Water Rockets

[JimByrne]

Is anyone else building & flying them?
I thought it would be fun to add them to our monthly launch.
I understand some have gone over 3000' (with very high pressure).
I just built a few (2" X 30" & 2' X 48' plus a 2 QT. soda bottle).

 

[AlexBruccoleri]

We have had some fairly dry summers in New England and I considered water rocketry when fire risk precluded pyrotechnics.

 

[RocketSquirrel]

Is anyone else building & flying them?
I thought it would be fun to add them to our monthly launch.
I understand some have gone over 3000' (with very high pressure).
I just built a few (2" X 30" & 2' X 48' plus a 2 QT. soda bottle).

wow! i had no idea they go that high, i was picturing the soda bottles you fill with later and use a bike tire pump to put the air in. I'm looking into this right now lol me knowing nothing about it has me wondering if it would make a good first stage?

 

[tsmith1315]

Is anyone else building & flying them?

Active thread in the HPR forum:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/level-2-hpr-water-pyro-rocket.179517

 

[JimByrne]

I sent an email to the NAR asking about a water rocket safety code & guidelines.
The response I got was disappointing---they want nothing to do with water rockets.
I feel they are letting us down by excluding this part of the hobby which should fall under the category of odd-rocs if nowhere else.

 

[mjennings]

I sent an email to the NAR asking about a water rocket safety code & guidelines.
The response I got was disappointing---they want nothing to do with water rockets.
I feel they are letting us down by excluding this part of the hobby which should fall under the category of odd-rocs if nowhere else.

I honestly can't blame them, most people have simply no idea how much power is in few psi of pressure. Ever seen a truck tire blow on the highway? You got Joe over wrapping soda bottles with duct tape trying to get something to 200 psi it explodes and he loses an eye. That doesn't look good on our safety record. There is absolutely no way to regulate or enforce anything on water rockets unless they are sold commercialy. Same reason NAR stays out of EX motors.

Water and air rockets are lots of fun but just like any pressurized system their is risks.

 

[AlexBruccoleri]

I honestly can't blame them, most people have simply no idea how much power is in few psi of pressure. Ever seen a truck tire blow on the highway? You got Joe over wrapping soda bottles with duct tape trying to get something to 200 psi it explodes and he loses an eye. That doesn't look good on our safety record. There is absolutely no way to regulate or enforce anything on water rockets unless they are sold commercialy. Same reason NAR stays out of EX motors.

Water and air rockets are lots of fun but just like any pressurized system their is risks.

I agree 100 % and should have added that my desire to play with water rockets during the fire risk was intended for the toys commercially available. Any water rocket capable of similar impulse to a model rocket is going to be hazardous and would require training to handle safely. If this ever became popular enough to replace some model rocket activity I would expect it would be a commercial design with remote fill and vent capability.

 

[David Schwantz]

Fly them all the time with my neighbor girls. Here in the winter you get snow coming out of the nozzle if you use hot water

 

[suborbital]

wow! i had no idea they go that high, i was picturing the soda bottles you fill with later and use a bike tire pump to put the air in. I'm looking into this right now lol me knowing nothing about it has me wondering if it would make a good first stage?

Somewhere here on the forum was a video of a rocket with a water booster, and a sustainer with a regular rocket engine.

 

[Voyager1]

Is anyone else building & flying them?
I thought it would be fun to add them to our monthly launch.
I understand some have gone over 3000' (with very high pressure).
I just built a few (2" X 30" & 2' X 48' plus a 2 QT. soda bottle).

Check out this site
http://www.aircommandrockets.com/

 

[retortec]

Check out the WRA2 forum. All kinds of resources there. Also a good set of safety and competition parameters. No much for off the shelf components in water rocketry. The fun and challenge for me is making almost everything. I have sent unreinforced bottles over 500 feet carrying altimeters, camera and recovery devices.

 

[air.command]

Check out the WRA2 forum. All kinds of resources there. Also a good set of safety and competition parameters. No much for off the shelf components in water rocketry. The fun and challenge for me is making almost everything. I have sent unreinforced bottles over 500 feet carrying altimeters, camera and recovery devices.

Pretty cool looking rocket! Is that bottle spliced?

 

[retortec]

The one in the picture is spliced. Here are a couple more made from a single bottle.

 

[Pinetree]

 

[retortec]

Got one in the camper. Love it.

 

[RocketTree]

Does anyone think it would be worth having a sub forum dedicated to water rockets? I have no idea how much interest there is or if this has been discussed before.

Water rockets have been a thing I wanted to try during fire bans, and launching in the back yard to low heights with the family. A lot of us have few opportunities to launch our flamey motors. Commercially available pop bottle rocket kits don’t really appeal to me, but maybe there are other options? It would be great to have this information in one space.

I have never launched or built a water rocket, but I have built small compressed air powered rockets that fly to low altitudes. Just a thought.

 

[lr64]

Poke around the web and you will find some amazing water rockets and instructions on how to make some of them. Or at least that was true a few years ago. You can make them fairly hi tech if you want to.

I should think it would be easier to be safe with water rockets than with regular ones. Pressure test with the rocket full of water and use a hose when inflating with air to put some distance between you and a bursting rocket. Storing fuel is much safer.