Boosters for 2.5" shells

[zakmaster524]

Is a booster needed for a 2.5" BP coated rice hull shell? I just got into making shells. Also, if so, would whistle mix be the best option?

[Jakenbake]

For your first shell I would say no. Get all the stars to light good first. Then worry about making the break bigger.

[gregh]

Well, what kind of BP? How hot is it? What is the ratio on your hulls? What type of effect are the shells? These all factor into how much if any booster is needed.

[zakmaster524]

Well, what kind of BP? How hot is it? What is the ratio on your hulls? What type of effect are the shells? These all factor into how much if any booster is needed.

Well, what kind of BP? How hot is it? What is the ratio on your hulls? What type of effect are the shells? These all factor into how much if any booster is needed.

Meal-D, 5-1, Chrysanthemum 6

wierd, dont know why it quoted twice.

[Xtreme Pyro]

If BP coated hulls doesen't do it for you in these smaller shells, you could always break it with FFG Equivalent BP to give it a bit more pop.

[Arthur]

Try it and see! You will not make a perfect shell to your liking from someone else's method and numbers. Get the shell UP there first then chose the break to suit the stars that you are using.

[enanthate]

I think its better to use KP or H3 for small shells like that, but test with bp anyway and see what happens.

Otherwise, a bit of whistle could work. Im guessing a gram is enough, someone must confirm (I have bad experience with boosters, 3g blows everything blind it seems).

[MWJ]

A booster is to make a bigger or better break. Make a few shells and video them to post here. We have a lot of smart and experienced people here to help. Get your stars down before you get too concerned about a perfect break. I started with the Turbo pyro book first and worked on getting the shells in that book to work for me. Go slow, learn as much as you can and most of all stay safe while doing it. Good luck and I'm looking forward to your videos.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Don't use BP coated rice hulls and use straight granulated hot BP. You don't need inert filler in a shell that small.

[LiamPyro]

I've got a quick question about meal coated rice hulls: I made a small batch with a 4/1 ratio and it doesn't burn terribly fast (not as fast as my granulated BP), but the hulls look pretty heavily coated and I feel like if I added more BP it wouldn't help because it would enlarge the size of the granules and therefore reduce speed. I'll be using the hulls in 2 and maybe 3 inch shells so they need to be pretty hot, and I'm not sure how to accomplish that. I'd be happy to post videos.

[LiamPyro]

Don't use BP coated rice hulls and use straight granulated hot BP. You don't need inert filler in a shell that small.

Good point. What granule size would you suggest?

[Xtreme Pyro]

Good point. What granule size would you suggest?

 

As stated in my above post, FFG equivalent will work fine (3-4 FA). Also, as far as your rice hull speed goes.. Only way to know is to try them. I use 5:1 ratio bp:hulls in shells 3" on up, works fine with or without booster.

[Mumbles]

As long as your BP is of good quality you'll be fine. I've always noticed a decline in burn speed in the open between BP and coated onto hulls. Probably just all the inert filler getting in the way a little bit. Under pressure inside a shell though it doesn't make a bit of difference. I too can use BP on it's own to burst 3" shells, no booster.

[LiamPyro]

As stated in my above post, FFG equivalent will work fine (3-4 FA). Also, as far as your rice hull speed goes.. Only way to know is to try them. I use 5:1 ratio bp:hulls in shells 3" on up, works fine with or without booster.

Alright, good to know! Sorry for bypassing the info in your previous post.

[LiamPyro]

As long as your BP is of good quality you'll be fine. I've always noticed a decline in burn speed in the open between BP and coated onto hulls. Probably just all the inert filler getting in the way a little bit. Under pressure inside a shell though it doesn't make a bit of difference. I too can use BP on it's own to burst 3" shells, no booster.

Thanks, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear!

[zakmaster524]

Hey, anyone whos reading this post. I wanted to apologize for breaking a couple forum rules. I realize what i did wrong and i wont break those rules again. Im really sorry for disobeying the rules and I am especially sorry to you, mumbles, because i shouldve followed directions better

regrets

-zak

[braddsn]

As for boosting breaks Zak, I wouldn't do it off the bat. Chances are, you may not need it. I personally made the mistake of boosting the first shells I ever made, and they actually broke TOO hard. For a shell that small (2.5"), I would probably make some KP burst, or just use granulated bp. I use mcrh at 7:1 ratio and my shells break hard.

[psypuls]

I use 3.5g whistle for 2.5" shells and they break perfect with >90% ignition.

and 6g whistle for 3" with close to 100% ignition,

my whistle is prepared with 1-2g vaseline per 50g and granulated.

By the way can someone tell me how much whistle I should use for 4" shells if I use 6g for a 3" ?

since the diameter increases by 25% 75mm to 100mm ,perhaps its good to use 6g x1.25 =7.5g? but that's not how I calculated when I went from 2.5" to 3". hmmm.

[Mumbles]

You also tend to need proportionally less as you move into larger shells. Going on a pure volume to volume basis, it'd recommend somewhere between 2.3x and 2.75x as much whistle depending on how you figure it (nominal vs. actual diameter). 14-16g of whistle seems overboard though. Then again, if you need 6g of whistle to appropriately break a 3" shell those figures might not be far off based on the apparent quality of your base burst.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Volume of a sphere is based on the cube of the radius. So a 4" has about roughly 2.3 times the volume of a 3". I would say you can go up to almost doubling the amount of whistle though you may want to experiment. I use flash in a flash bag and use 3g in a 3" and 5g in a 4" though it is quite a bit more brissant than whistle.

 

As an FYI standard 70/30 weighs about 5g per teaspoon. Makes loading a bunch of shells a bit easier than weighing out the flash for each shell.

 

Edit: Mumbles beat me to it

Edited January 8, 2015 by FlaMtnBkr

[spitfire]

Try it and see! You will not make a perfect shell to your liking from someone else's method and numbers. Get the shell UP there first then chose the break to suit the stars that you are using.

Best answer I've read in years!

[enanthate]

FlaM, what kind of al?

I use german dark and airfloat kclo4, and 3g in a 4" surely gives 100% blind stars.

But then again, my FP wheighs about 2g / teaspoon. This could be the difference.

 

Since we all got each our own chems of different kinds and grades, measuring booster in volume instead of weight might give more accurate comparisons. Just a thought out loud.

Ideally one would give both weight and volume when talking about booster.

Edited January 9, 2015 by enanthate

[spitfire]

Maybe try this flash:

 

KNO3...........50

Alu dark.......25

MgAl 45........5

sulfur............20

[FlaMtnBkr]

I use German dark and sometimes 809 American dark with perchlorate with anti-cake (Chinese stuff most use). All my perchlorate is pretty dense though. I can imagine some aluminum like bright flake paint grade being a lot more fluffy and less dense once mixed. I also use a flash bag instead of loose dumping over the stars. Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

 

You always need to experiment and see what works for you, your construction methods, and the stars you are using. It doesn't hurt to see what others are doing to get an idea of a starting point, but don't assume it will automatically work for you.