42 replies to this topic

[Darkstar]

So how about adding some ferotitanium to the mix? Say 4-5%? That could make an interesting effect, that is as long as it won't damage the effect. I can only image that it would speed the mix up.

I've made sparkly go-getters by substituting some coarse (50 mesh) magnesium for the fine. Very nice effect!
This was in a modified Mg/KP formula with KnO3 and copper oxide. The colour was a lilac/pink. I don't think FeTi would speed up the mix - anything additional that isn't part of the "fuel" element would have to be in small percentages to avoid slowing the burn rate.

"Damp Rid", for our non US subscribers, is anhydrous calcium chloride. This is often contained in those moisture removing jobbies for use in the home - the ones that drip liquid into a bottom compartment as they work (unlike the silica gell versions). Acetone *will* absorb moisture from the air - and any moisture in go-getter formulas can cause problems.

Paul

[koobee]

Hm, I will have to give that a try. I must obtain saran resin. I just placed an order with skylighter, but I will have to save my moneys for more chems next time. I will run some tests with the magnesium and the FeTi and post my results in this thread later.

[Darkstar]

Hm, I will have to give that a try. I must obtain saran resin. I just placed an order with skylighter, but I will have to save my moneys for more chems next time. I will run some tests with the magnesium and the FeTi and post my results in this thread later.

You won't need saran if you stick to the Mg/KP formulas. Unless you have a stockpile of AP, or are desperate for blue go-getters, I'd start with the original formulas. I don't have them to hand at the moment, but they are the ones created by Dave Johnson and Mark Raitzer (adapted from Troy Fish's Pyrotechnica article).

Paul

[koobee]

Well if you come by them please post them here cuz I cannot find any formulas except the ones listed earlier in this thread.

[Rip Rap]

I opened a commercial rocket with go getter payload and I found that it was filled with short pieces of what looked like fuse. Now I believe this type of flying fuse is called flying fish fuse.

I am going to produce a few "go-getter" headers using flying fish. I was just wanting to draw on the experience of anyone on the forum who has also used this method. If so, what burst did you use & do you need to prime the fuse in any way?

Thanks for any info.

[koobee]

I have read that when using fuse in shells. Take some meal bp and add about 5% dextrin to it and then add water until it gets a slurry consistancy. Prime one end of the fuse with this and coat the rest of the fuse in Nitrocellulose laquer (not sure if I spelled that right, sorry). This will make sure that only one end of the fuse takes fire. As for burst, I would think you would want to break the shell with little burst and don't spike the shell to hard. The shell needs to have a sort of soft pop or the effect diminishes. Try some meal coated rice hulls.

[Rip Rap]

I have read that when using fuse in shells. Take some meal bp and add about 5% dextrin to it and then add water until it gets a slurry consistancy. Prime one end of the fuse with this and coat the rest of the fuse in Nitrocellulose laquer (not sure if I spelled that right, sorry). This will make sure that only one end of the fuse takes fire. As for burst, I would think you would want to break the shell with little burst and don't spike the shell to hard. The shell needs to have a sort of soft pop or the effect diminishes. Try some meal coated rice hulls.

The fuse is already NC lacquer coated, so I will BP prime one end & dip the other end in some PVA (to stop both ends taking fire). And just a soft burst. Thanks for that koobee.

[Kevin J]

I thought it might work ( but I never tried this yet), to make a daytime shell with small mabye 3/4 cmOD 3cm long tubes filled with sugar/potassium nitrate with a core in the middle.

[koobee]

Hmm that would be pretty cool, that might work but if you could find a colored smoke that burned fast enough... that would actually give me a reason to get up before dark! lol! You would have to black match the little smokes well cuz from my experience the sugar nitrate doesn't always like to catch fire.

[Kevin J]

I have launched pieces of it out of paper tubes with black powder befor and I think it lit every time.

[koobee]

Well then disregard my critisism, it's all about what works for you. Let me know when you put together an actuall shell. I am curious to know how it works.

[Kevin J]

I made and lit one of the little smoke/rocket tubes and it worked great. It shot around in circles on the ground for a second or so and then launched up in the air. it seemed to have fairly good overall thrust and I think that it would have enough thrust to make it fly around in the sky if ejected from a shell.

[koobee]

Cool, give it a try then. My early experiences with kno3 and sucros ended up in, well, shall we say, a well learned lesson of cooking explosive material. I have since changed my ways, but have not tried to produce a successful candy propellant. If you could color the smoke you might be a ble to make some blue smoking day rockets. Hmm, I wonder.

[The Swedish Scientist]

mix the acetone with the damp rid, then filter it.

OK, I didn't know whether the damp-rid residues would make the composition unstable, I don't like to experiment with possibly explosive chemicals.
Thanks

[koobee]

I asume that the peoples in Home Depot would be familiar with the term damp rid... Is this so?