cremora

[nrubmx]

ok i have this guy wanting me to help him make some of these for his halloween party this saturday. what might be the best container to use?? i just dont have access to my 1.75 tubes right now. ive seen people use peanut butter containers and talked about a 32 ounce gatorade bottle with the top cut off.. would that work?

[wpman321]

I use empty coffee cans buried in the ground and then add bp, tissue paper then creamer

[Pyro Nation]

I have to try and make one of these.... How much BP and is there a difference between the different grades of it

[PyroJoeNEPA]

2FA is best--needs to be coarse black powder...just enough to line the bottom of the container. Tape the ematch in place on bottom first. Then cover with tissue paper. GENTLY add cremora & don't shake or disturb it--it has to stay fluffy or else it goes up like a flaming ball of goop! We can shoot a couple at the Nov shoot if you want to. Let me know.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

ok i have this guy wanting me to help him make some of these for his halloween party this saturday. what might be the best container to use?? i just dont have access to my 1.75 tubes right now. ive seen people use peanut butter containers and talked about a 32 ounce gatorade bottle with the top cut off.. would that work?

The bigger the mouth of the container you use the bigger the fireball--assuming you don't want to get into 5 gal buckets--you might stop in the local Pizza shop & ask if they would save/give you a couple #10 cans they get the pizza sauce in. They work very well for a small scale cremora. Be sure to stake them securely...and you night want to drill a small [clean] hole in the side at the bottom to bring the ematch/igniter wire out of so you don't have to tape it up the inside of the can.
BTW--the buckets from Home Depot & Lowes are made of HDPE & will work well when you decide to do the "melt your eyebrows off at 100 yards" size cremoras.
Let us know what you decide to use & how it works out for you. Good luck with the project!

[jknepp1954]

2FA is best--needs to be coarse black powder...just enough to line the bottom of the container. Tape the ematch in place on bottom first. Then cover with tissue paper. GENTLY add cremora & don't shake or disturb it--it has to stay fluffy or else it goes up like a flaming ball of goop! We can shoot a couple at the Nov shoot if you want to. Let me know.
HEY JOE (or anyone else) - pm or email the exact ingredients i would need to do this - i would love to learn this type of pyro maniac insanity - i love to see it - so now i want to be able to do this for the couple shows a year i do.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

PM Sent...

[Pyro Nation]

Hell yeah I want to see this... or even make it... Could I get the info as well

[displayfireworks1]

I am not an expert on these, I believe it is best to use a stainless steel dog food dish to hold the black powder inside the bucket to direct the black powder charge upward otherwise it will blow the bucket apart.

[Pyro Nation]

U talking inside the 5 gallon bucket correct?

[crackerbomb]

Hey Joe any chance I can get your info?

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Tied up in the office today. Will post all the info you need tomorrow.

[Boub]

I also like to add some stars in with the cremora for a little additional effect. These are tremendous attention getters. I also like to use 2FA BP, just enough to cover the bottom of the coffee can. 5 gallon buckets work well also. Keep them away from anything that you care about though. I always end up with little burnt, sticky bits of cremora all over everything when it comes back down.

[Pyro Nation]

adding stars to it.. now does that really work. wouldnt think there was enough of a burst from the BP for those

[PyroJoeNEPA]

OK--sorry I didn't have time to post this yesterday.
Cremora is a very simple but intense attention getter. For a small one you need a coffee can, ignitor [ematch or talon] tissue paper, 2FA Black Powder & Cremora. For small quantities of cremora look in the "dollar stores" for generic creamer.
NB--I have never used a talon but I am sure it would work fine--I would put a piece of paper fast fuse in it to get the spark you need. I have used estes rocket motor igniters in the past before I had access to ematch & they worked fine.
Drill a small hole big enough to feed the ematch wire through in the side of the can all the way at the bottom. Secure the ematch in the center with tape. DMT or duct tape will work fine. Put a small piece over the outside of the hole where the wire comes out to fully cover the side hole. Put a stake in the ground & secure with duct tape, large zip ties, etc --or--bury the can partially--or put it in a bucket filled with sand to hold it in place.
Set it where you will shoot it before putting anything but the igniter in it. Add black powder-just enough to lightly cover the bottom of the can. Too much will blow the cremora out without the proper ignition. Next, put a piece of tissue paper over the black powder. I cut mine out using the bottom of the can as a template so they fit well. Gently pour the cremora into the can--you don't want it to compress--it has to stay fluffy to work properly. How much cremora is up to you--more cremora, bigger fire ball. I would use a minimum of two inches of cremora--up to 2/3 full. Hit the igniter & watch it go!
5 gal buckets are done the same as small cans--just a lot more black powder & creamer.
In reference to the dog food bowl--I have seen this done, but prefer not to do it that way since there is a curve to the bottom of the bowl & you do not have an even flat covering of the black powder under the cremora. It tends to project up more from the middle and leaves "fallout clumps" from the outer edges of the container.
Make a couple and experiment with the procedure and amounts of cremora. You will love it and it will give a "zing" to your show.

