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We started this project around January 2019 and it took until July 2019 until we had a suitable product worth our name. We started with an idea, sketched it out on notebook paper, and then tried to set some criteria which we knew we wanted. Such as, it should be run off a 3s or 4s lipo, due to they are inexpensive and readily available. We also want to get maximum output from the equipment, so at the time we were going to shoot for 20+ ball/sec out a flexible hose and then that hose would be attached to any of our rival made hoppers. Of course it was going to have a tank to store the ammo and a impeller drive to deliver the balls from the tank through the hose and once the balls got in the hose we were going to use some type of high powered fans to blow them through into the hopper.

A major dilemma was sourcing the parts we needed both for testing and for production. Turns out, that would require a lot of time, money, and energy. We tested many different motor/gear combinations, hose types and sizes, along with a plethora of fan designs/outputs. But the real time consuming part was the impeller and material selections. We literally had over a hundred different variants of impellers, guides, and nozzle designs. After putting together a chart together which listed the outputs from our testing,  we settled on two combinations. A consumer level and more advanced industrial level system. Both systems would be interchangeable with each other and the customer could tailor the system to their needs.

The consumer power pack (which encases the impeller) would use a standard horsepower electric motor with a single high output fan to blow the balls through the hose. Of course for the industrial version we were use a high torque motor and gearbox to achieve a higher output. The storage tanks were similar to scuba tanks and there were two designs, a single tank, and a double tank. The single tank holds 1,000 rounds of rival ammo and the dual tank holds 2,000 rounds. The guaranteed output is 20 rounds per second for the consumer version and 40 rounds per second with the industrial version. To finish it off, we all offered a few different harness designs to carry the system on one’s back.

To explain a bit further both power packs have speed controls for the impeller so the rate at which you load was completely up to you. This may become a useful if you not trying to make a lot of noise, you can dial the impeller speed down a bit or up if your in a hurry. There is a main power button that controls the pack and a circuit breaker that can be reset in the case of you get a stubborn jam or some foreign things in with your balls. Both power packs have voltage readouts for the battery and the fans. So you will know when its time to recharge. To clean out the tank and impeller, you just need to unlatch the one side and pivot the whole tank on the pin to one side and then close it back up or remove the pin and the tank completely separates from the power pack. There are loading port(s) on the top of the tank and large handle(s) to carry the system when its not on your back. The controls for the fans and the impeller trigger are on a tethered remote. You can control the direction of the impeller drive just incase you get something stuck in there. A few seconds of reverse on the motor and you can clear the jam ready to go again. The nozzle is also made to be replaceable, just incase we come up with a better design its just four screws and out it comes. More recently we have had several request for custom colors as well. You can see that here on the thumbnail showing a red and white design.

Just a little side note. We have had some of our packs going out to customers reaching outputs of 60+ balls per second out of the hose. In addition we have started a new project to introduce our own gun design which will connect up directly hose on our Battle Pack and then dual hoses with dual guns. Stay tuned for this…