Splash-Pod: The Personal Water Park

Step 2 The plan

The concept is incredibly simple and any electronics nut would find this overly simplistic in design. But that's also the beauty of it and this simplicity greatly aids in the troubleshooting process. ^{more on that later}

Water pressure is provided by the tap, by way of a garden hose. It is then diverted into four equal paths which are stopped by a solenoid valve. The solenoid valve is controlled by a simple momentary 12v push-button switch, which the child will press to activate the water functions. Each path is independently controlled by an individual button and all four valves can be opened simultaneously by pressing all four buttons. Past each valve, water is diverted to the actual output devices, whether they are water jets, modular toys or other outputs. The majority of the output water will be contained within a vessel with a drain at the bottom for easy removal. Each of the four main paths will have optional accessory outputs onto which modular toys can be attached. Electrical power is provided with an enclosed battery so that the whole unit is completely portable (and much safer than using household AC). That's the whole plan in a single paragraph. Now to make it a reality.

Parts list

This whole project can be divided into two separate components: structure and function. Everything is either part of the chassis, or related to what makes it tick. So I will separate the two parts lists accordingly. Later in the project you will see additional parts lists for individual modular 'toys' that were added to the base. The following pair of lists are for the water-box itself.

Structural components:

• T-Slot extruded alumninum for the frame. I used 80/20 inc, and they were incredibly friendly and a joy to work with.
  • 4x 24" 80/20 T Slot Aluminum Extrusion 15 S 1502 (vertical legs)
  • 4x 36" 80/20 T Slot Aluminum Extrusion 15 S 1517 (lower horizontal bars)
  • 4x 36" 80/20 T Slot Aluminum Extrusion 15 S 1534 (upper horizontal bars)
  • 8x Inside to Inside Hidden Corner Connector 8mm (item 33450)
  • 8x 80/20 T Slot Aluminum Corner Gusset 15 S
  • 16x 8020 T Slot Hardware Economy T Nut 15 S
• Wood paneling, all sourced from Home Depot (henceforth, "HD").
  • 4x Side panels made from 1/8" birch plywood cut to 37" x 25" <<<<<<<<<<<<<< get measurements again...
  • 1x Tottom panel made from 1/8" birch plywood, cut to 37" square.
  • 1x Top panel made from 3/4" birch plywood (cabinet grade), cut to 39" square.
• 1x Behren's 35-gallon galvonized wash tub (Amazon)
• 4x 5/16" threaded wheel casters (HD)
• Kitchen & Bath caulk (HD)
• Outdoor rated caulk (HD)
• 1 Gallon of Kilz Premium Outdoor primer (HD)
• 1 Quart of oil-based enamel in Disney shade, "Buzz Lightyear Blue" (HD)
• 1 Quart of high-gloss varnish (HD)
• 4x 3" 5/16" bolts with fender washers

Functional Components

The electronic bits

• 4x 12v 1/2" Plastic Nylon Solenoid Valve (ebay link)
• Arcade parts. All ordered from the kind people at Tornado Terry's, a wonderful family arcade in Keller, TX. Also an expert arcade repair guy who is all sorts of helpful at solving strange requests like, "waterproofing arcade buttons."
  • 4x Suzo-Happ arcade pushbuttons in Red, Yellow, Blue & Green with swiches.
  • 5x Suzo-Happ pushbutton protectors (bought an extra, just in case)
• 1x 12v lead-acid battery rated for 7Ah (Fry's Electronics)
• Plastic container large enough to hold the battery (dollar general)
• 1x in-line glass fuse-holder and box of 2A fuses (O'Reilly's Auto parts)
• 2x spools of 25' 18g stranded cable in red & black
• Solder
• Heat-shrink tubing

The plumbing bits - all from Home Depot unless otherwise specified.

• 3x 8' sections of 1/2" PVC pipe
• 4x four-way 1/4" air-line manifolds (ebay)
• 4x 1/2" to 1/4" bushings
• 4x 3/8" to 3/8" 2" nipples
• Lots and lots of PVC fittings
• Lots and lots of copper and nylon barbed fittings (both of these fittings are covered in the plumbing guides)
• 2x Single-Barbed Tube Fitting Adapter for 1/8" Tube ID X 1/4" NPT Male Pipe, Packs of 10 (McMaster.com)
• Approximately 40ft of 1/8" tubing (medical surplus)
• 2x 20ft coils of 1/4" ID tubing
• 1x 10ft coil of 1/2" ID tubing
• 1x 2ft section of 2" PVC pipe
• 1x floor drain kit, output to 2" PVC pipe

I'm terrible with CAD or SketchUp, (though I would love to someday learn this) so I did all of my plans and schematics on graph paper and napkins. Many of these diagrams were made nearly a year ago when I was first considering the idea.