insutama Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Whats better to make r-candy and use that in rocket or to use the dry mix of kno3 and sugar and compress it with a ram rod. I know that kn03/sugar engines dont last long once there made the absorbe water and are no good after about a week in storage. Is r-candy the same or does it store longer ?
stix Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 If you store them in plastic wrap and in a container of desiccant, I can't see any long term storage issues. Some recent threads on this forum which may be of interest. http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/10324-substitute-for-fuse/http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/10059-rcandy-not-working-properly/http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/10413-best-place-to-buy-sticks/ There are many more, just use the search function. Read up - Cheers.
schroedinger Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Maybe sound strange, but condoms make a cheap and good packing container for whistle/r-candy engines. Edited February 5, 2015 by schroedinger 1
dagabu Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Maybe sound strange, but condoms make a cheap and good packing container for whistle/r-candy engines. LOL!
stix Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 (edited) Maybe sound strange, but condoms make a cheap and good packing container for whistle/r-candy engines. May be fine for some, but mine's too big [EDIT] Please close your eyes The attached image shows 2 grains totaling approx. 1.5 inches wide x 12 inches long. Not too bad aye? I've stored the grains in a zip-lock bag that has the air evacuated with a straw. They are sitting in a relatively air-tight container with about half an inch of desiccant (calcium chloride crystals). After reading this post I decided to check them out (again). After more than 2 and a half years, they are still "bone dry". It does however pose a question. Although they are dry, is there any chemical reaction taking place that may cause degradation of the fuel? These motors deserve to be launched sooner than later, but it has to be in the right environment. It's still a work in progress (meaning I've almost forgotten, and moved on to other things ). Cheers. Edited February 6, 2015 by stix
dagabu Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 May be fine for some, but mine's too big [EDIT] Please close your eyes The attached image shows 2 grains totaling approx. 1.5 inches wide x 12 inches long. Not too bad aye? I've stored the grains in a zip-lock bag that has the air evacuated with a straw. They are sitting in a relatively air-tight container with about half an inch of desiccant (calcium chloride crystals). After reading this post I decided to check them out (again). After more than 2 and a half years, they are still "bone dry". It does however pose a question. Although they are dry, is there any chemical reaction taking place that may cause degradation of the fuel? These motors deserve to be launched sooner than later, but it has to be in the right environment. It's still a work in progress (meaning I've almost forgotten, and moved on to other things ). Cheers. I asked the question of degradation over time of my HPR buddies and they dont know of any issues but warn against temperature swings and sun light. 1
stix Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) I asked the question of degradation over time of my HPR buddies and they dont know of any issues but warn against temperature swings and sun light. Thanks dags, very much appreciated that you took the interest and time to ask your HPR buddies. If I'm ever "Up Nort" I'll buy you a few beers The grains have been stored well with relatively even temperature and no light. I've only ever tested these on a load cell - whilst not exactly HPR they deliver a respectable 200 or so newton seconds (mid "H" class). From what I roughly worked out that would give me around 1200 meters at apogee. A lot of work to do though before a launch becomes a reality. QLD has a good model rocket community but where I live it's pretty small time and not much open spaces. Although I could always use the old Woomera Rocket Range (at least 8hrs drive though)After NASA's facilities at Cape Canaveral, Woomera had the highest quantity and rate of rocket launches in the world at the time of the Cold Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woomera_Test_Range It's such a shame in Australia that the arse has been ripped out of the manufacturing and engineering industry by successive "limped dick" governments to the point that if we wanted to build our own submarines (which we apparently need twelve or so), that our own minister for defence recently stated in parliament that:I wouldn't trust the Australian Submarine Corporation to build a canoe! What an absolute disgrace that is! (ie. that apparently we can't, and that the defence minister would even say so). Got me thinking though. Perhaps I could start the "Stix Australian Rocket Corporation" and put my services out to the Australian military. Although I'd always be a bit wary of the defence ministers claims that:I wouldn't even trust that Stix Rocket Corporation to manufacture a simple bloody Sugar Rocket! To which my swift retort would be "YES I F*CKING CAN" Cheers. Sorry about the political overtones. Edited February 24, 2015 by stix
dagabu Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 Thanks dags, very much appreciated that you took the interest and time to ask your HPR buddies. If I'm ever "Up Nort" I'll buy you a few beers The grains have been stored well with relatively even temperature and no light. Actually, if you come up this spring, I'll meet you in IOWA and we can shoot one of those (or many) R-candy rockets and you can have a few pints of my oatmeal stout, the batch should be done and aged just perfectly by then. 1
stix Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Actually, if you come up this spring, I'll meet you in IOWA and we can shoot one of those (or many) R-candy rockets and you can have a few pints of my oatmeal stout, the batch should be done and aged just perfectly by then. Yeah cheers dags - That sounds like the ultimate holiday :D . By the time I save up enough cash to get over there, amateur pyrotechnics will probably have been banned . I bloody hope not. Cheers.
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