Old Estes motors in Australia

[H_L]

Yep I did get sucked into the form so good hey… yes I’m new here but dusting off my rockets haha

I did find some estes c6-5 and I think there’s some E and B motors there too.

Just wondering if they would be still ok after about 15 years?

BUT here’s the difficult part: I live in north Australia where it sometimes gets to +40 degrees in summer but if it’s a wet summer it gets to around 32 degrees with high humidity as it’s tropical. Lowest temperature would be I’d dare say no lower than 8 degrees maybe …normally gets around in the low teens for winter.

Now some are still in the original packets and others are in a clip sealed bag and all where stored in my work shed just on a shelf.

Just wondering if moisture or what ever has gotten to them?

Is it a bad idea if I put the old motors in a sealed plastic container with some silica gel to suck the moisture out?
Cheers

 

[DeeRoc29]

Hi HL. I'd fly them as is.

 

[heada]

E motors from years ago are more than likely E9 motors. They're well known for being questionable even when new. I'd think twice about using an E9 in anything that you would get upset over if it were damaged.

Any motor you don't burn, you can dissolve the BP in water and it makes a good fertilizer.

 

[KennB]

Welcome to the forum, H_L. The age of the motors isn't a problem as long as they are still certified for use in Australia. Being tropical, you've shifted your thermal cycling but have still exposed the motors to it. I'd be concerned about the temperature the inside of the shed reaches on the hot days.

With the humidity, some of the motors may have taken on some moisture and swelled, even in a clip sealed bag and especially in their original packages. If they fit into the motor mount tube, they may be okay to fly. If you have lots of motors, you could do a spot check by burying test motors nozzle up 3/4 of the way into a bucket of sand and lighting them electronically and seeing what happens.

As suggested above, don't fly any of these in any rocket you really care about.

 

[Cape Byron]

Another Aussie!
We're subtropical, and I've flown some motors that have been in storage here for around ten years. No dramas with any of them so far (fingers crossed). I've only recently taken to storing them in an esky with some silica, some in original packaging and some in ziplock bags.