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Aluminum tower guides -- will AP corrode them?

I am planning a launch tower with 8-foot, 3/4" tubular aluminum guides
set within a multiple halo structure. My question: will the exhaust
and flame from a minimum diameter 320n/s motor rocket (which will be
less than a half inch from guide tubes) corrode/wreck the guide tubes?
I know I could use steel but for various reasons I really prefer the AL
tubes, which are plenty stiff.
Reply to
slowslide
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The HCl produced by APCP motors will corrode aluminum over time, but one of the de facto standard towers out there, the Gold Medalist, is of largely aluminum construction, and our club has used this for a *lot* of APCP launches.
Reply to
sales
Yes, eventually composite exhaust will corrode bare aluminum. I've had to replace the rods on my original tower twice. If you're going to use it for a lot of APCP motors, go with stainless instead of aluminum.
Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!
Reply to
Bob Kaplow
WD40 will not stop the corrosion from APCP exhaust, and makes a mess of towers. Use it to clean them, and to prevent rust. Do NOT leave WD40 on a tower or rod when you are using it.
I had an aluminum ring stand clamp. I cleaned it with WD40, and used it as an HPR standoff. It now looks like it's anodized black, and won't clean off.
Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!
Reply to
Bob Kaplow
Couldn't you put a lite coat of non-hydrocarbon grease on them? I used to do something similar with my BoyScout mess kit before cooking over a campfire. I put a lite coat of dish soap on the bottom and all the burned on soot would just wash off with water.
-Aaron
Reply to
Aaron
I was thinking of using silicone spray, wiped down, as it makes the rods nice and slick. Maybe it'll help buffer the blast?
Reply to
slowslide
Lately I've started cleaning the pad & rod with a kind of 2 stroke mix in a water spray bottle? Spray on wipe off..
Petrol & lotsa oil. Works great but I don't know if I'm doing any damage with the petrol??? All steel, no Al.
Before use give it a dry wipe to remove remaining oil and prevent a fire :-)
Reply to
CJC
Geez.......Don't know what I was drinking last night! The entire center mount is Al........1/4 Stainless blast deflector
Reply to
CJC
Silicone spray tends to get yucky. I have used a molydynum-disulfide (SP?) on ny aluminum rail tower and that worked great. However, exhaust deposits still build up over the surface, and cleaning with steel wool removes everything, so you constantly have to re-apply.
At one point I started building a large (for MR, about 6') tower based on 1.5 or 2" aluminum tubes. I was going to face the inside of the rails with adhesive Teflon tape.
I don't really know how things stand up to large APCP motors. MR APCP motors never seemed to be a problem. The aluminum rails seem to hold up better than the steel hardware.
Alan
Reply to
Alan Jones

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