Old RMS Delay Elements as Ignition Enhancer?

[Imaknow]

I am a cheapskate.
I have some 20 year old RMS motor reload kits that I have bought new delay elements for as recommended for flying the old motors.

I hate to waste the old delay elements, and I was contemplating if the old delays can be cut up to enhance ignition of the motors.

What say you?

 

[dhbarr]

They're smokies, but since you'd be exposing so much "new" surface I don't see why not.

 

[Reinhard]

Ground test a small, freshly cut sliver, without a motor. Use a small-ish igniter, for example an e-match or Estes igniter. If it readily ignites with an e-match, it's a good propellant to augment igniters (examples are AT Blue Thunder and CTI White Thunder). If it doesn't ignite, it's not a great choice for augmenting igniters, but you can still try to test with a more powerful igniter a la FirstFire.
I've once used a leftover delay to test if I can ignite it with electricity - loosly inspired by exploding bridgewire detonators 1) - and the propellant didn't ignite on multiple attempts. That piece of delay immediately ignited when I gave up and disposed it with a lighter. In other words, test with realistic igniters and don't save on money by using a lighter.

Reinhard

1) Far from a propper EBW, just loosly inspired: A small capacitor bank, 2mF at 400V (160J) firing a random piece of thin wire (think Cat5 shielding). This results in a loud bang from the arc discharge, but the delay was unimpressed. Would have been nice if it worked though.

 

[jimzcatz]

Blue thunder will light by just blowing on it. Meaning it lights very easily. I would test on something harder, like red or green. I have found those delay grains harder to light when not under pressure. Test, and good luck.