4 replies to this topic

[Draco_Americanus]

I was reading in a book where the author used a small chamber connected to a vacuum pump. He used this to speed the drying time it takes for rocket motors. Has any one ever tried this for stars or other fireworks?

[sizzle]

Isn't a vacuum chamber in danger of inplosion?

[Creepin_pyro]

Search for "vacuum dessicator" - I've never heard of them being used for drying rocket motors, but they're great for drying chemicals. It isn't implausable to use one to speed up the drying of motors, but I've only ever used one to dry wet, hydroscopic chemicals, so can't really help you there.

It might not be a good idea to use this equipment for drying some types of stars, as drying them quickly can lead to problems of cracking, and driven-in moisture.

[Jerronimo]

Why would you dry rocketmotors?
They are normally pressed dry.

[Frozentech]

Why would you dry rocketmotors?
They are normally pressed dry.

One source , Amateur Rocket Motor Construction, by David Sleeter ( of Teleflite & Sugar Rocket fame ) shows how to construct a vacuum drying chamber for rockets. He uses burn rate modifiers and binders, with acetone solvent in packing his motors. The book is 500 pages plus with tons of diagrams, graphs, & charts. He must live rockets... ( there's worse activities, eh ? ) Somewhere in there I seem to recall seeing that the vacuum drying cuts dry time from 72 to 24 hours ? Most amateur rockets are rammed or pressed dry though.