezing. Moving water wouldnt tend to buti wouldnt add water till the day of. Or you could use pool salt/water softener I would imagine. I know this kept my last pool from freezing significantly well into November and I'm In Massachusetts!

Hmmmm.... I guess i have given it some thought...lol. Whether I get any of these done is about a 50/50 proposition considering this has been a bad year so far financially, but who knows. Cait

PS: Yes, I am a sick puppy!

To Caitsith - Wow! Great ideas AND a great wife for putting up with it!

To BYHaunter - I can't see any advantage, other than the pure lifting strength increase that a hydraulic system would give you over a pneumatic system. Seems like overkill for a haunt unless you had a REALLY big/heavy prop. And you're going to lose cylinder response speed, not to mention mixing electriconics and water. I would be intrigued to see what you come with though!