Hello from Austria

This forum is for new members to introduce themselves and tell us how they got started in water rocketry.
insigma
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Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:33 pm

Hello from Austria

Post by insigma »

I got into the whole water rocket thing last week in Germany and am currently working on the basic stuff. I have built 2 rockets, each built of 2 2 liter bottles, joined at their bottoms with tiger tape. They are not joined together and the parachute is folded ontop of the upper bottle, capped by the upper third of another bottle. Very basic, I know, but I'll get there.

At the moment I struggle with getting Robinson couplings here in Europe. So far nobody seems to understand what I am looking for.... The other thing I am keen on solving next is a simpler soulution to the parachute than the one described at aircommandrockets.com

My launcher is pathetic and desperately needs redesign, although it works nicely. For pressure I use a bicycle pump.
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Brian
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Re: Hello from Austria

Post by Brian »

:W
Just a few questions.
How are you planning on making your Robinson Couplings, can you explain the recovery system you found at Aircommand and what's wrong with your launcher?
Ascender Water Rockets
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2NHXS-VFxEux70DCINR0w
insigma
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Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:33 pm

Re: Hello from Austria

Post by insigma »

Hi Brian,

for the couplings I am trying to find a person with the knowledge and the equipment to produce the couplings as very well described in this video:
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/15612753

The deployment system I found on aircommand.com works with a servo and a latch and then I guess you have the choice of radio controlled release or a timer. Personally I believe that this is great once I would be able to master building rockets that will carry that load plus I am currently lacking the neccessary knowledge to succeed.

My launcher is a pathetic material-mix totally unsutable for water rockets since 99% are made of wood which is soaked after 5 lanches ;-) I took what I had in my shed which is not the best way to approach this project :oops:
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Brian
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Re: Hello from Austria

Post by Brian »

There are simpler Robinson Couplings out there, people have used screws from lights which already come with holes and I've made a coupling by clamping a bottle end and lid with PVC pipe.
Tommy Timer Recovery Systems are simple and reliable.
Maybe make your launcher out of PVC
Ascender Water Rockets
http://ascenderwaterrockets.weebly.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2NHXS-VFxEux70DCINR0w
insigma
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Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:33 pm

Re: Hello from Austria

Post by insigma »

Brian wrote:There are simpler Robinson Couplings out there, people have used screws from lights which already come with holes and I've made a coupling by clamping a bottle end and lid with PVC pipe.
Tommy Timer Recovery Systems are simple and reliable.
Maybe make your launcher out of PVC

Hi Brian,

thanks for your input! What do you mean exactly by "screws from lights"? And would you have a close-up image of your PVC pipe coupling-soulution? This would be highly appreciated.

On the other hand I found out that reducing the nozzle size is not as difficult as some suggest (them redesigning the WHOLE Gardene-idea) - I simply cut out my own "O-ring" from a bicycle tube and made the ring very thick, meaning the material between outer and inner radius is about 5 times as much as in a regular "o-ring" - resulting in a smaller diameter and reducing the flow-through, thus maximising the outburst-time. Placed the ring inbetween the bottle and the Gardena male nozzle.



Have you got any experience on the whole dishwasher-thing? Adding some to the water to produce foam and thus maximising outburst time.

Thanks again, it makes a whole lotta sense to share experiences instead of everybody going through all of the stages themselves over and over again... BO:
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Brian
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Re: Hello from Austria

Post by Brian »

I meant lamp rod screws, a discussion here http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1411
I haven't experimented with foaming as I use 22mm nozzles which they have little effect on. I have only gotten into restricted nozzles recently, I might try it now.
Ascender Water Rockets
http://ascenderwaterrockets.weebly.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2NHXS-VFxEux70DCINR0w
insigma
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Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:33 pm

Re: Hello from Austria

Post by insigma »

Hi Brian,

thanks for the link on light screws. The item described was available at my local hardwarestore and I managed to make the physical connection including o-rings but still get big leakage at 2 bar already. So I'll work on getting that fixed.

What was the reason you went for 22 mm nozzles? Are there any advantages over the smaller sizes? Thx!
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Brian
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Re: Hello from Austria

Post by Brian »

22 mm nozzles are more powerful and allow me to carry more weight. More weight up front can help stabilize.
All nozzles have there pros and cons.
Ascender Water Rockets
http://ascenderwaterrockets.weebly.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2NHXS-VFxEux70DCINR0w
insigma
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Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:33 pm

Re: Hello from Austria

Post by insigma »

Hi Brian,

I finally managed to do some thinking :lol: What do I want from my launcher? I wanted lightweight, low cost and stability. So I came up with my current design (see enclosed shot) and am quit happy with it.

Next step was to mount the lamp screws which was not as difficult as I thought it would be (managing to get through the body of the bottle) and to apply a ring fin. Unfortunately my basement leakeage-test was successfull but out in the field it wasn't and I didn't bring any tools to fix stuff on the spot.

So the excitement is still on - will it be tight the next time and how high can the new model go? I ordered some chutes from Amazon and brought in a buddy with a great lightweight camera (100 g) - so I guess I will have to do some thinking again about the deployment system BO:
Attachments
my new launcher
my new launcher
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