caring for casings and propellant

After firing and cooling, is it safe to use acetone to clean my casings and closures? I have both Cesaroni and Aerotech.

After opening a propellant kit, I noticed that it said not to open until ready to use. Is that simply to prevent losing portions, or is oxidization an issue? Now that I took it out early, should I try to seal the bag back up or build it in the case?

That's fine. Aeropack actually states you need to clean their retainers with acetone INSTEAD of alcohol. Dunno why, but there it is. I plan to use alcohol wipes to clean my casings, as you can get a huge box at the pharmacy for cheap and they fit in the range box nicely. I cannot speak directly to the propellant, though. I suspect it's just to prevent losing parts. Aerotech's single use Econojets are in a clamshell plastic container, which is by no means sealed.

Baby wipes.

They are magical on motor hardware.

The two consumable things I use for cleaning motors:
Baby Wipes
Vinegar soaked shop cloths.

Miracles occur.

I mix white vinegar and simple green in a bucket and fill with water. Let soak and then dunk in rinse bucket and dry. Denatured alcohol also works well at the end of the clean up. I also use a toothbrush to clean the threads using the denatured alcohol

o1d_dude said:

Baby wipes.

They are magical on motor hardware.

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Baby wipes are miraculous. Just be sure to clean the case when it's still warm.

I 1+ the baby wipes. But don't try to clean with used ones, or else you'll get crappy results.

I use baby wipes in the field, but prefer a 15-30 min soak in 50/50 vinegar water followed by warm water and dish soap scrub with a baby bottle brush.

Jerome

Like everyone else said, baby wipes are fantastic. Anything that doesn't come out there gets the warm water and paper towel treatment. I add dish soap for the particularly tough cases (pun not intended) and the results are good.

Do you have to clean after each flight?

Woody's Workshop said:

Do you have to clean after each flight?

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Yes for AT, no for CTI.

As was mentioned above, Dawn dishwashing liquid is good stuff, too.

When I get home from the launch, I soak the hardware in Dawn and hot water. I even have my very own rocketry hardware plastic dish basin so I don't "contaminate" the kitchen sink. Next day, the hardware gets the bore brush, old tooth brush, and paper towel treatment. Final step is to rub everything down with BreakFree CLP or whatever the current name of the product is.

o1d_dude said:

As was mentioned above, Dawn dishwashing liquid is good stuff, too.

When I get home from the launch, I soak the hardware in Dawn and hot water. I even have my very own rocketry hardware plastic dish basin so I don't "contaminate" the kitchen sink. Next day, the hardware gets the bore brush, old tooth brush, and paper towel treatment. Final step is to rub everything down with BreakFree CLP or whatever the current name of the product is.

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Just make sure everything is clean and reassembled before you dump the basin of water down the sink. Don't ask me how I know an aft closure and garbage disposal don't mix.

To answer the second question, You shouldn't open the propellant kits because while I am not sure about ALL the mixes, white lightening oxidizes fairly quickly.

grouch said:

Yes for AT, no for CTI.

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I find that even the CTI cases accumulate residue, especially the aft closure (Pro54), so it's not a bad idea to clean them, too.

Handeman said:

Just make sure everything is clean and reassembled before you dump the basin of water down the sink. Don't ask me how I know an aft closure and garbage disposal don't mix.

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I am not allowed to dump anything remotely related to rocketry or other messy hobbies that might "contaminate" the sink. Not so difficult really seeing as I am already banned from hobbies in the kitchen.

Normally I just dump the rocketry dishwater on whatever weeds I spot growing on or about the sidewalks.

o1d_dude said:

I am not allowed to dump anything remotely related to rocketry or other messy hobbies that might "contaminate" the sink. Not so difficult really seeing as I am already banned from hobbies in the kitchen.

Normally I just dump the rocketry dishwater on whatever weeds I spot growing on or about the sidewalks.

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You can't even use your stove to build rockets on? :y:

You want to clean all motors within 24 hrs. The residues are very corrosive to the aluminum cases. ATs get dirtier than CTIs, but I recommend you always clean all cases after every launch. If you don't, the cases just won't last as long.

My TARC team goes to launches to raise money. We offer motor cleaning services for donations (no suggested amount). We use a soak tank of vinegar and dawn mixed in water. We also have an assortment of bottle brushes, wood dowels, scotch bright and terry cloth rags. It works good. We often get motors that haven't been cleaned (or not well) for a few launches. We are able to get them cleaner than before the launch. But sometimes there are some very stubborn carbon deposits. The end of a wood dowel can often scrape that off.

This is for Pro/CTI stuff. Dish washer at work is used for parts washing. Only snag is the labels fall of but they already had rubbed off via first use. Be nice if laser engraved

codysmith said:

To answer the second question, You shouldn't open the propellant kits because while I am not sure about ALL the mixes, white lightening oxidizes fairly quickly.

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Well shoot, fairly certain white lightening is exactly what I opened. Any advice on either trying to seal it back up, or building it into its casing early?

watermelonman said:

Well shoot, fairly certain white lightening is exactly what I opened. Any advice on either trying to seal it back up, or building it into its casing early?

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Don't sweat it but use it within a few years. It won't go bad within a few months.

watermelonman said:

Well shoot, fairly certain white lightening is exactly what I opened. Any advice on either trying to seal it back up, or building it into its casing early?

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What enderw88 said. If you feel the grain is too oxidized, just use a piece of sand paper to sand the oxidized propellant off the inside of the grain. You only really need the upper grain where the igniter will be to be clean. If you do sand the upper grain, leave the dust in place. It will speed up ignition.

Acetone should be handled with gloves and filter respirators. That stuff goes straight to your liver. I would not use it with all the above alternatives.

Dave A said:

Acetone should be handled with gloves and filter respirators. That stuff goes straight to your liver. I would not use it with all the above alternatives.

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Yikes! I have been handling it with bare hands on and off for the last month. Perhaps I should be a little smarter with it in the future.

watermelonman said:

Yikes! I have been handling it with bare hands on and off for the last month. Perhaps I should be a little smarter with it in the future.

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Don't lose any sleep over it. It is what women use for nail polish removal, skin absorption is minimal due to its fast evaporation, and "Small amounts of acetone are metabolically produced in the body, mainly from fat. In humans, fasting significantly increases its endogenous production. Acetone levels can be elevated in diabetic individuals." Just don't bathe in it or sniff it in concentrated amounts!! No need to use it on cleaning cases, when vinegar, dish washing soap work great. It is also a heck of a lot more expensive.