accooper
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Let me first say that the wadding you buy is NOT FLAME PROOF. IT IS FLAME RETARDANT. There is a difference. But what we use it for retardant is good enough.
I have been for the last 4 or 5 months experimenting with making my own recovery wadding. There are two reasons for me to do this.
[1] Estes and Quest wadding is expensive.
[2] I don't have room to keep a ten pound bale of "Dog Barf" in my house, and the squirrels really like to eat that stuff if I leave it in my garage..
So.. I started to experiment with making my own.
Here is what I found on the Internet.
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What you need
Saucer ,Toilet paper (as many sheets as sheets of wadding you want), wax paper, Borax or baking soda, Water, Measuring cup, Spoon
Make a saturated solution
If you paid attention in chemistry class you should know how to do this but for those that did not.... A saturated solution is made when a water soluble (something that dissolves in water) substance is added to water and dissolved then repeatedly added until no more will dissolve hence it is SATURATED Now fill your measuring cup up until its at about half a cup
Coating the paper
Now you are going to coat the toilet paper in the solution you just made your going to need the: Saucer Toilet paper (as many squares as sheets of wadding you want) Wax paper Pour the borax or baking soda solution into the saucer just enough to coat the bottom of the saucer Lay out about a foot long piece of wax paper depending on how much wadding your planning to make
Testing it
Once its dry you need to test a piece to make sure its fire proof So just take a piece and try to light it on fire it will turn black and the edges will glow a bit but that's normal As long as it doesn't support a flame its good! if it does support a flame you did not make a very good saturated solution go back and use more borax or baking soda
Using it!
If the last step went well AWESOME because you just saved yourself 8 bucks. it can be used just like normal recovery wadding if you don't believe me try burning a piece of wadding it will act similar to what you just made This is my first Instruct able I hope you liked it!
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This is a pretty standard recipe. I have tried it and it works most of the time(all the time with these improvements)and I appreciate who ever came up with it originally , but I have learned something from my experiments, and that is what this post is about.
[1] I have learned that the toilet paper of today falls apart, so I use paper towels. Even a fifty cent roll works pretty good. You can get quite a few sheets out of a roll. Besides if you are into Mid-Power like I am, the larger sheets are great. Or if you are into smaller rockets, like I am also, cutting a sheet into four is no big deal.
[2] Borax or Baking Soda. Maybe I was using the wrong brand of Baking Soda, but I never could get the wadding made with Baking Soda from bursting into flames when I tested it after drying. It could be just me but I tried many times with the same result.
[3] Making a saturated solution. This can be tricky. My college son says that according to his professors, a saturated liquid, to be considered a saturated liquid must be at normal room temperature. Or about 75 degrees F. This is important because lets say the water is at say 90 or 95 degrees. It will absorb more Borax than say 75 degree water. This at first doesn't seem to be a problem, but as the water cools down, the excess Borax will participate out of the water. So if say you make a batch of wadding while the water is hotter, and then later make another batch, the second batch may not be as effective as the first. I have found that Borax that has precipitated out of water is clear in color. This may make you think that your solution is safe when it is not.
[4] Drip drying. This is VERY IMPORTANT. I have found that wringing out the saturated wadding can in some instances make it very ineffective, if not dangerous. What I have done is run a line in my garage to hang up the wadding after wetting it. It really needs to drip dry.
[5] Don't keep your Borax mix for more that a day or two. I mixed up a gallon, used enough to make about twenty sheets, they all tested great. Left it sit for about two weeks, went to use it, and although it didn't burst into flames it burned a little to much for my liking. Now I add two teaspoons to 16oz. water and that works just great. makes about 30 sheets.
I really like making my own rocket stuff from scratch, and I really like doing it on the cheap. But we as responsible Rocket Geeks, we need to be careful. I know as the summer wears on here in South Texas, I will be using a little extra wadding to prevent grass fires. Test every batch!
One last thing. As I write this my wife showed me something all of us needs to keep in mind. Many people have suggested using crepe paper from the dollar store. This can be very inexpensive, but the package my wife just bought does not say anywhere on the package that it is flame retardant. And after a test it is not. It burns like any other paper. So check the label before buying, or it won't be a very good buy as your rocket returns to earth as a ball of flame.
