stix Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 I've ordered some MgAl which is on the way and intend to use it for "Winokur # 20 Glitter" as in this thread:http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/9514-kings-glitter-as-i-call-it/ It got me thinking though if it can be mixed with r-candy (I also add Fe2O3 to mine). Maybe it would give a nice tail? There doesn't seem to be much info on mixing metals with r-candy except for Ti - which all I could gather was it might work.It seems no-one has done a lot of testing in this area, and perhaps for good reason. All I know is that finely divided metals dampened with water can become unstable and potentially ignite. My gut says probably not a good idea and best to ask first. Cheers.
dagabu Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Get some Potassium Dichromate from Skylighters (expensive) and coat the MgAL before using it in the R-candy, it will keep the Mg from reacting. Better yet, coat with phenolic resin (cheap and easy) and you can use about any metal in R-candy if resin coated as it is a plastic of sorts, just dont use alcohol to bind them. Also, stay with 20-80 mesh MgAl, not the finely divided stuff, it just burns inside the tube. Edited December 30, 2014 by dagabu
ddewees Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 Will phenolic protect iron and steel stored in fountains?
dagabu Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 Will phenolic protect iron and steel stored in fountains? I have some Fe comets stored at a buddies that I will break open and look for rust in next month. I am guessing the resin will protect any metal since its essentially plastic coated but I still have to see what the six month and one year storage look like for the long term tests. Short term, the comets we made this fall showed no signs of rusting when broken up so I am guessing the long term test will show the same results. With fountains, the pressure is much less so the coating should undergo a lot less scratching making less places for intrusion. Only one way to find out...
GalFisk Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 I have used Fe and Ti in S/S rockets (+5%), and both leave a nice tail. The Fe was coated with paraffin wax from a cheap candle. It was later stored outside for a year without rusting at all. Procedure: heat Fe powder in a skillet, and place paraffin wax (3% by weight) on top of the pile. When the powder has heated all the way through, the wax will melt into it. When all the wax has melted, stir until you have a uniform color (the wetted powder is darker). Let it cool all the way, and then screen it to get rid of lumps (any lumps are easily crushed at this percentage of wax). Personally, I'd only use dichromate when nothing else helps - that is, when using ammonium perchlorate as the oxidizer.
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