darkfang77

they both work for the same firework company that i'm helping out with so got chatting with them It was pretty short, how do you make them last longer? I think my composition was pretty innaccurate cause i used kitchen scales to weigh it out. They didn't seem to move at all then jumped 20grams lol. Need to get myself an accurate set of scales me thinks

=O
I cannot describe how envious i am now lol!
To extend the life of a fountain, imo, more increments or harder ramming will help to decrease the space (?) between the particles so decreasing burn rate. A nozzle maybe? Or a more refined formula? No offence.
I still use kitchen scales, although very good electronic ones.

Results of the Magnesium Flare.
I thought it would be nice to post the results of the flare to show the effectiveness of the formula: Mg 60% KNO3 30% and 10% Charcoal + 5-10% Sulphur.

I used approximately 20g of the composition inside a 1" diametre fountain tube (unchoked), the length of the composition inside the tube is approximately 3". I set light to a small sample to see the effects. I have no decent camera which would give the effect justice so I am describing it.

The sample (approx 0.7g) was difficult to ignite at first but after some preserverance with a lighter, fuse, BP primer and paper, I managed to light it. The effects was arguably similar to flash powder, althought the burn rate was slower, the distinctive flash of the sample had a similar effect to flash powder (70% KClO4, 30% Al), there was a strong white residue and the sample spat white MgO.

The 20g flare was unchoked, had a bottom plug of kitty litter and was made of card rolled two-three times.
The flare would not light using Visco Fuse, and I resorted to use a primer of (50% KNO3, 25% sulphur and 25% sugar), the sugar burning partially blocked the opening of the flare, and I think that this enhanced the effects of the flare.

Why? After the primer burned, the 20g of flare composition started off, the light was overwhelming, even from a good 25ft away.
It looked like a white light fountain, with white sparks reaching up to 4ft. The flare lasted approx 10-15 secs.
This was done in the afternoon, and I think that the flare would have been more stronger at night.
The smoke from the flare was intense at first, but died down around about 6 secs in, to smaller plumes of smoke.
The sound of the flare was amazing, there was a strong distinctive roaring sound which reminded me of a furnace or a extremely large fire, possibly caused by the blocked opening, at one point the roar was so loud I was almost afraid it would explode, fortunately it did not, and it was made of paper anyway, so there would be no hazard.
This was a great result, and this composition I am jotting down into my memory.

I think this flare is definitely unholdable for any purposes due to the large amounts of white hot magnesium raining down from the flare. And suits as more of a fountain.

If anyone is reading this, does anyone care to answer some of these questions:

• Would a larger amount of comp enhance the height and duration of the sparks and flare? And would this possible increase the hazard of it rupturing midway?
  
• Is this composition ideal? Any way I could increase ignitablity without using a primer? More sulphur? Or more charcoal?
• What would happen if I used a more finer magnesium, the mesh I had was approz 30-40 mesh, what would be the result of using meshs such as 100-200?

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