3" PVC Pipe Rocket (shaped object)

[K'Tesh]

I think I posted a thread requesting info on nosecones for a 3" PVC based rocket. However a search for it turned up nothing. So, here we are with ROUND 2...

I'm thinking of doing a 3" PVC based build of a rocket shaped object. Problem is, I need a nose cone for it. Does anybody manufacture commercial nosecones that are 3.5" for the outer diameter, and ~3" for the inner diameter. I don't need this to fly, I just need it to look like a rocket. More specifically, I'm looking for a ~10.5" long (exposed) Ogive shape.

I'm also looking on how to finish PVC pipe so it looks good (rather than a piece of pipe with paint slathered on it).

Thanks!
Jim

 

[blackbrandt]

python rocketry can make a foam and FG nose cone.

 

[enderw88]

PVC can be nicely finished using standard paint prep with one addition. Get some plastic prep spray from an auto motive paint supplier.

 

[iter]

I use thin-wall PVC pipe in my rockets. I use two types of nose cones:

* PVC and ABS reducer fittings that come down to a 1" cap
* LOC nose cones. LOC 3" tube fits exactly inside a 3" PVC pipe and the NC fits exactly inside the tube.

Ari.

 

[K'Tesh]

I use thin-wall PVC pipe in my rockets. I use two types of nose cones:

* PVC and ABS reducer fittings that come down to a 1" cap
* LOC nose cones. LOC 3" tube fits exactly inside a 3" PVC pipe and the NC fits exactly inside the tube.

Ari.

I'm having the damnedest time finding thin-wall PVC pipe dimensions. Can you tell me A) where you find it? B) what the dimensions of it are?

From what I think I'm reading you are sliding a standard LOC 3" tube inside the thin-walled PVC, then putting the nosecone inside the LOC tube. Is that right?

 

[K'Tesh]

python rocketry can make a foam and FG nose cone.

Called Dan, and was told that he can't handle small diameter nosecones. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[iter]

I'm having the damnedest time finding thin-wall PVC pipe dimensions. Can you tell me A) where you find it? B) what the dimensions of it are?

From what I think I'm reading you are sliding a standard LOC 3" tube inside the thin-walled PVC, then putting the nosecone inside the LOC tube. Is that right?

You are correct. LOC nose cones fit LOC tubing, and LOC 3" tubing just happens to be the right size to be couple for PVC pipe.

I buy my tubing from a local specialty plumbing supply house (not a chain). I saw some at Ace Hardware in Half Moon Bay, but not in other Aces. Typical big-box hardware stores are unlikely to carry it, and thir employees are unlikely to have heard of it (then again, they have heard nothing of most of the products they do carry).

Ari.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

I'm having the damnedest time finding thin-wall PVC pipe dimensions. Can you tell me A) where you find it? B) what the dimensions of it are?

A real handy book is the Pocket Reference Book, available at your local Ace Hardware. It's got all sorts of mechanical specs (including dimensions of pipe and tubing). And, of course, I can't find mine, so I can't tell you what size it is,,,

 

[Sooner Boomer]

I'm also looking on how to finish PVC pipe so it looks good (rather than a piece of pipe with paint slathered on it).

Thanks!
Jim

Might be a really good application for a body wrap. I'm normally into paint, but I've had poor results with long-term results of painting PVC. I bet a sticker would work well.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

Pipe Dimensions -

OK, it started to bug me, so I dug through the stuff from my old office and found the book. For 3" (nominal) the O.D. is 3.5", and for Sch. 40 the wall thickness is 0.216"; for Sch 80 it is 0.300" (you do the math...). If it is a different Schedule, this table should help -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominal_Pipe_Size#NPS_tables_for_selected_sizes

 

[K'Tesh]

Thanks for the interest sooner.boomer.

I think that I'll have to hold off on this form of mass production RSO's until I finish school. I think that the only way I'll be able to pull it off is to pay to have one made, then make a mold of it, and pull replicas out of that.

Pointy Side Up!
Jim

 

[Bat-mite]

Didn't Baddazz make all their rockets from thin-walled PVC? Might be worth an e-mail to Eric. He may even have a nose cone laying around that works.

 

[Rex R]

what you're looking for is 'pvc sewer pipe', which BTW is not pressure rated and has a bad tendency to shatter if you try to make a potato launcher using it . try plumbing supplies, if all else fails 'us plastic' carries it(they also carry sheet plastic in various types, including clear pvc).
Rex

 

[dave carver]

Also know as drain pipe. I built a 3" rocket for my conformation rocket in '93. I remember the odd looks I got when I was rolling the tube looking for straight ones. OD on drain pipe is 3.10-3.125". Sch40 is way too thick for a PVC rocket. Mine ready to fly with a turned pine nosecone and an I284 was 5 pounds. It would have to tip the scales at over 10 if you use the Sch40.

When you find some make sure you're not getting this cheap crap that has a thin layer of PVC and the rest is black ABS. Pay-n-Pac, ACE sometimes, Home Depot but not Lowe's, at least not the times I've been looking. And I'm looking again for some 6" drain, got a big one to build