If any one has any other ideas I would like to hear them.
Andrew
I have turned to the dark side of rocketry. I do reloads.
I have been for the last 4 or 5 months experimenting with making my own recovery wadding. There are two reasons for me to do this.
[1] Estes and Quest wadding is expensive.
[2] I don't have room to keep a ten pound bale of "Dog Barf" in my house, and the squirrels really like to eat that stuff if I leave it in my garage..
So.. I started to experiment with making my own.
Here is what I found on the Internet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
What you need
Saucer ,Toilet paper (as many sheets as sheets of wadding you want), wax paper, Borax or baking soda, Water, Measuring cup, Spoon
Make a saturated solution
If you paid attention in chemistry class you should know how to do this but for those that did not.... A saturated solution is made when a water soluble (something that dissolves in water) substance is added to water and dissolved then repeatedly added until no more will dissolve hence it is SATURATED Now fill your measuring cup up until its at about half a cup
Coating the paper
Now you are going to coat the toilet paper in the solution you just made your going to need the: Saucer Toilet paper (as many squares as sheets of wadding you want) Wax paper Pour the borax or baking soda solution into the saucer just enough to coat the bottom of the saucer Lay out about a foot long piece of wax paper depending on how much wadding your planning to make
Testing it
Once its dry you need to test a piece to make sure its fire proof So just take a piece and try to light it on fire it will turn black and the edges will glow a bit but that's normal As long as it doesn't support a flame its good! if it does support a flame you did not make a very good saturated solution go back and use more borax or baking soda
Using it!
If the last step went well AWESOME because you just saved yourself 8 bucks. it can be used just like normal recovery wadding if you don't believe me try burning a piece of wadding it will act similar to what you just made This is my first Instruct able I hope you liked it!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a pretty standard recipe. I have tried it and it works most of the time(all the time with these improvements)and I appreciate who ever came up with it originally , but I have learned something from my experiments, and that is what this post is about.
[1] I have learned that the toilet paper of today falls apart, so I use paper towels. Even a fifty cent roll works pretty good. You can get quite a few sheets out of a roll. Besides if you are into Mid-Power like I am, the larger sheets are great. Or if you are into smaller rockets, like I am also, cutting a sheet into four is no big deal.
[2] Borax or Baking Soda. Maybe I was using the wrong brand of Baking Soda, but I never could get the wadding made with Baking Soda from bursting into flames when I tested it after drying. It could be just me but I tried many times with the same result.
[3] Making a saturated solution. This can be tricky. My college son says that according to his professors, a saturated liquid, to be considered a saturated liquid must be at normal room temperature. Or about 75 degrees F. This is important because lets say the water is at say 90 or 95 degrees. It will absorb more Borax than say 75 degree water. This at first doesn't seem to be a problem, but as the water cools down, the excess Borax will participate out of the water. So if say you make a batch of wadding while the water is hotter, and then later make another batch, the second batch may not be as effective as the first. I have found that Borax that has precipitated out of water is clear in color. This may make you think that your solution is safe when it is not.
[4] Drip drying. This is VERY IMPORTANT. I have found that wringing out the saturated wadding can in some instances make it very ineffective, if not dangerous. What I have done is run a line in my garage to hang up the wadding after wetting it. It really needs to drip dry.
[5] Don't keep your Borax mix for more that a day or two. I mixed up a gallon, used enough to make about twenty sheets, they all tested great. Left it sit for about two weeks, went to use it, and although it didn't burst into flames it burned a little to much for my liking. Now I add two teaspoons to 16oz. water and that works just great. makes about 30 sheets.
I really like making my own rocket stuff from scratch, and I really like doing it on the cheap. But we as responsible Rocket Geeks, we need to be careful. I know as the summer wears on here in South Texas, I will be using a little extra wadding to prevent grass fires. Test every batch!
One last thing. As I write this my wife showed me something all of us needs to keep in mind. Many people have suggested using crepe paper from the dollar store. This can be very inexpensive, but the package my wife just bought does not say anywhere on the package that it is flame retardant. And after a test it is not. It burns like any other paper. So check the label before buying, or it won't be a very good buy as your rocket returns to earth as a ball of flame.
If any one has any other ideas I would like to hear them.
Andrew
I have turned to the dark side of rocketry. I do reloads.