BP Igniter Plugs

[Hospital_Rocket]

Is there any motor size to color correlation of the plugs used to retain the igniter in Estes BP motors?

 

[loopy]

Yup. The two I know for sure is pink is for C's, and white is for D's. The others, I can't remember right now. I think the little yellow ones are for the 13mm A's, but I'm probably wrong on that. But, I know the pink and white ones for sure.

Loopy

 

[Micromeister]

pretty good Loopy!
Yellow is for 18mm A's, Green for 13mm A's, Blue for/were for C5 & B8 motors, Pink for B's & C's and White for D12's, I think there also one for E-9's also but I'm not sure of the color

 

[vjp]

Originally posted by Micromister
pretty good Loopy!
Yellow is for 18mm A's, Green for 13mm A's, Blue for/were for C5 & B8 motors, Pink for B's & C's and White for D12's, I think there also one for E-9's also but I'm not sure of the color

E9's (and C11's) are black.

BTW, it's IMPORTANT to use the rigt plug - last launch I went to, I forced a white plug into a C11-3, and the whole nozzle blew out. No damage to the rocket, but the fins were a little singed from the ensuing roman candle.

 

[prowlerguy]

I only want to add that the colors go with nozzle size, not impulse. It seems to me that avg impluse is a better correlation than total impluse. Those little tabs on the end of the stick show the engines those plugs were designed for. I always work from the other end so I will always have that to double check before using the plug.

 

[sandman]

There is a little tab on the string of igniter plugs. It has the designation for the motors they fit. A3, A10, B4, B6, C6, D12, E9...etc.

I always save that little tab and leave it in the small tackle box I keep them in.

I've never tried to memorize which plug fits what motor.

sandman

 

[powderburner]

My little wads of kleenex tissue fit all the nozzles just the same, and I don't have to worry about what color they are.

 

[Ryan S.]

I like the plugs better, they are so simple and easy.

 

[wwattles]

Wadding works well too, and is less prone to catch fire than TP.

WW

 

[jflis]

Originally posted by powderburner
My little wads of kleenex tissue fit all the nozzles just the same, and I don't have to worry about what color they are.

I use the plugs, but i don't fall apart if I don't have them as I use wadding also. It's how I teach my students to do it so that they have a method for when they drop that little plug...

I've actually seen folks on the range complain that they can't fly cuz they left the plugs in another box at home... kills me, but it's a good time for on the field training

One thing though, I would recommend that when using tissue that you use flameproof wadding. Regular tissue paper presents the added risk of a grass fire when it gets spit out of the motor...

jim

 

[powderburner]

Originally posted by jflis
Regular tissue paper presents the added risk of a grass fire when it gets spit out of the motor...

Yes, but there is a simple way to add an on-the-field 'flame-proof' treatment to a tissue.

 

[Hospital_Rocket]

Originally posted by powderburner
Yes, but there is a simple way to add an on-the-field 'flame-proof' treatment to a tissue.

Yuck!

 

[shockwaveriderz]

Estes Rocket Motor
Nozzle Igniter Plug Colors
A3 Orange
A10 Green
1/2A6, A8, B4 Yellow
B6, C6 Magenta
D11, D12 White
C11, E9 Black

 

[n3tjm]

Orange (with a wider base) was also used for the Estes E15... I saw one of those the other day .

 

[teflonrocketry1]

You can use Teflon Pipe Thread Sealant tape for a substitute ignitor plug, just wad up a small piece and press it into the nozzle with a pencil point!

Bruce S. Levison, NAR #69055, A.K.A. TeflonRocketry1

 

[Justy]

When I was a kid, they were just introducing igniter plugs, but most of the motors we bought were older ones without. Nobody told me it was a good idea to plug the nozzle; I just bent the igniter leads over and taped it to the bottom. Worked fine maybe 4 times out of 5.

Plastic igniter plugs are a nice touch, but it's not hard to do without.

I only just learned a month ago that the little flat tab on the igniters had the appropriate motor codes, and I always tore that bit of "waste" plastic off first...

 

[jflis]

ohhhh, that little tab is the *last* thing to go but then you know that now

back in my day??? heck, back in *my* day, you had a length of nichrome wire which you had to wrap twice around a pencil lead to make a coil and insert *that* without damaging it, to ignite your motors...

plugs?

heck, WE didn't even have *goop* on our igniters!

Every once in a while I still like to take nichrome and make a quick ignitor just to show folks how it's done.

 

[sandman]

Well, as soon as I saw this at my local hobby shop I bought all the Jetex wick they had.

This worked so much better than just the nichrome wire alone!

sandman

P.S. thanks Marty!

 

[cls]

... speaking as a BAR ... arguably, in the last 30 years of rocketry, ignitors are the thing that have improved the least and need the most improvement!!

most of the time they work OK but when they don't it runs from disappointing to frustrating to catastrophic.