What To Do With an Unused Loaded Reload?

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strikeanywhere45

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So I took my Aerotech Initiator starter set with the included RMS hardware for its first flight 2 days ago. First flight went well on an E16-4W but was told after that by park rangers that I couldn't launch again. So I packed up and switched locations only to have another E16-4W not work (I don't think I had the igniter situated correctly) and now I have a fully loaded motor laying around. So my question is what do I do with it? I've heard that it's bad to keep them sitting around but I also don't want to throw a perfectly good reload away. Thanks for your help.
 
I would loosen the end caps some to release the pressure on the o-rings, put it in a zip lock baggie, with a note as to what motor is in the casing, and keep it for next time.
 
What he said. Just make sure you take the ejection charge out (if you put it in already) and keep it capped up somewhere, where you won't forget it. Then when you're ready to launch, pop the ejection charge back in.
 
Thanks for the help but I managed to let all the black powder escape when removing the ejection charge (and I was as careful as could be - I even had a bowl under it but none of it managed to land in). Looks like I get to have a static firing so it's not a total loss.
 
Thanks for the help but I managed to let all the black powder escape when removing the ejection charge (and I was as careful as could be - I even had a bowl under it but none of it managed to land in). Looks like I get to have a static firing so it's not a total loss.
That's a perfect saucer motor now.. You don't use the ejection charge in a saucer anyways.
 
Probably not the smartest thing, but I loaded up a motor about 8 months ago, ejection charge and all, and forgot all about it. I took it out today and removed the aft cap and took a file to the igniter channel and the top of the grain, reinstalled it, regreased the o ring and sealed it back up. Launched it this afternoon with zero problems.
 
The E16 is a notoriously hard to ignite motor. I never seen a copperhead start one, and on occasion, even a Magnelite fails on the first try.
 
The E16 is a notoriously hard to ignite motor. I never seen a copperhead start one, and on occasion, even a Magnelite fails on the first try.

This has been my experience as well with the E16. Don't know why. Maybe because white lightning doesn't light as easily as say blue thunder plus the case is half empty with this load so maybe it has difficulty building enough pressure quickly.
 
This has been my experience as well with the E16. Don't know why. Maybe because white lightning doesn't light as easily as say blue thunder plus the case is half empty with this load so maybe it has difficulty building enough pressure quickly.

I've never used a E16. I usually use a 24/40 case for that range, but what I've found always seems to help light the motors is to sand the grains and leave the dust in the c-slot. The dust will catch easier and help ignite the grain.
 
White Lightling is harder to light then Blue Thunder,that for sure. Dont stactic fire it,use some powder from another reload, you can easily split the amount for 2 loads if you need. You can also go to a sporting goods store and get some Pyrodex(smokeless powder), that should work ok for smaller rockets.
 
I had heard that the O-rings compress and that is why you need to loosed one of the closures. Actually, it's not the O-rings that compress with time, but the delay grain. You need to remove the ejection charge before loosening the closure so you don't get black powder getting onto the sealing surfaces of the forward O-rings. That means taking off the red cap and then holding the engine upside down and shaking it so that the powder that trickled down through the hole in the forward closure is shaken back out. It is pretty important that some of the powder get down on top of the delay element to make sure the ejection charge ignites. That's why Aerotech tells you to hold the rocket upright and shake it after the engine is installed. Someone should be able to supply you with some black powder. If not, you can steal a bit from other reload kits. I don't know that I would split one charge half and half, but taking small amounts from several charges should be OK.
 
I had an F-40 reload that was together for almost two years, never loosened the end caps or removed the ejection charge, stuck it in a rocket and flew it with no problems.:cool: Well, not "no problems," the delay was too short and it zippered the tube but the motor performed flawlessly.:D
 
At NARCON somebody asked Gary Rosenfield about what to do with an assembled motor. He said that it's not a problem for the larger motors. For smaller ones that have a flat washer or O rings at the end of the delay he recommended loosing it a turn.

I let one sit for over a year before I fired it and it worked normally.
 
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