Andrew_ASC
UTC SEDS 2017 3rd/ SEDS 2018 1st
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2017
- Messages
- 3,883
- Reaction score
- 542
Discuss your favorite methods for storing APCP fuel grains. I have recently discovered this Food Saver thingy works on rocket fuel too. It vacuum seals the fuel. I used to just leave it lying around for months.
I load a lot of my motors prior to a launch. You rarely see me do that at the field. I slide ziploc bags over the aft end, tape the edges of the bag around the case. That seals it just like it never left the original bag. I always have a few left over for the next launch. They last a long time.Heh. I have a 98-mm N2000 in my garage, built, in the hardware, that has been sitting, well, standing there since March. As soon as we get back to Higgs Farm, I'm going to let her rip. I have done absolutely nothing to protect the grains. If it won't light. I'll scrape some propellant from the top grain core.
I've found I can leave all the grease from assembly on the aft end because you have to clean it, easier for me to clean a ring around the case and tape the bag to it. As long as it's sealed, either way, that's all that matters.what's your experience with electrical tape sealing the nozzle cap? That's what I've done when putting together a motor more than a couple weeks prior
I’ve heard Russian Cosmoline comes off Makarov handguns in an oven. I’m not certain of putting APCP in an oven for removal of wet cosmoline dripping everywhere is a good idea. Mom would like snap. It’s a thermador!
Heh. I have a 98-mm N2000 in my garage, built, in the hardware, that has been sitting, well, standing there since March. As soon as we get back to Higgs Farm, I'm going to let her rip. I have done absolutely nothing to protect the grains. If it won't light. I'll scrape some propellant from the top grain core.
Should fun!Same here. I have a M1810 that I assembled for Red Glare last spring and it has been in the corner of my shop for 7 months. The cap has been on the nozzle so at least I know there are no mouse nests in there. Next week at Higgs we'll see if it will burn.
Keep in mind that APCP can be hydroscopic. I've seen white lighting grains (29mm reloads) swell so much that the core was nearly closed and the ends looked like a muffin. That was after about 15 years in an open package in a garage. Other formulas don't seem to be affected as badly. I would at least seal the nozzle if an assembled motor is left somewhere like a garage. Not only will the grain be harder to light but the performance will likely be affected as well.
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