Building a *low cost* water mister... Come and toss in your 2cents

[brannfenix]

Hi there!

I have been interested in adding a minor water effects to my designs, but I would like to avoid paying high amounts of cash to get the job done.  My hunt for a low cost mister rig has me trying to DIY one at the moment.  I have 2 design ideas I would like to go over and with some luck get a few new ideas or angles :)

1st design-

Status: 90% finished and has design flaws

Parts:

1x 2' Long piece of 6" PVC pipe
2x 6" PVC Pipe caps
1x 2-way 12volt Solenoid
1x Dollar store spray bottle
Misc 1/8" and 1/4" hoses and fittings
PVC Glue
Teflon Tape
20~30PSI Air Source



Plans Version 01:

1.  Drill a hole in one cap and use a 1/8"  NPT Tap to thread the hole and then screw in a 1/8" NPT to 1/4" hose quick connect fitting.  This will be used to feed the air into the pipe.
2.  Drill a 1/4" hole in the same cap an inch or so away from the first hole.  This hole is where the 1/4" hose will go and where the water will shoot out from.
3.  PVC glue the 2 caps onto the ends of the Pipe and let dry.
4.  Unscrew the bottle from the dollar store spray bottle and put it aside.  Take the sprayer part of it and check the hose connected to it... At the store I go to that sells the spray bottles the hose is 1/4" so I can just insert it into the 1/4" hole I drilled in step 2 and it has a pretty good fit :)
5.  Connect your 20ish PSI air source to the solenoid and then connect the solenoid to the 1/4" hose quick connect fitting.

Operation/Notes:

This super simple setup came from the from memories of a  grade school lunch room.  If you blow into the straw of a juice box the air will force the liquid out until the air balances out.. :)  So, when you trigger the solenoid it pumps air into the container and forces water out of the spray bottle head which creates an adjustable mist.  The problem is all in the timing... if you let too much air into the container it will spray too much water after you close the solenoid and if you do not let in enough air the spray will be very weak.  This is an even harder problem to solve due to the container holding more air as the water level drops making any preset values for an air amount kind of useless.  This made me try out version 02 of this idea which just has a minor change or 2.


Plans Version 02: *these are just the changes made to the rig built in version 01*

1.  Remove the solenoid from the air source and connect the air source directly to the 1/4" hose quick connect.
2.  Connect the 1/4" spray bottle head with hose to the solenoid and then connect the 2nd solenoid port to the 1/4 hose that goes into the container to spray the water.



Operation/Notes:

!!!VERY IMPORTANT!!! putting high pressure air into a sealed PVC pipe where it can not escape could blow up like a not so nifty home made pipe bomb and ruin your day.  Now, with that warning aside stick with 20 PSI.. I have tried 40PSI, but 20PSI has a pretty good distance.  To  work this version you need to turn the air source on and leave it @ 20PSI which primes all the hoses and pumps the water all the way to the solenoid before the sprayer.  You can now use a Prop1 or whatever to trigger the solenoid and release the spray.  This version works much better since the hoses are all primed with water and pressure and you can shoot out quick or long bursts without any kind of delay.  The down side here is you always need to pump air into the container and if you have any sort of air leak you will waste a ton of air. I had one such air leak since I did not use a grommet or fitting on the water output hole.  Also, you will need a solenoid that is rated for liquid.. and if you like me you might not have a 12volt liquid rated valve on hand.  I tested with my 110volt valve, but have no interest in using a 110v solenoid in my prop1 project :(




2nd design-

Status: 0% finish and I fill kind of stupid for not trying it first....


Parts/Plans:

1x Car windshield washer kit... duh :(

Notes:

I am still kicking myself for not thinking about this first and I am wonder if anyone has thought of this before.. I can't be the first person to want to try this I'm sure :)
The plan is to use the parts from a car since the they are 12volts and depending on the draw I assume I can get them running directly from the Prop1.  Hell,  I figure i can go to the junk yard and take the washer liquid bottle, pump, hoses, sprayers and whatever else misc parts.  Does anyone have any input on this idea?



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Sorry for the mini-novel over here, but I figured if my adventures in water mister land can save another haunter some cash and a headache it was worth the time to type up :)



-Brann

[Clad In Shadows]

What about hooking up a water valve in between your water faucet and your mister .
A mister set can be purchased for cheap , if not a single mister with a matching hose.
On the mister set , there's a connector that fits your water faucet.
If you turn your faucet open just a tad , you might have enough pressure for your mister.
That'll keep your water bill down too  ;)

The water ( sprinkler ) valve shouldn't be too expensive.
Myself , I bought a few sprinkler valves on clearance for 5$ each.
They do need a 24VAC adaptor.

So , no air needed to make that work.

that's my 2 cents