Aero Pack retainer and PML Kwik Switch - not compatible

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billdz

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I got lucky last Saturday by discovering at the last minute that the AP retainer and PML Kwik Switch 54 to 38mm motor adapter are not compatible. I purchased the PML several months here on the Yard Sale but never used it. This time my other adapter (LOC Precision) was on another rocket so I wanted to use the PML. The 38mm motor and PML slid right in, I screwed on the AP retainer cap, and took the rocket to the pad. Fortunately, when I inserted the igniter into the motor with a slight push, the PML/motor moved upwards. This made me realize that the wooden ring at the bottom of the PML adapter was not wide enough to hold securely onto the lip of the AP retainer. Had I not noticed this and launched, surely the motor would have fired up through the rocket and seriously damaged it. I had to take the rocket off the pad and wait until the LOC adapter was available.

I'm now wondering if there is any way to make the PML work with the AP retainer. Perhaps a thick coat of JB Weld around the edge of the wooden ring to widen it?
 
I doubt the few dollars saved by slapping JB Weld on the retainer is worth the safety risks. Spend the money, buy the compatible adapter and go have fun.
 
Why would you expect the two of them to be compatible? They are completely different products from different manufacturers.
 
I had a rocket with a Kwik Switch once. I put the right sized aero pack retainer on the aft end of each adapter. It worked just fine. Eventually I wanted to fly a motor (K550) that was too long for the Kwik Switch so I took a dowel and hammer and broke off the female portion that was epoxied to the forward end of the 54 mm motor mount.
 
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