The main issue with Rimfire plugs is that the side electrode is low mass
and low thermal conductivity. It takes careful (proprietary) design of
the igniter to prevent burning it off altogether. But after we figured
that out we can do thousands of runs with no erosion. Also, keeping the
igniter run duration as short as possible helps a lot.
I don't have documentation in front of me, but I'm pretty sure we use
the VR2 model.
Doug Jones, Chief Test Engineer
XCOR Aerospace
1325 Sabovich
Mojave CA 93501
(661) 824-4714 x117
cell 661 313-0584
On 4/27/2016 6:12 PM, Robert Watzlavick wrote:
I discovered today that the NGK ME-8 spark plug is no longer made. I've been using the 1/4-28 plugs in my Augmented Spark Igniters so I'm looking for a replacement in the same size. In addition to the cheap import knockoffs, the Rimfire VR2 looks to be a near exact match:
http://sparkplugs.morrisonandmarvin.com/14-32.php
Has anybody used the Rimfire plugs in a rocket application? The only thing I'd be concerned with is the prolonged heat and temperature causing a leak around the insulator. I suppose I could do a little igniter test program to qualify them myself. On this page, they claim XCOR, NASA and other aerospace companies use them:
http://sparkplugs.morrisonandmarvin.com/main2.php
-Bob
