Adventures with "alternative" fuel rockets.

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CaptainVideo

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Sometimes you just need to launch a rocket. But you are at work. Even worse, the ugly building next to your office is occupied by Homeland Security. Not to mention that the state you live in puts the A in anal retentive. But, you don't want to launch, you NEED to launch.
So you begin to scour the internet on an epic journey of exploration in search of answers. Which came in the form of DIY and store bought.
Results so far...
Baking Soda and Vinegar Rocket 2018-05-25
[video=youtube;ZScGoXEDSqM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZScGoXEDSqM[/video]

Smart Lab blast-off rocket
[video=youtube;vDMR127c_AY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDMR127c_AY[/video]

Fizz rocket fails
[video=youtube;w1kjlrJaVjg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1kjlrJaVjg[/video]

Vinegar and baking soda rocket - [FONT=&amp]May 15, 2018[/FONT]
[video=youtube;ves3K5HvViw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ves3K5HvViw[/video]


Seltz rocket fail.
[video=youtube;w8BnOhykg2A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8BnOhykg2A[/video]
 
I hear Bayer does an Alka Seltzer competition every year, and it occurred to me that a very fizzy soda ( Sprite? ) could maybe bump it up a notch.
 
There are a few videos of some crazy Australians launching water rockets to thousands of feet... Quite impressive. Nothing but water, some carbon fibre and a few hundred PSI....

Impressive enough that your DHS neighbours might rendition you off to Guantonimo bay for a lengthy debrief mind you...
 
I put the servo function in the original Eggtimer because one of the water rocket guys needed a baro-operated servo... he was going too high to trust a timer. Some time ago I calculated that a 2 litre bottle 1/2 fill of water at 100 psi is the equivalent of a D400 motor... you can imagine what something that's equivalent to a J must be like. Pretty crazy stuff.
 
Many years ago, there was a baking soda/citrtic acid toy rocket called the Alpha 1 Ballistic Missile. As a kid, I thought it might be fun to try some Bangsite (calcium carbide) and water in the rocket instead. The intent was to use the evolved acetylene instead of CO2. No combustion was anticipated. Well, little did I know that acetylene can polymerize explosively when it is subjected to pressure. (Tanks of acetylene actually contain acetylene dissolved in acetone under mild pressure, rather than over-pressurized acetylene.) Long and short of it was the thing blew up in a very impressive event, which could not be attributed to mere failure of the thin plastic...
 
I was thinking "that's awesome, I'm gonna try that" till I got to..."the thing blew up in a very impressive event".
 
CaptV, your avatar cracks me up.

I grew up watching the Captain Video and His Video Rangers series on the DuMont Television Network as a "yoot".

In retrospect, that's probably what sparked my interest in rocketry and why I've always enjoyed movies with Ernest Borgnine.

We now return to our program. Carry on!
 
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