[crackerbomb]

thanks for posting this Joe.

[nrubmx]

awesome guys thanks for all the input!! this is gona be awesome!

[Rocketshooter]

Joe, how does moisture affect the cremora? Lets say you set up several of these as part of your
show and the night descends as well a coating of dew. Should you have these covered with plastic to
keep it dry? I would think that moisture would cause the cremora to clump.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Joe, how does moisture affect the cremora? Lets say you set up several of these as part of your
show and the night descends as well a coating of dew. Should you have these covered with plastic to
keep it dry? I would think that moisture would cause the cremora to clump.
You are absolutely right. We did 3 of the 5 gal buckets for a show on July 3rd this year--put saran wrap over the tops of the buckets and secured it with tape. Just before shoot time we slit a big X in the saran wrap with a razor knife. They worked perfectly.

[displayfireworks1]

At PyroJoeNEPA

I was looking at the shredded paper from an industrial shredder the other day and was wondering would that finely shredded paper work on one of these projects?
Also to anyone making these cremora flame pots always plan on where the audience will be in the event the bucket blows apart. I saw a guy make one of these with a large steel dog food dish at the bottom to direct the black powder lift upward to prevent the bucket from blowing apart. It worked great.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Dave--I don't see how the paper would work--basically you need dust--we will be shooting several at a club shoot in a couple weeks and will try to get video--will only be using the #10 cans but I plan to fill them up to different heights to show the difference of the fireballs. Flour would even work--but it has a tendency to clump faster than the creamer mix or gravy mix powders.
I just got 12 of the #10 cans from my local pizza shop yesterday---so we are good to go!!!
My wife said "what are you going to do with these?" when I asked her to wash them out for me--when I told her, her reply was "I should have known it was something to do with fireworks!"...A true Pyro Wife!!!
I 100% agree on the safe distance issue when shooting these--as well as any other "ground device".

[mnb071605]

We did a couple of these at a big show for a church in late June of this year. We uses a 50/50 mix of creamer and very fine saw dust. It worked great, and just for fun we wired the e-match in series with a ground concussion pot. The crowd reaction was AWESOME!!!

[displayfireworks1]

Joe

That is funny, when an Italian guy needs empty cans he goes to a pizza shop. If you can get some video of the project that would be great.
Your wife’s reaction is funny, Funny thing when you get into fireworks you start to look at discarded items differently. I always hesitate a second before I throw away a toilet paper roll. LOL

[PyroJoeNEPA]

More Info & a Safety Suggestion:
One of my pyro buddies pointed out a possible safety issue with putting the ematch directly in the bottom of the container and then adding the black powder directly on top of it. He pointed me to an excellent article Harry Gilliam of Skylighter has on his site about Cremoras. His suggestion in the article is to insert a piece of Quick Match in the side of the can & then ematch it from the outside of the can. Personally, I'm not sure I would want a larger hole in the side of the can, but it is a very good point & I am passing it on.
I would suggest everyone interested in making these should read the article.
There is also a great chart of black powder quantity vs can diameter. Remember----less is better---until you have made a couple & know how they will perform.
The link to the Skylighter article is here:
http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to-make/cremora-fireballs.asp

Thanks to my buddy for pointing this out. (Safety is always first!) & thanks again to Harry & the folks at Skylighter for all they do to promote the Pyro Hobby!

Dave, my wife is a real trooper!! Now when I tell her I am going to a club shoot or a demo she asks if she should make a batch of the chocolate cream cheese cupcakes to take along!! LOL