GDJ
Semi-retired Rocketry guy
This little nugget of inspiration came about when I went to my nearest 7-11 for a bottle of Gatoraid. After studying it after swigging down some purple goop, I thought the lid was about the same size as my bodytube for my Quest High-Q.....then it snowballed from there.
After cutting out the bottle about 15mm below the threaded section, I layed down Gorilla glue in the space between the motor mount and the bodytube, then after insertion I put down a little more Gorilla glue so the bottle retainer was completely surrounded by glue. I let it dry for 2 days to make sure everything was fully set. Afterwards I checked the bond, and found it quite strong and rigid.
Assembled view. Still has the spent Aerotech F23-7J engine.
Cap off. If you look, there is a 1.5mm Airgap between the motor mount tube and the plastic retainer. That acts like a insulator so the plastic is fairly well protected. The cap has a cork ring to insulate the cap on the inside. Cork is a pretty good insulator for short durations, and it does have natural flame retarding properties.
End view. The whitish deposits on the cap is from the exhaust gasses from the engine. The cap itself did not receive much in the way of heat from the exhaust. What heat it did get was way below the melting point of this plastic. Threads of the cap were not compromised in any way. Cap was still snug after recovery.
So there you have it. If you got enough pocket change for a bottle of Gatoraid, you have a very lightweight and tough 29mm motor retainer.
After cutting out the bottle about 15mm below the threaded section, I layed down Gorilla glue in the space between the motor mount and the bodytube, then after insertion I put down a little more Gorilla glue so the bottle retainer was completely surrounded by glue. I let it dry for 2 days to make sure everything was fully set. Afterwards I checked the bond, and found it quite strong and rigid.
Assembled view. Still has the spent Aerotech F23-7J engine.
Cap off. If you look, there is a 1.5mm Airgap between the motor mount tube and the plastic retainer. That acts like a insulator so the plastic is fairly well protected. The cap has a cork ring to insulate the cap on the inside. Cork is a pretty good insulator for short durations, and it does have natural flame retarding properties.
End view. The whitish deposits on the cap is from the exhaust gasses from the engine. The cap itself did not receive much in the way of heat from the exhaust. What heat it did get was way below the melting point of this plastic. Threads of the cap were not compromised in any way. Cap was still snug after recovery.
So there you have it. If you got enough pocket change for a bottle of Gatoraid, you have a very lightweight and tough 29mm motor retainer.
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