Safely removing powder from CTI?

If somebody has a min diameter rocket for example and wants to use a CTI motor without an motor ejection charge for electronic deployment charge only for cases where Apogee happens way after the maximum delay length and a motor eject backup is impractical. What steps to remove the stock ejection charge from a CTI product? What steps to put dog barf where? Pictures please. With AT motors we simply don’t include the powder and I am familiar with that process for AT not for CTI. Thanks.

 

What Tim said. Pics are not really necessary, it's just a paper cap. I use a small screwdriver.

 

I try to not use metal tools around BP. Chance of sparks if I slip and hit something else. I use a sharp wooden skewer to puncture into the paper cap and flip the cap off. Then the BP can be poured out.

 

There is nothing in the BP well to create a spark. Nothing against caution, just saying.

 

I understand, but if I slip with the scalpel and hit a nearby tool, or drop in on the metal bench? I'd rather not have any unnecessary frights thanks! They use wooden tools around fireworks for a good reason I think.

 

Nylon spudger seems like something good to add to my range box anyhoo.

 

Thanks.

 

I've always used a lit cigarette. Have I been doing it wrong?

 

Yes, a cigarette is bad for your health and probably doesn't have the thermal capacity to burn all of the paper. Try using an Oxy-acetylene torch, it's finicky work so forgo a face shield so you can see it better.

 

The couple times I've done it, I put some masking/electrical tape over the tip of a small flat head.

 

Thermite works well too.

 

I always wondered what "head end ignition" was

 

Set fire to your hair
Poke a stick at a grizzly bear
Eat medicine that's out of date
Use your private parts as piranha bait.

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die...


Love that song .


BTW I wrote those words from memory.

 

Invite a psycho-killer inside

Scratch a drug dealer's brand new ride

Take your helmet off in outer space

Use a clothes dryer as a hiding place

 

I fell over laughing.

 

I jab the two jaws of a needle nose pliers through the paper cap covering the ejection charge and then peel it off. Then I add the powder to my medicine bottle full of BP. I wear safety glasses while doing anything with BP. I put a little grease into the well.

 

Was looking at some older threads and came across this one. Just curious, why do you ‘cap off’ (dog barf and tape, epoxy, etc) the ejection charge well after removing the BP? I took a look at the online instructions for CTI Pro54 and I didn’t see anything about covering the well if removing the BP.

 

In case anything untoward happens. Delay blowbys have happened, forward closure issues have happened, etc...

 

It’s probably not necessary and honestly probably doesn’t do anything. If there is blowby the grease, dog barf, and tape won’t do anything. You would have a forward closure failure. However it does inhibit the forward end of the delay grain so if you want to use that motor as part of a cluster you don’t have to worry about it igniting from the forward end. Admittedly that’s an extremely unlikely thing to worry about.
Epoxy or a screw through the touchhole would prevent a forward closure failure though.

 

I always put some 5 minute epoxy in the BP well just to make sure no gasses go were I don't tell them to.

 

I don't do anything with the well once I dump the powder. The delay charge is a slow burning smoke charge, and really isn't going to flare up. Like Steve said, if you get blow-by, nothing is going to stop it... probably not even filling the well with epoxy.

 

Good point Cris. Thinking about it more, the main reason I got in the habit of sealing it is that in some of my MD rockets, I don’t have a sealed bulkead between the motor and the avionics bay. A hole there with a path to the open nozzle could potentially really mess up altimeter data on the way uphill.

 

The hole through to the charge well is quite small in diameter so even at high pressure there is not excessive force. I think you will find epoxy would survive quite well there, in the well .