5 y/o motor

[PT3]

I just received the motors for my level 2 cert from a reputable vendor. Everything seems in order, but I noticed that one of the reloads is dated 2013. I’ve never gotten a reload that old and want to make sure that I’m not setting myself up for a Cato because of an old or outdated reload.

Thoughts?

 

[cwbullet]

What is the manufacturer and motor?

 

[PT3]

What is the manufacturer and motor?

Cti k630

 

[markkoelsch]

That should not be an issue.

 

[PT3]

That should not be an issue.

Thanks for the advice. Just thought I should check.

 

[cwbullet]

That should not be an issue.

Agreed. I just like a little more info.

 

[tim cubbedge]

I’ve bought CTI motors this year from our on site vendor motors dated 2014 with no problems. As long as they’re still sealed I wouldn’t be worried.

 

[FredA]

Launched a Loki a few weeks back with 2006 stamped on the label - no problem....

 

[OverTheTop]

I am afraid you are just going to have to burn it .

 

[cwbullet]

I am afraid you are just going to have to burn it .

And that would be such a terrible tragedy? Good luck on your cert.

 

[PT3]

And that would be such a terrible tragedy? Good luck on your cert.

Awe shucks. Well if I have to[emoji847]. Thanks.

 

[Nytrunner]

Really surprised no one's given the usual reply of:

"Nope, it's trash. Send it to me for disposal "

 

[cwbullet]

Really surprised no one's given the usual reply of:

"Nope, it's trash. Send it to me for disposal "

Funny

 

[PT3]

Really surprised no one's given the usual reply of:

"Nope, it's trash. Send it to me for disposal "

I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night.

 

[burkefj]

definitely pull off the paper cap and look at the black powder on old reloads I've had it sometimes be fairly hard and not a powder, I've had one case where it didnt burn through and eject.

 

[PT3]

definitely pull off the paper cap and look at the black powder on old reloads I've had it sometimes be fairly hard and not a powder, I've had one case where it didnt burn through and eject.

Good call, planning on using electronic only eject. First attempt failed because of an early motor ejection.

 

[chuck5395]

Launched a Loki a few weeks back with 2006 stamped on the label - no problem....

I have a few of those in my stash too! Not had one fail yet.

 

[cbrarick]

I will volunteer to burn it. I know it's a burden, but I'll take one for the team!

 

[djs]

definitely pull off the paper cap and look at the black powder on old reloads I've had it sometimes be fairly hard and not a powder, I've had one case where it didnt burn through and eject.

For CTI reloads, whenever I've had to remove the powder, it always seemed to be a harder/chunky consistency, rather than loose powder. Not sure if that's how it's supposed to look, or I just got a few bad ones. Either way, it's good to back it up with electronics. Or donate to me for disposal

 

[terryg]

Flew a LOKI I405 today that was produced in 2003. No problems, great flight.

 

[mrwalsh85]

I've flown Aerotech G55's/G110's recently with no issue. Fired right up. These were definitely pre-AT fire, 2001.

Have fun.

 

[Voyager1]

I just received the motors for my level 2 cert from a reputable vendor. Everything seems in order, but I noticed that one of the reloads is dated 2013. I’ve never gotten a reload that old and want to make sure that I’m not setting myself up for a Cato because of an old or outdated reload.

Thoughts?

I had issues with an AT G76-10 on the weekend. It took 3 attempts to ignite it. The first 2 attempts used mid power FirstFires. I had already replaced the included copperhead, as I’ve always considered them to be very problematic. The third attempt I removed the grains and scraped the inside faces of the slot to expose fresh AP. Instead of using a mid power FirstFire, I used a high power one.

At last, a successful launch - or so I thought! I had trimmed the delay grain back to 6 seconds, as indicated by the sim recommendation. However, the delay turned out to be about 12 seconds. Fortunately, deployment did finally occur about 15’ off the ground after a ballistic descent.

Why did I have these issues? I recalled an earlier ballistic return in which the delay grain did not burn through at all, resulting in no deployment and a lawn dart.

On my return home I checked the batch number on the packet. It was a reload manufactured in 2011! This was a similar story to my earlier misadventure. Because the fuel and delay grains had been on the shelf for 7 years, they had dried out and become coated with a hard coating.

My only advice is to be very careful with motors that are getting on in their shelf life. Although these motors may have been in sealed plastic bags all that time, that’s still no guarantee of a successful launch and deployment. After experiencing this sort of thing a few times, I am seriously considering not relying on motor ejection alone, but having an electronic backup, at least with aged reloads.

 

[cwbullet]

I would recommend a labeler. I label all my motors after I adjust the delay. This avoids any confusion if I don't launch it.

Anytime I avoid the labeler, I forget which motor was adjusted or the exact adjustment and my results are similar.

 

[OverTheTop]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the inside of the grains can be slightly scratched to remove the oxidised surface of older grains, helping with ignition. Otherwise have a spare igniter or two ready, or perhaps one with some slight augmentation .

I will let you know how I go next weekend (weather permitting) as I have a motor (K1103X) I assembled in 2016 and it was dated a couple of years before that.

If I have spoken rubbish here, please let me know!

 

[Voyager1]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the inside of the grains can be slightly scratched to remove the oxidised surface of older grains, helping with ignition. Otherwise have a spare igniter or two ready, or perhaps one with some slight augmentation .

I will let you know how I go next weekend (weather permitting) as I have a motor (K1103X) I assembled in 2016 and it was dated a couple of years before that.

If I have spoken rubbish here, please let me know!

Yep, scraping the fuel grain core surface helped me OTT. Unfortunately it didn’t help the delay grain, as I think it had completely gone bad. I was very fortunate to have deployment occurring at 15’ AGL , and only suffered a minor chute tear.

Good luck next weekend - I was hoping to get down there, but we have our AGM.