View Full Version : Quick Question about wadding
Is there a good alternative to the wadding instead of purchasing it from a hobby store at a jacked up price? It looks like basic tissue paper. would this work the same? like the stuff for wrapping presents, white tissue paper. i just dont want to start my rocket on fire. Thanks in advance!
ghrocketman
01-15-2006, 02:21 PM
Tissue paper won't safely work as it burns (and will come down on fire and start other fires) !
What you want is commonly called "dog-barf" which is a funny name given to blown-cellulose insulation. You can get a huge bag at Home Depot/Lowes for very little $$, and it is treated with flame-retardant. (one would not want FLAMMABLE home insulation now would one?). You would use about a 2 1/2 body diameter high stack in the tube on top of the engine below the parachute/streamer.
Wadding type items that are NO good (due to fire hazard) :( :
Kleenex
Toilet Paper
Paper towel
Tissue paper
Newspaper
Cotton Balls
Wadding/Recovery type items that are acceptable ;) :
Dog Barf (Cellulose Insulation)
Model Rocket Wadding
Permanent Nomex/Kevlar Heat Shields tied to the Shock Cord
Ejection Baffles
Piston Ejection (Mid/High Power Rockets only)
just the answer i needed, thank you! :)
CPMcGraw
01-15-2006, 02:30 PM
Is there a good alternative to the wadding instead of purchasing it from a hobby store at a jacked up price? (snip...)
Dog Barf (Cellulose Insulation)
One thing to add about this product -- at DIY centers, like Lowes or Home Depot, you can get a huge bundle of this stuff (like a 12" x 18" x 24" plastic-wrapped block, tightly-packed) for about 3X the price of just one package of regular wadding sheets, or roughly about $6-$7. It will take you several years to use up that much, even if you give some away to friends.
Doug Sams
01-15-2006, 04:16 PM
Wadding/Recovery type items that are acceptable ;) :
o Dog Barf (Cellulose Insulation)
o Model Rocket Wadding
o Permanent Nomex/Kevlar Heat Shields tied to the Shock Cord
o Ejection Baffles
o Piston Ejection (Mid/High Power Rockets only)
To these I will add:
o Party paper - ie, streamer and crepe paper (Double check the labels, but most of these are treated to be flame retardant.)
o Tissue paper used on parade floats (I understand that's what Quest wadding is.)
Doug
A Fish Named Wallyum
01-15-2006, 04:43 PM
Wadding type items that are NO good (due to fire hazard) :( :
Kleenex - been there
Toilet Paper - done that
Paper towel - t-shirt has burn holes in it
Tissue paper - yeah
Newspaper - no
Cotton Balls - yeah, but they look cool floating back to earth smoking
You want proof? It's right here on the lower left. Guess I've been rehabilitated.
Ltvscout
01-15-2006, 04:54 PM
You want proof? It's right here on the lower left. Guess I've been rehabilitated.
Wow! You really grew in a couple of years, Bill!
A Fish Named Wallyum
01-15-2006, 04:59 PM
Wow! You really grew in a couple of years, Bill!
The wonders of Wiedemann. ;)
ghrocketman
01-15-2006, 06:10 PM
I tried virtually all of the items I listed as unacceptable....
For most of them, I found out the HARD (by setting grass/field fires in my younger and much less sensible days ) way that they are unacceptable !
Green Dragon
01-15-2006, 10:18 PM
To these I will add:
o Party paper - ie, streamer and crepe paper (Double check the labels, but most of these are treated to be flame retardant.)
o Tissue paper used on parade floats (I understand that's what Quest wadding is.)
Doug
I was going to add re: the crepe ,as most of it is flamproof coated ( guys up here have been using that for years).
one that you did leave off the list was LETTUCE LEAFS.
lettuce makes for good,biodegradable wadding :-)
~ AL
ghrocketman
01-15-2006, 10:50 PM
Lettuce ?!?
I do not see how vegetables could be a reasonable component of a rocket....what's next ? Pinto beans ? :D
Actually I have heard of that one, just forgot to add it to my list.
A Fish Named Wallyum
01-16-2006, 03:59 PM
I tried virtually all of the items I listed as unacceptable....
For most of them, I found out the HARD (by setting grass/field fires in my younger and much less sensible days ) way that they are unacceptable !
We flew out of an asphalt parking lot. The only hazard we faced was not catching the rockets before they hit the ground.
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