633 replies to this topic

[MDH]

Try these then:

SrNO3, 55
MgAl, 25
PVC, 20

A Ba(NO3)2 variant also looks nice.

What non-pyro chemicals do you have? You can react them with Copper Sulfate - You can make a great variety of cupric reagents, since you seem keen on making blue but can't use CuSO4 due to the acidity.

I often reduce CuSO4 by adding it to a solution, then combining it with Zinc. The zinc reacts to produce ZnSO4 and a black-brown precipitate of copper powder. You can do a lot with the copper powder as well.

Have you made nitrates yet?

[digger]

Just one quick hint. Put the potassium permanganate in the cupboard and only get it out when you need it for your ornamental fish pond, there is no place for it in pyrotechnics if you value your fingers.

[Mnemotron]

Try these then:

SrNO3, 55
MgAl, 25
PVC, 20

A Ba(NO3)2 variant also looks nice.

What non-pyro chemicals do you have? You can react them with Copper Sulfate - You can make a great variety of cupric reagents, since you seem keen on making blue but can't use CuSO4 due to the acidity.

I often reduce CuSO4 by adding it to a solution, then combining it with Zinc. The zinc reacts to produce ZnSO4 and a black-brown precipitate of copper powder. You can do a lot with the copper powder as well.

Have you made nitrates yet?

For now i have made nano3 from hno3 and sodium bicarbonate.I tried also with baco3 and hno3 but the result wasn't good

[Mnemotron]

Just one quick hint. Put the potassium permanganate in the cupboard and only get it out when you need it for your ornamental fish pond, there is no place for it in pyrotechnics if you value your fingers.

I know about his unstability.I use it only in small report with magnalium.I don't store permanganate flash,i use it immediately.Take a look on my youtube channel "Mnemotron2010" , i accept every suggestions

[Potassium chlorate]

I'm not very interested in orange, but as a new friend has it as favourite colour, I tried it anyway. I don't have any calcium salts, but I found this on Cannonfuse:

Orange star #1

Strontium nitrate.................................36
Sodium oxalate....................................8
Potassium chlorate................................5
Shellac powder....................................5
Sulfur............................................3


But I don't have any sodium oxalate either, and of course mixing potassium chlorate with sulfur is a bad idea, so I changed it to:


Strontium nitrate.................................63
Cryolite....................................14
Potassium perchlorate................................9
Shellac powder....................................9
Sulfur............................................5

It works very well as a loose powder at least and probably as a Bengal or star too. I find yellow/orange to be the most predictable in that respect.

[digger]

Lemon yellow can be a little more tricky to pull off. But well worth the effort.

[Potassium chlorate]

Well, this is orange.

It was more hygroscopic than expected. I just kept it in open air for a copule of hours after I made 10 grams and tested ½ gram, but it absorbed quite some moisture during that time. It's 9.5 grams burning for almost 40 seconds.

Edited by Pyroswede, 11 October 2010 - 03:25 PM.

[MDH]

Lemon yellow can be a little more tricky to pull off. But well worth the effort.

The trick, to me, was always just to use barium instead of sodium...

[digger]

The trick, to me, was always just to use barium instead of sodium...

Yep that is how I do it. It has to be said it is a colour that is rarely used, but nice if done well.

Edited by digger, 11 October 2010 - 10:07 PM.

[MDH]

It should be noted that barium nitrate, sulfur and sodium benzoate together do make a very nice yellow, though I didn't optimize it for speed at all. Nitrates and benzoates are not very reactive once combined, but most of the organics will behave with a drastic difference when sulfur is present. I have made some fairly fast mixtures with KNO3 and potassium bitartrate, monosidum glutamate and even simple sugar as a fuel when sulfur is present, though I never explored them fully due to the ease of charcoal which is much cheaper and practically does the same job.

[pyrotechnist]

I tried potassium tartrate with pot nitrate and got nothing but a fizzle, what formula did you use, the thing with charcoal is it can be inconsistent due to different characteristics in wood and how you cook it.

[MDH]

Read again - most of the organic compounds, when combined with nitrate, need sulfur present in order to combust properly. Once they do, the combustion can begin to happen rapidly depending on your ratios and integration. I even tried potassium sorbate recently and was quite impressed.

The use of MSG, however, I would restrict to yellow stars or flares. By itself it doesn't create a particularly hot flame, or as good of a yellow as say, Sodium Nitrate.

[digger]

Read again - most of the organic compounds, when combined with nitrate, need sulfur present in order to combust properly. Once they do, the combustion can begin to happen rapidly depending on your ratios and integration. I even tried potassium sorbate recently and was quite impressed.

The use of MSG, however, I would restrict to yellow stars or flares. By itself it doesn't create a particularly hot flame, or as good of a yellow as say, Sodium Nitrate.

Did you find the sorbate/nitrate mix hygroscopic? I have been looking for BP alternatives without large pressure exponents for a while and found the mix to attract moisture. It seams strange as it would not appear to be hygroscopic with other oxidisers. I am not sure what is going on yet. Do you have any ideas?

[pyrotechnist]

I have found that to digger, even when combined with perc and nitrate it still absorbs water, lots of it! I am currently developing a hybrid BP which is coming along well. Once I have done my final tests ill show the results though it aint out to special or exotic. Try binding the mix btw with parlon and acetone and corning into small grains.

[digger]

[quote name='pyrotechnist' timestamp='1286927190' post='69217']
I have found that to digger, even when combined with perc and nitrate it still absorbs water, lots of it! I am currently developing a hybrid BP which is coming along well. Once I have done my final tests ill show the results though it aint out to special or exotic. Try binding the mix btw with parlon and acetone and corning into small grains.
[/quote

Yep, it just seems to be the addition of the Nitrate regardless of anything else. Phenol resorcinol resin seems to be a bit of a cure.