Disposing of Estes motors?

Some how I've inherited over the years a large supply of Estes BP motors. B thru F motors. Mostly buying inventory or lots from people selling out of the hobby. I dont want these anymore as I dont fly BP motors at all and all my low-mid power birds are set up to fly composites.
The only thing I can think of is static firing them in a metal pipe, in the ground with something like a bolt through the top to block them from popping out during ejection then toss them in a bucket of water and then in the trash.
Ideas?
Anyone local who wants them?

Disposal of BP based motors is as simple as tossing them in a bucket full of water. Sell/give them to someone but if all else fails, you can just soak them in water and the BP will disintegrate and you'll be left with black water, clay and paper tubes. Pour the water on plants that need a little boost. The potassium and nitrogen in BP are 2 of the 3 basic plant foods.

When the slurry is dry is it still flammable though? Dont want my lawn to light up one day.
It's almost like 50-60 motors on hand.

Dissolve the BP in water, pour it out and hit it with the hose for 10 minutes or so. It'll be so dilute that it can't form BP any longer. If you're worried, you can always burn them.

I make my own fireworks and need lots of BP every year. Last year I screwed up a 5 pound batch of BP. Dissolved it all in water, poured it on the lawn and turned the sprinkler on. 20 minutes later or so, turned it off and had a 10ft by 10ft *GREEN* section that grew at twice the rate of the rest of my lawn for 2 or 3 months. It still grows a little faster than the rest even now.

Any local rocket clubs or schools to donate them to? Based on your sig, are you in or around Las Vegas?

Rob702Martinez said:

Some how I've inherited over the years a large supply of Estes BP motors. B thru F motors. Mostly buying inventory or lots from people selling out of the hobby. I dont want these anymore as I dont fly BP motors at all and all my low-mid power birds are set up to fly composites.
The only thing I can think of is static firing them in a metal pipe, in the ground with something like a bolt through the top to block them from popping out during ejection then toss them in a bucket of water and then in the trash.
Ideas?
Anyone local who wants them?

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People will want them, so destroying motors that are not suspected of being defective is a big waste. Contact local NAR sections or TARC teams or schools/scout groups that have rocketry programs and donate them.

Or drive to our launch tomorrow in Los Angeles and hand them to me.

If it wasn't clear, my preferred method is to give/sell them to someone rather than dispose of them. I'm sure there is someone close that is willing to take them off your hands. Only dispose of them if you can't find someone to take them from you.

If you don't want to sell them then donate them to your local club. The club can either sell them cheap to raise a little money for the coffers, or give them away at launches to newbies/visitors. (Looks like I took too long writing this post and got ninja'ed on this sentiment. But it stands.)

If you must destroy them, don't worry about an inflammable lawn or garden. The saltpeter in BP is water soluble, and the rest is not. So when you dump out the bucket, the saltpeter will be carried into the soil while the rest stays on the surface. So no worries.

Or you could static fire them more simply than you described earlier. Put an end cap on a piece of iron pipe, put the motor in with the nozzle pointing out, and light. It won't lift the iron, the ejection charge won't do anything if the pipe ID is significantly larger than the motor diameter, and won't do more than bloop the casing out even if it's close. Of, even simpler, just push the ejection end an inch into the ground and light; the thrust will be enough neither to push the engine in deeper (which would be harmless anyhow) nor affect the Earth's orbit. And yes, the ejection charge will definitely bloop the casing out of the ground, so stand by with a glass of water for the unlikely possibility that the grass catches fire. And take video, because the bloop is liable to be kinda funny.

I will post in my local TRA message board to see who wants them. Im pretty sure our club motor box is chocked full of BP motors already. As far as I know Tarc Nar doesn't really exist here and I doubt schools are doing rocketry here.
Thanks for the replies.

jqavins said:

nor affect the Earth's orbit

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Are you sure?

mbeels said:

Are you sure?

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Maybe if we cluster them all at once?

jqavins said:

) nor affect the Earth's orbit. .

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According to the laws of physics, this WILL affect the Earth's orbit. It will in no way be significant or detectable, but it will affect it.

BABAR said:

According to the laws of physics, this WILL affect the Earth's orbit. It will in no way be significant or detectable, but it will affect it.

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I'll just leave this here.
https://what-if.xkcd.com/8/

BABAR said:

According to the laws of physics, this WILL affect the Earth's orbit. It will in no way be significant or detectable, but it will affect it.

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Actually, no, since conservation of momentum requires that the impulse applied to the atmosphere by the exhaust gas is equal and opposite to the impulse applied to the ground, unless gas is actually ejected from the atmosphere as a result of the burn.

Found a club member who wants them. Thanks guys!

And for the same reason (conservation of momentum), the only way to change the rotation of the earth would be to stir up a mighty wind in the atmosphere. Which would quickly dissipate. I think that the only things that could have had any influence on the orbit of the earth have left earth's orbit (like Voyager and Cassini). But that difference would have been lost in the motion of the atoms.

Anyway, slow day at work, I appreciate the diversions and derailed threads.

Glad the motors found a good home, someone will appreciate them!

mbeels said:

And for the same reason (conservation of momentum)...

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Giving away the motors rather than destroying them was conservation of impulse, which is almost the same thing.

mbeels said:

And for the same reason (conservation of momentum), the only way to change the rotation of the earth would be to stir up a mighty wind in the atmosphere. Which would quickly dissipate. I think that the only things that could have had any influence on the orbit of the earth have left earth's orbit (like Voyager and Cassini). But that difference would have been lost in the motion of the atoms.

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There is a another way to change the rotation of the earth. I saw this documentary years ago where a guy in tights flies around the earth so fast that the planet slows down and actually starts turning the opposite direction. This causes time to slow down and reverse. He does this to save his girlfriend (Lois something?).

There are days where the level of scientific ignorance among the average citizen in Metropolis and the rest of the country can be terrifying.

jqavins said:

Giving away the motors rather than destroying them was conservation of impulse, which is almost the same thing.

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At work we've discovered a little known "conservation of beard number" law that seems to apply here. One coworker shaved his off the day another grew one. Conservation laws everywhere....