Flash powder issues

[Alfie]

Well its not really an issue but why is my Eckart dark ali powder more effective than my Indian Black-head
im using Kno3/al/s at 5/3/2

[displayfireworks1]

Why are you using Potassium Nitrate? Do you have access to potassium perchlorate?

[Supermanpyro8]

TRUE,,, when I make my flash powder I use KClo4 and German dark head alum. 2:1 ratio. Makes for one hell of an explosion.

[displayfireworks1]

Now that I look back over Alfie post history I think he is strictly a firecracker make that is not getting the results he wants. While not always true, that is sometimes associated with a younger person experimenting. On a side note, if there are other United Kingdom members reading this. I would be curious to hear if there are restrictions on sale of pyrotechnic related chemicals in your country, in particulate some of the more potent oxidizers. My experience has been, someone using Potassium Nitrate for this application is finding it in the retail section of the local hardware store. Also, what ever happened to that old rule of not mixing Nitrates and Aluminum without boric acid. I know over the years I have seen these nitrate/aluminum mixtures become warm to the touch in a very short time period.

[RalphieJ]

"Slow Flash"

[Alfie]

Why are you using Potassium Nitrate? Do you have access to potassium perchlorate?


Now that I look back over Alfie post history I think he is strictly a firecracker make that is not getting the results he wants. While not always true, that is sometimes associated with a younger person experimenting. On a side note, if there are other United Kingdom members reading this. I would be curious to hear if there are restrictions on sale of pyrotechnic related chemicals in your country, in particulate some of the more potent oxidizers. My experience has been, someone using Potassium Nitrate for this application is finding it in the retail section of the local hardware store. Also, what ever happened to that old rule of not mixing Nitrates and Aluminum without boric acid. I know over the years I have seen these nitrate/aluminum mixtures become warm to the touch in a very short time period.

In the united kingdom we have to have a EPP license which is a Explosives precursors and poisons licences to buy potassium perchlorate and for an 20 year old individual it would be pretty hard for me to obtain as a hobbyist, so i have to result with nitrate.

I have a soft spot for salutes you might say but i am not strictly about firecrackers and yeah i am still young and experimenting and i have enjoyed making other things like Black match fuse and some tiger tail stars etc, but my main question here was that why is my indian blackhead not as effective as my eckart when indian blackhead is supposedly better?

[displayfireworks1]

I my opinion you are never going to get good results with Potassium Nitrate , both of those aluminum's are good. My money is on you are doing something wrong in mixing or improper storage. moisture and 100 other human variables. Want me to mail you some potassium perchlorate? For customs I'll mark the package confectionery sugar. LOL Forget about that stuff, go buy some of those big UK rockets .

[Alfie]

I my opinion you are never going to get good results with Potassium Nitrate , both of those aluminum's are good. My money is on you are doing something wrong in mixing or improper storage. moisture and 100 other human variables. Want me to mail you some potassium perchlorate? For customs I'll mark the package confectionery sugar. LOL Forget about that stuff, go buy some of those big UK rockets .

Here is a video of my nitrate mix with 2g of flash in a salute, before you say i shouldn't be holding it etc, i made sure the fuse was long enough and i know the risk and all that.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUTpJr4JlXE

[nightstalker]

just curious on how and or what you you are using to seal your end caps

[Alfie]

just curious on how and or what you you are using to seal your end caps
I am using 250gsm Kraft paper cut out at 1" circle then using a 1/2" dowel to make it a paper end caps that have a little hot glue on them

[Kenny East]

Kno3 draws moisture quite a bit, store it dries with a desicant. All finished items that use it should be stored in a very dry place, preferably with a desicant.

Both of those aluminum are great for flash, the kno3 needs to be smallest particle size you can get... Ball milled to almost air float. Don't pack it into the casings and you might try adding some sawdust to incorporate a bit of extra air as well as increase burn speed.

There is only so much that can be done without a stronger oxidizer. Not sure if you can get it but barium nitrate can make some nice flash.

