79 replies to this topic

[Themolehole_9876]

Hey guys, so I have made a few batches of BP as accurately as i can and it still hardly does anything! If i put a little bit on the bench and light it.. all it does is sit there glowing for a bit then burns with a flame and smokes. It really isnt something spectacular... so basically.. my question is what could i be doing wrong?

[completebeginner]

are your chemicals fine? try to get them as fine as possible with a mortar and pestle or make or buy a ball mill and are you using briquettes? Try and find some lumpwood charcoal if you are or make your own.

[lew]

Hi there.

There are many variables to consider when making black powder.

Assuming you have the correct components in the correct proportions (by weight of course) anwser these questions-

Are your ingredients pure, dry and uncontaminated?
What sort of charcoal have you used?
Have you moistened the powder and then dried it to assist oxidiser crystal growth around fuel particles?

And most inportantly, and most overlooked - what is your grain size like - super fine grinding, or even better, ball milling, does wonders for black powder and increases its burn speed by a extremely large factor.

Good luck

[Themolehole_9876]

My ingredients are pure and uncontaminated as far as i know, all bought new apart from the charcoal of course. Sulphur is 99.9% and im sure my KNO3 would be up there somewhere too. The charcoal i used was my own. Not sure on the type of wood used, it was just a log from my backyard from a recent chopped down tree lol. Yes a added a little bit of water for the oxidiser. My grain size.... not too sure about that one, i still dont fully understand the whole mesh grade system. Its fairly fine.

[completebeginner]

how did you prepare your charcoal?

[Themolehole_9876]

well the first batch i made i was lazy and took a log outta the fireplace which had been burnt and appeared to have charcoal on it. lol! how important is the charcoal in BP? What is its purpose?

[completebeginner]

making charcoal is more complex than that yours probably has a very high ash content go to http://www.creagan.n...s/charcoal.html for more info

[Themolehole_9876]

Ah great thanks for the site, i was actually just looking for one! Ill give it a shot and report back with my results

[fishy1]

well the first batch i made i was lazy and took a log outta the fireplace which had been burnt and appeared to have charcoal on it. lol! how important is the charcoal in BP? What is its purpose?

charcoal is by far the most important thing, my balsa wood charcoal can burn 4-5times faster than my normal BP.

[Themolehole_9876]

Hey, i was workin on my BP most of last night and its burning much faster than before. im also still using my original charcoal... i might try fishys idea and use balsa cause its easy to get for me.. got some in the shed

[seymour]

Your main problem is grinding, even with super dooper young willow charcoal, stripped of all bark and knots, soaked in water for a week to reduce mineral content and then cooked to perfection, a rough mix of coarse chems will smolder and hiss, giving off copious amounts of dross and ash. For very small quantities you can grind away at the mortar and pestle for a few hours, but if you are serious at making high quality BP in decent quantities you need a Ball Mill, though screening cofee ground chems together makes a sufficiently fine comp for nice fountains.

[littlejohny]

This is kinda of topic but can you please tell me where you got your Kno3 in Aus, because i have been searching for months and cannot find even impure Kno3 in Aus NSW.

I have made some NaN03 from Ammonium Nitrate and Sodium Hydroxide, though its not really good because its fairly hydroscopic.

Edited by littlejohny, 05 January 2006 - 03:31 AM.

[Themolehole_9876]

I actually purchased mine off ebay, only downside is $20/kg. Next time the guy puts it out again i will let you know

[alany]

You can get Potassium Hydroxide easily enough, or Carbonates of Barium and Strontium. So if you have access to modest quantities of AN then you can make all the Nitrates you want at reasonable purity.

KOH is probably most easily sourced from soap making craft places, but photographic chemical suppliers like Vanbar are cheaper.

Honestly though, just buy the damn KNO3, it is *far* easier to get than AN.

Edited by alany, 05 January 2006 - 06:51 AM.

[Themolehole_9876]

Hey guys, just a quick question, when making the charcoal.. is it possible to turn it to ash?