From TRF, A post and question from member PhlAsh,
The response from
JumpJet (John Boren of Estes Industries)
"Phil, the new igniters from Estes are called Starters. Their tips contain NO pyrogen so you must make sure the tip makes complete contact with the propellant grain. The good news is you can now order starters without paying a high hazemat fee. The bad news is you need to spend a little more time inserting the igniter to get proper ignition."
John Boren
The picture directly above was one I took of the new igniter the first time I'd seen one at a club launch. There are now some new engines packages with Starters at Hobby Lobby. I haven't used the new clear tip Starters yet.
Most interesting is Mr. Boren's comment: "Their tips contain NO pyrogen".
Not a press release, but this is the first time Estes has said anything about "no pyrogen".
The webpage description says "Works just like out 2301 igniters." Or, maybe not.
I guess the clear coating is more like a protective dip for the thin bridge wire at the tip of the igniter.
Personally, I wouldn't try a cluster with these "Starters". I have plenty of Quest Q2G2 igniters for that.
Did anybody else notice Estes has no cluster kits in their product line-up?
I might be buying some pyrogen dip and making my own igniters with the cheap nichrome wire I recently bought.
Right now it's hard to find Quest Q2G2 igniters for sale anywhere!
Even on the Quest website it says: This item is currently Out of Stock and will be available soon!
The Apogee website says the Q2G2 igniters won't be available until September, 2014.
Lets hope the Quest igniters keep the pyrogen tip!
The response fromJumpJet (John Boren of Estes Industries)
"Phil, the new igniters from Estes are called Starters. Their tips contain NO pyrogen so you must make sure the tip makes complete contact with the propellant grain. The good news is you can now order starters without paying a high hazemat fee. The bad news is you need to spend a little more time inserting the igniter to get proper ignition."
John Boren
The picture directly above was one I took of the new igniter the first time I'd seen one at a club launch. There are now some new engines packages with Starters at Hobby Lobby. I haven't used the new clear tip Starters yet.
Most interesting is Mr. Boren's comment: "Their tips contain NO pyrogen".
Not a press release, but this is the first time Estes has said anything about "no pyrogen".
The webpage description says "Works just like out 2301 igniters." Or, maybe not.
I guess the clear coating is more like a protective dip for the thin bridge wire at the tip of the igniter.
Personally, I wouldn't try a cluster with these "Starters". I have plenty of Quest Q2G2 igniters for that.
Did anybody else notice Estes has no cluster kits in their product line-up?
I might be buying some pyrogen dip and making my own igniters with the cheap nichrome wire I recently bought.
Right now it's hard to find Quest Q2G2 igniters for sale anywhere!
Even on the Quest website it says: This item is currently Out of Stock and will be available soon!
The Apogee website says the Q2G2 igniters won't be available until September, 2014.
There were clear tip starters with the pack of F15s I bought for my son's Ascender. We've used both motors but on black tip igniters; we haven't used the clear tip starters yet.
ReplyDeleteA week ago I saw one (ONE!) bag of two Quest igniters at the LHS. Impulse buy. I have no particular use in mind for them. Now that I have them I may have to build a 2-motor cluster.
Hi Doctroid,
ReplyDeleteThat first clear tip Estes igniter I saw was also from a pack of F15 engines last December. These new clear igniter dips might work about as well as bare nichrome or with a dip in nail polish. That bridge wire is still thinner that I can make at home though.
A twelve volt system is fine for bare nichrome but a 6 volt takes a second to ignite. All my MMX engines are bare wire and take a second longer for the engine to ignite.
If you are lucky to run across some Q2G2s they are usually the long lead in a two pack. I would have picked them up also.
Take those Starter igniters and dip them in el cheapo nail polish and let dry. They'll fire those BP motors up no problem!
ReplyDeleteYep, I've done that before. I think the US International team does it that way. (I read that somewhere.)
ReplyDeleteI'll have to do more experimenting. There's a blog post here about nail polish dip on nichrome. It flashed some when the 6V current was applied.
We had some problems with the new igniters, but it appeared that the real issue was not the igniter, but the amount of current being supplied. When we switched from using the 9 V Estes get to a 12 V car battery, no problem at all. Igniters fired every time.
ReplyDeleteHi Scott,
DeleteI agree, more power will give faster ignition with any igniter.
My concern is how many existing older 6 volt controllers are out there and now being used with the new clear Starter igniters. I wonder how many get out their old rockets and controllers, buy new engines (with Starters) and can't get ignition. The once-in-a-while flyer shouldn't have to lug a 12 volt battery to the field.
I am currently testing Estes Starter and Quest MMX (bare wire) Igniters with Quick Dip pyrogen with good results. A nail polish coat help but still isn't as effective as a pyrogen dip.