You may
remember the hot rodder down the street or two blocks over who seemed to know
so much about car engines. Who seemed to have a fan club of urchins like
yourself who stood by in wide eyed amazement at the sound of Glass packs
shaking the ground. He did seem to put a lot of engines into that old Mercury
didn't he?
Boys,
she was running real strong just before those pistons turned up in the oil pan.
Best
power mixture.
I did
not understand the power of an explosion until the day we were setting off our
Carbide rockets in front of Billy Oakley's house on Waverly street. A Carbide rocket is a big
juice can
with
about 2” of water in it. Inverted into the first can is a second can that is
just a bit taller than the first so that about 1/2” inch of the can sticks up
out of the first can. This second can needs a touch hole
just
even with its rolled lip, so the touch hole is available above the edge of the
bottom can. The touch hole is made with just the right sized nail and a hammer.
All this very scientific stuff for 10 year old's.
You
drop a few crystals of carbide (for carbide miners lamps) into the bottom can
with the water.The carbide water combination produces acetylene gas. You place
the Rocket can into the launch can.You wait just the right length of time, and
this is the key to success, it is a time vice gas production rate problem. Or
too rich or too lean problem.
Looking
for best power.
Too
long before you light the mixture at the touch hole with a safety match, and
you get a miners lamp.Just a plume of acetylene burning. The gas has displaced
too much of the available oxygenand only burns outside of the can where there
is adequate oxygen available. Too Rich.
Or.
Not
long enough, and there is too little gas to sustain a burn and the touch hole
pops and blows out the match, or you get the inner (rocket) can to hop out with
just a fluffy sounding whump. Too Lean.
But if
you become an advanced Merlin at NASA style rocketry, and wait just the correct
length of time, then the mixture is just right, the rocket (inner can)
leaves with an impressive (to 10 year old's) Kaboom and a cloud of water
spray. Ideal best power mixture.
There
may be competition among your followers to catch the rocket can when it returns
from its mission, but a savvy Merlin just observes lest the rocket can land on
a parked car or in somebody’s flower bed. One must be ready to recover the
launch can and retreat on ones bicycle in a direction opposite the actual
direction to ones home. No need to complicate the situation with lengthy
conversations between the aggrieved home owners and your parents.
I am
forever grateful to Billy Oakley's dad, Frank Oakley who apparently was some
kind of genius, and for showing us how to do this kind of stuff.
Why yes
I was an Ordnance man in the Navy. How did you know?
Drawings
are available.
Lynn E.
Hanover