Teeth vs. Weight

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues...

A couple of weeks ago, our club discussed that the launch equipment needed to be checked over, and the ignitor clips cleaned.



This should be a regular task of the equipment manager, but as that position is currently open, I spoke up to do it... once.

I volunteered to take a couple of the motorcycle/launch batteries from the storage shed and charge them on my 12 volt car battery charger.   I also looked at the ignitor clips and decided a few needed servicing.  I also have a wire wheel and a cordless drill, so I whisked a few of them clean of corrosion and inspected the lot.  One clip had fallen off the wire end. Another clip refused to move, either rusted or having lost its spring action.  Both needed to be replaced.


Which brought me to the question of how to replace them.  Should it be a larger allegator clip, or just a small min-test clip with no teeth?  I always thought the small mini-clips were inferior, and didn't count on them to hold well at the launch pad, but I've always had success with them, so go figure.


I posed the question on-line to a few friends and got some interesting responses:  One said they always stuck with smaller mini-test clips due to their light weight and less drag on a rocket during lift-off.  This had not occurred to me.  I had supposed that the teeth would make a more positive bite on the ignitor wire and so, do better. 

I had quite a time trying to find a supplier for a pack of mini-test clips at first, but eventually found one that would ship a package of ten along with some other unrelated electrical parts that I needed for another hobby.


But I am curious:  Do you have a preferred allegator or mini-test clip that you use on your ignitor lead?  If so, why?  And how often do you replaced them?

This has been the Thrifty Rocketeer wondering if toothless is really better and cheaper?

Comments

  1. grounded-bMarch 13, 2022 at 12:19 AM

    We use the Mueller BU-34M solid copper micro clips, with stainless steel spring. THey don't rust from exhaust

    ReplyDelete

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