Stuck Motors

I've just flown a triple D cluster and the spent motor casing's are stuck in the motor tubes .has anyone got any ideas how to get them out.
cheers.

Couple of ways I can think of, get a pair of long nose pliers and pull them out really hard or get a rod and poke it down from the top of the rocket, down into the motor and push against the clay nozzle.

I'm sure there are more ingenious ways though.

knock the nozzles out, use the pliers and twist the motors so they shrink in diameter (making a heart shape). Might take several tries.

Allways remove spent BP motors right after the flight. Sometimes the glue in the paper softens, and when it cools, it glues itself to the motor tube.

Originally posted by n3tjm
Allways remove spent BP motors right after the flight. Sometimes the glue in the paper softens, and when it cools, it glues itself to the motor tube.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that tip, n3tjm. I often leave the motor in after each bird's last flight of the session; then take them out when I get home. Not had a problem, YET!; and as I'm never going to do it again, I'll never have that problem!

no problem . Learned that lesson after my first rocket took off... and Estes Marauder (The Red, White, and Black one printed on the back of the bagges to show the flight profile on the kits from the 80's through early 90's) with a C6-5. First Flight, First Lesson. I was 6 or 7 .

This problem is ESPECIALLY TRUE if you are launching on a HOT and HUMID day!!!!

You can really see the clay on an engine that's left out for a day or two when it's really humid. The clay in the nozzle area absorbs a lot of moisture...makes it hard to insert and then of course hard to remove. Keep that powder dry!:kill:

my preferred method is to unwrap them from the inside (much less chance of damage to the motor tube)

Use pliers to **gently** squeeze the nozzle end of the motor until the clay nozzle begins to crack and flake. Remove all of the nozzle clay. BP motors are contained in a PARALLEL wound casing. It is a fairly easy matter to lift the edge of the paper (clearly visible once the nozzle is removed) with a knife then grasp it with needle nosed pliers.

Then simply wind the layers of motor casing onto the pliers and remove. Sometimes I find it helpfull to CA (superglue) a wood dowl onto the inner edge of the motor casing and unwrap it that way.

The best part about this method is that the casing STAYS round while removing it so that you don't deform the motor tube.

good luck!
jim

these all work but sometimes when the motor is stuck and there is no way to pound it out or grab it because it is flush with the MT (this happened when I was trying to squish it as Doug said and it went in furthur) I use another method. It is pretty simple: take a hanger and cut it then straighten it out. Next take some pliers and then bend the top into a little hook. Stick this up the nozzle until it hooks the top of the motor and then pull it out. Works every time

Hehehehhhe, way to go Ryan,

Simplicity, the mother of desperation...

I made a similar hook from 3/32 piano wire. Some coat hangers are too thick to slip through the nozzle of an 18mm motor. I first try to pull the motor out with the hook on the clay nozzle of the motor. If that doesn't work then I go for the forward edge of the casing. For models with engine hooks or motor clips, I wrap the motor casing with Teflon pipe thread sealant tape before placing it in the motor mount tube, and the casings don't get stuck!

Bruce S. Levison, NAR #69055, A.K.A Teflon Rocketry

cheers all,
im going to try the unwind method.Hopefully this will cause the least or no damage