[tyleranderson91122]

Does anyone know how high of a temp 70/30 flash can take without going off? I am making a large salute and was epoxying one end plug, then i realized how hot my epoxy gets. it gets hot enough to hurt my hands. Is that too hot for flash powder or would it be fine? I am just trying to be safe.

[cptnding]

Does anyone know how high of a temp 70/30 flash can take without going off? I am making a large salute and was epoxying one end plug, then i realized how hot my epoxy gets. it gets hot enough to hurt my hands. Is that too hot for flash powder or would it be fine? I am just trying to be safe.

If you are making a "large salute" and asking that question I fully expect to read a news story about your dumb ass getting vaporized in the explosion. Hopefully you won't take out anyone else with you. If you're really "just trying to be safe" you should join a club, get educated by knowledgeable people, and do it in a safe and legal manner.

[displayfireworks1]

"I am just trying to be safe". For some reason this AM that is funny to me. LOL . Its like hey "I'm just trying to be safe, OK. LOL.. It will be like boom, what happen? "I was trying to be safe" LOL

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Lol... Wow, guys... Be gentle! Hakuna matata!

Tyler - Dude... If you even SUSPECT that it might not be safe, then you shouldn't do it. If you guess wrong, it will be a mistake you only make once.

[Crush630]

breath deeply Tyler, don't exhale the epoxy fumes

[displayfireworks1]

Why does it have to be a large salute. What ever happened to elmers glue and cardboard? People think you need the massive tight end plug. I bet if you use a toilet paper end plug it would sound the same

[displayfireworks1]

These post are made by old pyro gang trying to make us say something stupid or make me say something to show the ATF. Note it's a first post.

[RalphieJ]

Why does it have to be a large salute. What ever happened to elmers glue and cardboard? People think you need the massive tight end plug. I bet if you use a toilet paper end plug it would sound the same

Ever see a Hitt's "Flashcracka" salute? No plugs.

[displayfireworks1]

We made a paper lunch bag salute once (by accident) LOL. We had residual powder in a small paper lunch bag the group was using. I thought the bag was empty but it had small residual powder stuck to the side of the bag. To dispose of the bag, I put a match to it. The bag burned slow until it hit some powder coating the sides and just the confinement of a paper lunch bag made a big boom. We were all in shock.

[Rocketshooter]

Just look at the triangle crackers that have been around for a while. It's just flash powder inside of paper folded into a triangle. Works just fine.

[Kenny East]

Wood glue and chip board end discs... Very large ground salutes sounds like a bad idea... Flash self confines at like 30 grams... So if you're making larger than say a 1.75" ball shell salute, you would need more than 30 grams and that's where it gets risky.

Not sure if alfie gets on anymore... But his original nitrate flash question.. I tried a formula using magnalium instead of aluminum... Very fast and bright stuff.

[RalphieJ]

Anyone else ever get a case of the paranoids and wonder if the perc you're working with is actually KClO3? Gives me the heebie jeebies. I know that the Old Italian Masters would actually taste certain chemicals upon delivery, I wonder if their chlorates was one of them?

[displayfireworks1]

Try to use the chemical name as opposed to the chemical abreviations for clarity. I believe I have a test. I used it with that perchlorate quick match.

[RalphieJ]

Try to use the chemical name as opposed to the chemical abreviations for clarity. I believe I have a test. I used it with that perchlorate quick match.

Found it: Purple = perchlorate, blue = chlorate.

[displayfireworks1]

Use Methylene Blue. Sold as a fish tank disease prevention .
.
I know this might just be my observation, to me, it appears flash powder made with Potassium Perclorate has a slight delay as opposed to Potassium Chlorate. That is when you place the composition on a napkin when you can see it. I personally find Potassium Niitrate useless for this application. You got my gears turning I may look at some of this again. If I remember all of this correctly, they say the Potassium Perchlorate does not release its oxygen as fast as Potassium Chlorate but in the end the perchlorate releases more oxygen. When I observed all of this at one time, I swear I could see the very slight delay.