110 replies to this topic

[CCH Concepts]

for the dragons, when you say lift comp through a nozzle, do you mean like a rocket then with a header?

what you have discribed as whirlwinds is was i thought a hummer was, whats the difference?

[CCH Concepts]

what do people think of this piping, would it be hdpe?

http://www.wickes.co...ipe/invt/421438

[knackers]

what do people think of this piping, would it be hdpe?

http://www.wickes.co...ipe/invt/421438

Look up Cross-linked polyethylene on wikipedia, thats what it is. Most of it is HDPE

Edited by phill 63, 29 May 2010 - 12:49 PM.

[rocketpro]

what do people think of this piping, would it be hdpe?

http://www.wickes.co...ipe/invt/421438

I`ve actually used this, it`s not great, a bit soft but it`s ok for sleeves, you really need to double up.

Edited by rocketpro, 29 May 2010 - 01:15 PM.

[dr thrust]

Look up Cross-linked polyethylene on wikipedia, thats what it is. Most of it is HDPE

nice to have you back with us phill! where the hell have yer been all this time lol

[knackers]

nice to have you back with us phill! where the hell have yer been all this time lol

Thanks for your warm welome back Chris , Life can get busy and complicated without any notice sometimes,
On another note, i'm impressed with this thread and have recently recieved 50 odd 8" x 3/4" tubes for a multitude of different effects but now feel inspired at trying my hand at a muti-shot cake,

What a great site this is ! good to be back

[portfire]

CCH, make sure you do plenty of testing before going for a 100 shot. Design and testing is everything! Look a few pages back and download my tutorial, it will point you in the right direction

[CCH Concepts]

its the tutorial that has inspired me, very nicely done.

my main concern will be getting the right amount of lift and consistency with my lift. i have cheated in the past and used benzolift, but if I'm going to do it i want to do it properly, plus Ive found using benzolift makes the chance of a cato much more likely.

ill start by testing easy inserts some nice stars etc and when there working well try hummers etc.

i think the main thing will be to get a single tube firing reliably and the rest will just be down to build quality.

[pyrotechnist]

Why dont you try this formula for lift:

Potassium Nitrate --------------- 40
Potassium Perchlorate ----------- 25
Potassium Sorbate --------------- 30
Sulphur ------------------------- 5
+ 1% Iron Oxide
+ 4% dextrin - if you want to make into grains.

Burns very fast with lots of gas output but not to fast to make a tube go CATO. The pot nitrate is in there to cheapen the mix up and slow it down slightly. I am still experimenting with using purely Potassium Nitrate without any perc in there but as of yet I have not got any reasonable burn rate except for a green mix style speed. The good thing about this mix is you can use less of it for the same performance as that of black powder.

Just wondering if that would help you at all .

[CCH Concepts]

Looks worth ago, thanks.

Ideally I'd want something with the same performance but without all the variables and inconsistency.

I'm guessing there will be alot that don't agree with not using bp seeing it as the holy Grail lol, but if the is a better performing lift and easier to dial in, I don't see the problem.

Edited by CCH Concepts, 01 June 2010 - 07:58 AM.

[pyrotechnist]

One reason why I choose not to use charcoal being that it can at times be inconsistent and went with a much more consistent fuel.

[CCH Concepts]

i totally agree, it my mind it makes alot of sence.

something that just needs to be well mixed rather than milled and granulated to exact mesh inheriently makes it more consistient.

what process would you use to produce it, do you still granulate?

[portfire]

One way to get your BP consistent is to mill in smaller batches then screen them or bang them in the mill for 15mins, thats how I do it. It's not the fastest I can make but you don't need stupid fast BP anyway (only if your showing off)

I wouldn't worry about a CATO in a shot-tube (only if your inserts are really tight) Start off with stars, once your happy with the star gun test then move on to fire transfer from one tube to the next, then one row to the next.

[pyrotechnist]

I just granulate the mix by pressing it through a mesh screen and leaving to dry, I have also tried parlon as the binder with Acetone which has worked pretty well as I wanted to achieve harder grains.

Oh and I forgot don't add any more Perc to the mix as it will speed it up dramatically. I have had a successful mine launch with this stuff sped up though it also blew my motor apart and made for an interesting extremely loud lift, so keep it slower!

What I like about this stuff is the fact that it seems to produce more gas than average black powder being that it can also be used for whistle and and all though I may be wrong but compared to commercial black powder I can use less of it for the same result if not a better result each time.

Edited by pyrotechnist, 02 June 2010 - 09:49 AM.

[digger]

It looks like you really started something off with your Potassium Sorbate research MDH.