Homemade chute protectors?

Has anybody ever tried this? Does it work?

https://www.ehow.com/how_5105735_make-fireretardant-clothing.html

Yes, it will work, but only for a few flights.

I've heard this works with paper towel / napkins as well, though I've never tried it myself.

chadrog said:

I've heard this works with paper towel / napkins as well, though I've never tried it myself.

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When I was a kid, I used to use sheets of crepe paper, which is flameproof. But I can't find it anywhere, just crepe streamer.

I thought you use baffles in all your rockets?

azgreg said:

I thought you use baffles in all your rockets?

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No, not all of them. I have several that don't have baffles.

I've used the foil cup cake liners before, just string the shock cord thru a small hole in the center.
poor man's piston

that is what I used to make recovery paper towels , be advised that it will make things stiff. also items will char. my ppr towels generally get holes punched through them by the ejection well caps on 2nd flights.

qquake2k said:

When I was a kid, I used to use sheets of crepe paper, which is flameproof. But I can't find it anywhere, just crepe streamer.

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To find the crepe paper sheeting try going to an actual party store.
I took mine right from the bag and cut 4" squares while it was still folded.

I still use the Estes stuff in BT-5 and 20 size tubes.
In 1" diameter up to BT-70 size I use the crepe paper with good results.

I looked online and found some, but they wanted $10.00 to ship it!

Craft stores should carry crepe paper in sheets for making paper flowers. I haven't done it since school days but paper flowers were a common craft activity.

Go down to the local junk yard and talk them into giving you a couple of deployed air bags from one of the wrecked cars. Take some heavy duty scissors along.

Cut pieces to size and use. The material is designed to contain a gas generating explosion. The only thing you might need to buy is the scissors.

Good idea but,that's quite a jump in weight from home made recovery wadding tissue .

Stymye said:

Good idea but,that's quite a jump in weight from home made recovery wadding tissue .

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I'm thinking HPR and 3 or 4" tubes. By the time you stuff 3 or 4 hands full of dog barf down a tube, the clothe isn't that much heavyer.

I have used the sodium tetraborate method for wadding, but it is not as good for cotton. You can apply it to wool, which is naturally flame resistant in order to get better protection or you can buy commercial flame retardant at a fireplace shop or even at walmart for $10-12 (it works much better). I use cotton treated with fire retardant for my rockets, in testing I cannot light it with a blowtorch.

I have made chute protectors from old heavy T-shirts. They work for medium or lower light power rockets for 4-5 flights if you use a little dog barf.

I use always kitchen https://www.amazon.com/FireAway-Fire-Blanket-36/dp/B006TZU942/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341351107&sr=8-2&keywords=kitchen+fire+blanketfire blankets or pieces of it.

Normally I buy it at ikea but I am not sure you can get that in US. These blankets are extremly robust but still very flexible and soft, of course fully fire resistant...and they have a kind of sliding surface...it just slides easy out of the tube..just forget all that expensive nomex...try it..

Denis

legranddudu said:

I use always kitchen https://www.amazon.com/FireAway-Fire-Blanket-36/dp/B006TZU942/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341351107&sr=8-2&keywords=kitchen+fire+blanketfire blankets or pieces of it.

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How flexible is the fabric?

very flexible, very light, like a thick cotton T-Shirt fabric, much more flexible than Jeans. I can only recommend to try, if you do not like in your rocket...put it where it has beend designed for: in your kitchen ;-) ..a good investment in both cases...

I can't say for sure as to how well it works for fabrics, but I know a friend who makes EX motors sprays his dual layer moonburner liners with Borax and boric acid to help lower the risk of burning through the liner and wrecking the case.



Braden

Hey, that is a groovy idea.....

Stymye said:

I've used the foil cup cake liners before, just string the shock cord thru a small hole in the center.
poor man's piston

Click to expand...

Stymye said:

I've used the foil cup cake liners before, just string the shock cord thru a small hole in the center.
poor man's piston

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For short, fat rockets like the Fat Boy and Big Daddy, this works really well. The paper ones work, too, as they don't seem to burn, either.

-Kevin

I keep a few paper muffin cups in my range box with a small spray bottle of fire retardant,spray the cups let it dry wrap around chute..I still use a bit of dog barf just in case

Handeman said:

Go down to the local junk yard and talk them into giving you a couple of deployed air bags from one of the wrecked cars. Take some heavy duty scissors along.

Cut pieces to size and use. The material is designed to contain a gas generating explosion. The only thing you might need to buy is the scissors.

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This is an excellent suggestion. A few years back (10?) there was a guy at our club who disposed of unfired, junk airbags. He'd line them up on all the pads prior to the launch starting and set them off. I grabbed two and made protectors for rockets from 2" to 8". The ends don't ravel and all you need for an attachment point is a slit and and a nylon cable tie. In my experience, these are tougher than Kevlar or Nomex pads! The scraps are good to line the lower part of body tubes and to make mini cord protectors.

Commonwealth sells ballistic Kevlar, which I have used to make some small chute protectors. Theyve all worked flawlessly.

I love the idea with the cupcake foil liners, very clever.

Alex

Has anyone tried Ironing board covers ?

Bob
TRA6797

I have a roll of airbag material. I use the burrito method around the chute and do not attach it or hope to recover it. A new one every time.

Mark

MClark said:

I have a roll of airbag material. I use the burrito method around the chute and do not attach it or hope to recover it. A new one every time.

Mark

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I'm sure your landowner loves that... unless you're strictly launching in the desert... then littering big pieces of non-biodegradable stuff everywhere is fine... :eyeroll:

Later! OL JR

luke strawwalker said:

I'm sure your landowner loves that... unless you're strictly launching in the desert... then littering big pieces of non-biodegradable stuff everywhere is fine... :eyeroll:

Later! OL JR

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I have used airbag material and but i attach it to the shok cord. It works. I have also used ironing board material. it works.

cwbullet said:

I have used airbag material and attach it it works. I have also used ironing board material. it works.

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Yeah, I get it... don't have a problem with THAT... it's a good idea, and reusable wadding should DEFINITELY make your landowner of your flying site happier, as it minimizes the "litter" issue with expendable sheet wadding and such... (dog barf is okay since it disperses so widely and it's particle size promotes rapid decomposition in the weather-- grass, cabbage leaves, etc. is of course natural products and rapidly decompose and are gone).

The issue I had with the poster I quoted in my last post was that he said he was using REUSABLE airbag material in a NON-REUSABLE fashion-- simply jettisoning the kevlar (or whatever it is) mesh from his rocket and allowing it to drift down unattached to the rocket, presumably "lost" or left behind as virtually permanent litter, which is just as bad as using untethered foam plugs, fiberglass house insulation, or pillow/mattress ticking as recovery wadding, all of which are virtually un-biodegradable and WILL lay around for months or years in some recognizable form or other and create an unsightly mess and a hazard to grazing animals or other land uses for years to come! How IRRESPONSIBLE! Anybody that disrespected MY land like that would RAPIDLY find themselves looking for another launch site!

Let's use a little COMMON SENSE-- how hard is it to TETHER the stuff to the rocket where it has a reasonable expectation of being recovered?? For foam plugs, all that's needed is a bit of masking tape and a piece of string to tie off to the shock cord or nosecone... For airbag material or nomex or whatever, either cut a slit and tie a string through it to the shock cord or cone, or thread the cord through the slit...

It just really irritates me when people talk about doing just plain old downright STUPID stuff like ejecting non-biodegradable stuff out there "just because they can" and seem to advocate others doing it like they're proud of it or something... "Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD!"

Later! OL JR

Mark