Talk:Black powder rocket motor

Latest comment: 4 years ago by Gah4 in topic 1/8 A

Nozzles edit

I think the deleted passages on nozzles are encyclopedic, but they were unreferenced, and the tone needs work. It's also not clear how specific these are to black powder rockets. I'm copying here the paragraphs in case somebody wants to use them:

Nozzles for fireworks rockets are usually made with clay. Bentonite and kaolin clay work well. If necessary, a small amount of fine sand may be added to improve the nozzle's grip on the casing. The dry clay powder is rammed into the casing, producing a solid plug. This powder can be used to produce rock-hard nozzles that erode very little.

Another nozzle material that is quite resistant to erosion is quick-hardening cement. It is wetted with water and pressed into the casing. After a few minutes it has solidified enough to continue with the construction of the motor. Disadvantages are that it is very sticky when wet (making working with it very messy), and the short hardening time which makes it necessary to work quickly.

Less resistant to erosion are plaster of paris and polyester. These are not ideal but they may be used for low temperature propellants, such as 'five cent sugar rocket' propellant

Good luck, Have mörser, will travel (talk) 15:56, 18 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

It sounds a little more like a how to, which isn't supposed to be encyclopedic. It might be fixable, though. As much of the article is about the Estes engines, it might be nice to have an appropriate description, avoiding proprietary information, about Estes nozzles. Gah4 (talk) 00:38, 7 September 2018 (UTC)Reply

others? edit

Are there articles on other commmon (small rocket) engine propellants? I was specifically interested in blue thunder, which seems to be used in Estes sized engines, but more thrust and total impulse than equivalent sized black powder engines. Gah4 (talk) 00:40, 7 September 2018 (UTC)Reply

1/8 A edit

A recent edit mentions 1/8 A. The current table says 1/4A down to 0.001, which is way below the upper limit of 1/4 A. I don't believe that Estes makes 1/8 A, but that doesn't mean that no-one else does. Gah4 (talk) 06:24, 28 August 2019 (UTC)Reply