Rubber

[Taran]

Doesn't Armor All freeze in the freezer? Or is it just my freezer?

[andrewwski]

It may, I'm not sure what it's freezing point is. Not sure why you'd want to freeze it though.

[jcollier]

Earlier in this thread, people talked about storing rubber in the freezer. I'm pretty sure they were talking about a specific batch of rubber that they wanted to use long term. In that case, get some out and then tie motors with it. I don't think there is a solid reason to freeze lubed motors after they have been lubed and wound. I could be wrong though.

[smartkid222]

I never really thought of that. I guess i meant both, lubed rubbers that i wasn't gonna use for a while (month+) and uncut rubber that i've accumulated. idk..

[smartkid222]

Tan super sport is considered the "best" rubber? Why is this so? what makes it superior to other types of rubber?

For the past few months i have been using Sig sport rubber because it was availabe at my local hobby shop. Today i got an order of the same size of TSS. I tried it out with the same number of winds and my [helicopter] didn't go nearly as high. It seemed it was more elastic and had less torque under the same number of winds. It basically acted like it was a thinner size rubber but it wasn't. I needed a lot more winds of TSS than the sig rubber to get to the same height. Now, if TSS breaks at a higher number of winds than it's ok, i could just put more winds on it. But if it doesn't wouldn't the Sig rubber be better.

[jander14indoor]

Tan Super Sport is considered the best because it has the highest energy storage of any rubber currently available in strip form. But, it is based on natural rubber and varies from batch to batch so you have to know which batch you have.

Good batches tend to have the characteristics you saw, lower torque for the same turns. But, they take a lot more turns, storing more energy overall. So, yes, you may have to adjust rubber size.

Side note, I'm pretty sure Sig rubber IS Tan of some unknown vintage and grade. Another reason Tan Supper Sport is considered tops, boxes are labeled by batch.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[Taran]

How come armor all is so good but it's not a lube?

[jander14indoor]

But Armor-All is a lube. It has the same basic constituents as silicone oil which is what makes it a good lube. On top of that it has a lot of water, fragrance, etc that evaporates on the motor leaving the lube behind.

The nice thing about Armor-All is that it's fairly easy to find. Almost every Auto parts store, or the auto parts section of department stores, has it on the shelf. And its relatively cheap. Pure silicone oil is a little harder to find.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[Littleboy]

On a 15:1 winder how many winds on average can put into a 0.093, 0.088, and 0.083 rubber bands?
What is the point of unwinding?

[jander14indoor]

On a 15:1 winder how many winds on average can put into a 0.093, 0.088, and 0.083 rubber bands?
What is the point of unwinding?

As usual, it depends. What batch/brand of rubber do you have? How's it been stored? Any cuts? Lube? Winding technique? Torque meter in use?

That said, in the range of 100+ cranks on the winder handle. More for the thinner rubber, less for the thicker.

Unwinding lets you wind the rubber harder and get the winds (fuel) into the rubber without launching on such a high torque that you bang into the ceiling in low sites. Best way to see this is to wind a motor with a torque meter. Take data on way up till breaking. Then take a second identical motor up to just short of breaking, again collecting data, and then unwind taking data. Plot all this. Winds independant variable (x-axix) to torque is dependant variable (y-axis). You'll find you follow a higher torque curve on winding, and lower torque on unwind (its called hysterysis). By winding past the target launch torque and unwind back to it, you can get MANY more turns in the motor without banging the ceiling.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI