History of Plugged Motors (Edit)
 

Many of us, including me, thought Estes started making plugged motors for the Astroblaster and Stratoblaster, and the land race cars.

I just noticed on the motor page of the 1964 catalog that they produced a plugged motor back then too. It was for use on test stands.

Discontinued after 1971.

It was listed as a B.84-0(P)
Later on it was relabeled B4-0(P), a plugged version of the current B4-2,4.

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but that's one of the few cool things about getting old. I get to discover new things every day, even though I knew all about it a few years ago!

I sure was hoping someone would say that they had one of them in their collection. It might be the most obscure and scarce B4 motor on the planet!

I have one in my collection. :D
Don't ask for a pic, it's buried in my mess of a basement. :o

The B4-0(P) is the designation I remember. But I never really understood its purpose, in terms of market. How many folks out there were testing motors on a stand, other than NAR?

I have a good stash of the later A10-PT's that were made for the race cars.


As for getting old, it's getting scary.



Doug


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I bet more than a few were used in science fair projects or maybe even a science class. Back in those days we could have done it. Today we'd be arrested as terrorists and get sued by parents for endangering their precious little babies (who are sucking away on their jump drive looking Juuls right in front of them).

:D

Nowadays, the schools here don't allow chem lab - too much potential danger, as I understand it. I would never have gotten thru college Chem Lab 1 if I hadn't done the same qualitative analysis scheme in high school.

I think our society has drank too much cool-aid resulting in a bad case of pragmatism.

Doug


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When I grew up, we had 8th grade chem lab as well as in High School.
We also had a model rocketry segment in 8th grade where everyone got to choose a kit from the Estes catalog to build IN CLASS then launch the next week.
Our science teacher allowed us to take chemicals HOME for home chemistry sets. I got lots of goodies like red phosphorus, potassium chlorate, and concentrated nitric acid...imagine that now.
We made pure oxygen by reducing mercuric oxide in a test tube heated with Fisher burners.
We rolled the balls of Mercury around on the lab tops...AND SURVIVED.
School was far less a MAMBY PAMBY place then and was hands-on....you EARNED your grades too, and some were allowed to FAIL if that is what they deserved...the world needs ditch-diggers too. Back then more was invested in the TRULY special students; those MORE likely to make a positive contribution to society, not LESS likely.

Having high school chemistry class with no lab is next to worthless.

I remember in high school you could go to the local hobby shop or toy store and purchase chemicals and appliances. Beakers, flasks, anything you could want.

Today's chemistry sets have big warning labels about mixing soap and water to make bubbles!

Shhhh...Don't tell anybody. I still have some sodium metal stored in kerosene. :D

I used to purchase chemistry set supplies at my two local hobby shops when I was a kid.
The glassware I had would probably put someone on a DEA watch list now.
Made Chloroform one time....the fumes got into our home HVAC system....my parents took a fairly "dim view" to that...