braddsn Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Hey guys.. just a quick question.. I mixed some slow gold to roll this eve. I ball milled non metals.. then added Ti. Whenever I mix a comp I like to test burn a teaspoon full. I did so and it was hard to ignite. It kept wanting to just glow and go out. Finally it would start burning on its own.. but it took a while to get it to burn using a map torch. I made some blond streamer comp yesterday and it readily ignited. Is this normal? Thanks!
Zumber Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Its because of high charcoal amount.If you blow air while glow appears then it should start burning slowly. This should be normal,make stars dry it and test one or two it you will see difference it stars burning its own when you ignite it once.Charcoal star test can only be judge in sky by shooting shell because such stars behaves different in ground than air.
enanthate Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 I honestly cant say my comp behaved like that.. I did try a powdertest, i allways just use a lighter, and mine worked fine. It burns like slow bp, giving lots of sparks and glitterish effects.
Arthur Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 For the slow gold recipe that I have the instructions say to mill the fine mix then add the coarser charcoal and the metal flakes. You should have a vaguely BP matrix that will burn fairly fast and release the coarser charcoal and the Ti to burn as tail sparkles. If you mill all the charcoal you will have a very slow mix that may need to be flying through the air to stay alight.
fckiamdead Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Hey guys.. just a quick question.. I mixed some slow gold to roll this eve. I ball milled non metals.. then added Ti. Whenever I mix a comp I like to test burn a teaspoon full. I did so and it was hard to ignite. It kept wanting to just glow and go out. Finally it would start burning on its own.. but it took a while to get it to burn using a map torch. I made some blond streamer comp yesterday and it readily ignited. Is this normal? Thanks! The water will also help the nitrate to penetrate into the charcoal and make it burn faster. Try it whit your mix. Dry it then light it, it will burn much better.
braddsn Posted January 31, 2015 Author Posted January 31, 2015 Ok thanks guys. Guess I will just have to see!
psyco_1322 Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 That is very typical of heavy charcoal comps, same with most glitters. A ground test will always look like crap because the effect relies on the atmospheric air and wind velocities the stars experience in a shell break. Glitters burn really drossy, that's how the effect works, charcoal stars are oxygen deprived, and that's how you get hanging charcoal effects. Both need to be moving through the air to be seen appropriately. I would also note that slow gold typically burns with a lot of fall out, so make sure your tests are not somewhere there are fire hazards. I've had 1/4" cut slow gold rain shit to the ground from a 4" shell that was well elevated with a rocket. It's a formula that's been known to star fires. My advise would be to not use that formula.
pyrojig Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 excellent advise psyco. I will second that ,if you live is a fire danger area. I have watched this comp produce lots of fallout and thankfully I chose a very wet time of the year for testing this comp. It does produce a wonderful effect when produced right.It and many glitters / high charcoal comps need to be flying through the air ( as said above) to function properly . Wetting the comp will help the mix to burn more energetically .Making sure that your base comp is premilled will help. Using coarse chems will be another prob in slow burn speeds.
braddsn Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 As for the fallout, I did have a successful batch of slow gold a couple months ago, but I cut the stars. I had them sized small enough in a 4" shell that no fallout made it to the ground. I really like the stars, and I think with the proper sizing, they can be pretty safe. My plan is from now on to load them in 5 and 6" shells only, giving them plenty of altitude.
Arthur Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 The instructions I have for Buell Slow Gold are; Buell Slow Gold Potassium Nitrate 36 Charcoal Airfloat 29 (Pine) Sulfur 9 above 3 milled together for 1 hour ish Charcoal, 40 - 80 mesh 14 (White Pine) Titanium, sponge, 20 mesh 3.5 Titanium sponge, 40 mesh 3.5 Dextrin or SGRS 5 The first three items should be milled together They make a fast(er) burning matrix that holds the next three lines together and ignites everything from the water bound dry star. Being very short on oxidiser this will need atmospheric oxygen to burn so the powder will be hard to ignite and burn badly but the finished star will be better to light and will continue burning in the air it is flying through.
Mumbles Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 My experience had that the stars burn real fast on the ground to form a cinder, but in the air burn much longer and with a long tail. I really love the comp.
Arthur Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) Yes! The fines burn quickly as it's a basic BP with an odd ratio, In the air the coarse charcoal and the Ti are lit in the air and form the tail. Probably my favourite compound. Edited February 2, 2015 by Arthur
psyco_1322 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Another note, for the effect to work somewhat well it really needs to be made with sponge Ti. If you make it with spherical, fall out will happen.
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