An important advice about homemade rocket tubes

[Pirotecnia]

Take some care when you roll your own tubes for rocket motors.

If one of them is not well rolled, well pasted, a premature header ignition can occur.

On the last day, i rolled a tube not very well, leaving a very little space between the paper walls (little glue or bad quality). When i lighted the rocket (an end burner), the fire has propagated rapidly through the walls to the header and lighted it, causing its explosion before the ascent of the entire rocket, i.e. there was the opposite effect (first the header exploded, and after, the rocket reached its normal altitude).

 

Hope to help someone!

Edited November 14, 2012 by Pirotecnia

[taiwanluthiers]

I had this happen before, and I wasn't sure why it did.

[Col]

It usually caused by not glueing the flap on the first turn down well enough. Make sure you put glue on the first 1/2" of paper on the back side so you get a glue to glue seal.

[dagabu]

IMHO, this really should be in the Newbie Questions section. It's really common sense and not a piece of cautionary advice.

 

-dag

[optimus]

Good tips, thanks for sharing. I've just run out of bought 3/4" tubes and will bear this in mind when I start rolling my own.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Rockets blow up. It's part of rockets. You shouldn't be in a position where you will be in danger when a rocket explodes (not if).

[yvariro]

In france some commercial rocket (medium botle rocket) has this problem,it's very dangerous because of the danger of fire ignition

[Potassiumchlorate]

I have been into fireworks since I was four years old. I never had a commercial rocket blow up. Many of my own have, though.