15 replies to this topic

[Ignite Sound + Light]

Hi all,

Im somewhat new to pyro's having only operated afew displays...

Was wondering, could the unfired contents on say, a small roman candle, ie. a small heap of black powder be mixed into a paste to use as the covering for an e-match?

I dont have access to a ball mill or quantities of aluminium, charcoal or any of the other required chemicals so unless this is blatently dangerous, Im inclined to try this hocked up to a small electronic ignititon system.

Cheers

[sizzle]

You don't need a ball mill to make good Black Powder, I manage to make good quality stuff using the CIA method, Charcoal can be purhased from such places as thegreenman.me.uk, Potassium Nitrate and Sulphur from Garden Diredt and you don't need Aluminium Powder for e-matches, just Black Powder slurry would suffice, to make 1kg batch of Black Powder it would only cost you about ?8 and for E-matches you would barely need 100g.

[ProfHawking]

Personally i'd say its certainly possible. The problem occours when you don't know exactly what you have got in your hands from a commerical firework.
I'd be very cautious about taking apart fireworks, but i know ive done it before....

The other problem you might come accross is that BP you get might be grandulated and coated in graphite, making it more difficult to turn into a paste.

I'd be interested to hear what the gurus have to say on this.

[Ignite Sound + Light]

You don't need a ball mill to make good Black Powder, I manage to make good quality stuff using the CIA method, Charcoal can be purhased from such places as thegreenman.me.uk, Potassium Nitrate and Sulphur from Garden Diredt and you don't need Aluminium Powder for e-matches, just Black Powder slurry would suffice, to make 1kg batch of Black Powder it would only cost you about ?8 and for E-matches you would barely need 100g.

CIA method???

[sizzle]

The CIA method is where you add the Sulphur and Charcoal Powder to a small amount of hot water in a mixing container and stir well, then you add in your Potassium Nitrate and stir that in well, you then leave this to dry and when it is thoroughly dry you scrape the powder out and pass it through a sieve to get black powder. This method is less expensive than ball milling and is good enough for fountains, candles and rockets depending on the quality of your ingredients, temperature of the water and how well you mix the ingredients.

[Ignite Sound + Light]

Ok, I think at the mo ill just try this method.

Whats the best solution for turning the powder into a paste?

Isopropyl Alcohol or just water?

[sizzle]

I find water is fine, add about 3-5% Dextrin to the mix.

[Pretty green flames]

The CIA method is where you add the Sulphur and Charcoal Powder to a small amount of hot water in a mixing container and stir well, then you add in your Potassium Nitrate and stir that in well, you then leave this to dry and when it is thoroughly dry you scrape the powder out and pass it through a sieve to get black powder. This method is less expensive than ball milling and is good enough for fountains, candles and rockets depending on the quality of your ingredients, temperature of the water and how well you mix the ingredients.

I'm sorry sizzle, but this is not the CIA method. The CIA method involves disolving the potassium nitrate in a minimal ammount of boiling watet and then adding the finely powdered charcoal and sulfur. You then pour this into mixture into ice cold isopropyl alcohol to recrystalize the nitrate into very fine particles.

Ignite Sound + Light, if you are interested in the CIA method chek my website for ratios(CIA BP)

[adamw]

I'd say mixing a small amout of composition youself can be greatly safer than disassembling a firework.

[sizzle]

I'm sorry sizzle, but this is not the CIA method. The CIA method involves disolving the potassium nitrate in a minimal ammount of boiling watet and then adding the finely powdered charcoal and sulfur. You then pour this into mixture into ice cold isopropyl alcohol to recrystalize the nitrate into very fine particles.

Ignite Sound + Light, if you are interested in the CIA method chek my website for ratios(CIA BP)

oh dear, so what is the name of the method I have been using all this while? It certainly makes black powder and it certainly works.

Edited by sizzle, 13 November 2005 - 11:13 AM.

[Ignite Sound + Light]

Ok, I think at the moment for convience and not especially wanting to heat the composition in a saucepan (!), I'll try disassembling a small fountain type product then mixing into a paste to try producing some e-matches + possibly afew fuses. Might try the homemade dextrin method as well...

Apart from the obvious wearing PPE, not useing metal inpliments and working outside, are their any other safety considerations I've overlooked or is it incredibly stupid to disaseble commercially purchased fireworks??

Advice welcome,

Cheers,

James

[Von Bass]

Ok, I think at the moment for convience and not especially wanting to heat the composition in a saucepan (!), I'll try disassembling a small fountain type product then mixing into a paste to try producing some e-matches + possibly afew fuses. Might try the homemade dextrin method as well...

Apart from the obvious wearing PPE, not useing metal inpliments and working outside, are their any other safety considerations I've overlooked or is it incredibly stupid to disaseble commercially purchased fireworks??

Advice welcome,

Cheers,

James

i would attempt to work out what was in the firewrok by the descripton on the side. For example if it says 'produces whistles' you know there may be something like whistle mix which if my memory serves me corectly uses potassium perchlorate. By doing this you could have a vague sense of what might be touch sensitive or not. I dont think commercial fireworks producers would add touch sensetive compontents to their fireworks for obvious reasons, but it still pays to excersize caution in anything!

Hope any of that helps!

[broadsword]

Personally I say NEVER dismantle a commercial firework unless you are 100% certain what you are doing!
And yet again there much more satifaction in making your own!

[Andrew]

I'd say mixing a small amout of composition youself can be greatly safer than disassembling a firework.

Making it yourself is also a little less against the law, and is quite easy as well as safer.

[fishy1]

i've never disembaled a firework, once a small rocket cap fell off and a star fell out, that's all i've ever done.