Hi,
Ive been thinking on a way to avoid cooking of the propellant. And i was wondering, if it would be a good idea to disolve the mixture in some cheap and pure alcohol(or something else what would evaporate quite easily), for example methanol? There shouldnt be much of it left in the fuel after it has evaporated and even if there is, it would burn up nicely. But i dont know about how will it affect the physical properties of the propellant.
What do you think about the idea?
Greetings, Ronald
Why do you want to avoid cooking the propellant? Have you tried it before deciding it should be avoided? Assuming you are not really using sucrose but instead sorbitol or dextrose it is a pretty easy process. I "cooked" and cast propellant for 1 K motor (76mm), 2 I motors (38mm) and 3 H motors in about 2 hours last saturday morning. That included the time to cut the casting tubes and clean up as well! The beauty of the sugar motors is simplicity. If you want to get complicated there are much better alternatives to sugar motors to spend your time on!
Stuart Leslie
First, check out the solubility of KNO3 and the sugars in the solvents you are considering; they may not even dissolve in organic solvents at all. The relative solubility is also important; you may generate large crystals of one component or the other if they come out of solution at significantly different points (you can purify chemicals by this method). You are trying for intimate contact of very small particles.
This is a tricky endeavor because very small amounts of chemical or physical change, even in color, transparency, or mechanical strength of the propellant, can dramatically affect propellant and motor characteristics. The current process of KNSU/DX/SO manufacture was arrived at after years of careful testing.
This post is simply meant to urge caution and care, not to dissuade you.
Oh, well for what it is worth, I use a deep fryer that I bought new for $20, an aluminum bowl for the propellant which cost $3, and Crisco oil for a couple bucks. You don't really have to spend very much to melt/cast.
-Stuart Leslie
I routinely see items such as fryers for under $10 at thrift stores. Event better on 1/2 off Saturdays. The lid might be baroque or a leg missing, but what the hey. I picked up a KitchenAid mixer (250watt) for $8. But you don't see those very often (aka never). The $150 KitchenMill was $1.99 because the guy didn't even know what it was. If you vacuum, pressure cookers are about $10. One turned up that even had the heater built in.
Joel. phx
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