Steel wool for silencer packing?

[Studboy]

I've heard now and again of people using steel wool as silencer packing instead of fiberglass.
Is this a good idea or a bad idea? It seems like it wouldn't clog as fast (on a 2-Stroke) but it also seems like it wouldn't absorb the sound as well, but who knows.

I don't want to try it first because its a pain to repack my silencer again if it never works. The Doma silencers are I swear press fit, the only way I can pull it apart is if I heat up the outer aluminum cannister and then pound it for 10 minutes. :ohmy:

 

[RoostRider]

hmmm, I've heard of people stuffing steel wool into the end of the pipe to get past the db meter at the OHV parks, but not as a principle packing.

It seems like it would degrade pretty quickly, but maybe not once it was soaked in oil from a poorly jetted bike. :)

Anyone ever tried this?

 

[reelrazor]

Steel wool will keep heating up until it gets red hot and will get tossed out the exhaust as hot particles. When we were poor kids, my friends and I used to stuff our car exhausts with steel wool in order to get our 'loud exhaust' tickets cleared(really quiet if you pack the crap out of the rusting-off tailpipe and hurry up and get a cop to sign off the ticket). It only lasts a little while.

I would also worry about the return wave tossing chunks of hot metal back in the combustion chamber.

Besides, isn't steel wool about twice as expensive as fibregalss?

 

[marcusgunby]

I did it when i was young-it worked for a while and sounded different, the new 4 strokes have this packing as well as normal packing so it can be used but maybe not on its own.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Steel wool will get oil/fuel soaked and can eventually ignite. If you are on a budget, plain old fiberglass insulation makes more sense.

 

[Rcannon]

Junkie, you make a great point about igniting. That would really suck.

I am going to buy a spark arrestor to prevent that!

If I have to pack on and dont want to spend any money, I use furnace filter fiberglass. I use "used" filter fiberglass. It lasts as well as anything and sounds ok.

 

[Studboy]

I also use R-13 insulation for my silencer packing, it is as quiet as the motorcycle stuff and it seems to last as long in a 2-Stroke. I believe that a 4-Stroke would blow it out quickly.

 

[ScottS]

I would expect the steel wool would burn- the steel packing used in some muflers is not as fine.

But regular glass packing works fien withjout the risk of incineration.