insutama Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Hello everyone just wondering what your guy opinion is on making black powder. Ill be making my first batch in years soon and i want to know if there really is much difference with the final product using dextrin vs red gum. I did some searches and it looks like red gum makes faster more powerful bp but is it that much difference than dextrin. Obviously i want faster stronger BP for my rocket engines and for the small reports on the rockets (im staying away from using flash for now). I dont have any red gum and i have 1lb of dextrin so if there isnt too much difference i dont think ill bother ordering some red gum and waiting 3 weeks and spending 30$ on it when i have perfectly good dextrin already. anyway what all your opinions on this topic ?
nater Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 For rocket fuel, just leave the binder out. You do not need hard granules of fuel, especially if you are hand ramming.
marks265 Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 You will be more than fine with dextrin bound BP. Using red gum is a waste of money IMO. It is a matter of preference for a binder mostly because of the handling of the fuel. When granulated it is less dusty and more manageable. If you have good BP the performance difference is negligible. The bottom line is you won't be disappointed with a percent or 2 of dextrin. It is yours to experiment with, which makes making more than one rocket a really hard thing to try!
rogeryermaw Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 just don't use much if you're making rockets. if your granules are too hard to consolidate fully, you may end up with catos.
insutama Posted February 7, 2015 Author Posted February 7, 2015 so i just use the mill dust for my rockets ? this would be extreamly dusty but hell if i dont need to granulate thats one less step how about if i want to make a report for my rocket with bp would i granulate that stuff ?
FlaMtnBkr Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) I don't use any binder in any of my BP. If I get it to about the consistency of modeling clay, granulate thru a screen, and dry as quick as possible in the sun then I get grains plenty hard enough. They are hard enough to hurt my fingers when trying to crush a big grain and never broken down in normal handling. I can use it for all my BP needs including ramming rockets and lift. If you plan on ramming rockets the dextrin can make the grains so they are hard enough to leave voids and cracks in the grain which results in a salute on a stick. If you are going to primarily make rockets I would definitely try it without a binder first. If you add minimal water when granulating the grains will be soft. Quick drying is one of the 3 most important things to strong BP with hot charcoal and a good mill being the other 2. Edit: corrected auto correct Edited February 7, 2015 by FlaMtnBkr
Andres1511 Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 For the rockets: granulate without binder. It will keep the dust down & the grains aren't hard enough to leave voids in the fuel.For reports: granulate with some dextrin.
schroedinger Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Like you allready see, there are a lot of opinions on this.For rockets you are 100% fine with using meal straight (for nozzless) from the mill or green mi2x (with nozzle). If your grain stays fluffy after pressing/ramming either try more pressure or change the charcoal. Had this once with paulownia charcoal fast meal, even with 10 000 psi on the comp it didn't pack. If you use meal make sure to only slowly insert the rammer, precompress the powder with hand force prior to pressing/ramming. This really help to keep down the dust. But better is granulating/ricing. Just mill/screen your bp with +2 % of dextrine and you granulate with as little water as possible and granulate/rice. The 2% dextrine won't hurt the powders performance. But durable enough that they can be crushed during making the rocket. For black match i would recommend to use gum arabicum, as the black match is much more durable in dry state, but dextrine works perfect. Red gum isn't suited since it requires an alcohol as solvent.
nater Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 I feel like BP granulated with water and no binder makes for a faster rocket than green mix or milled dust alone. Granulatating also cuts down on the dust. For all other uses, I use dextrin because it works well and is cheap.
MrB Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Make a mess, to avoid a mess. Granulating without a binder makes your cleanup task after making rockets a lot less of a problem.For granulate to use in the small report there are so many ways to do it. And they ll pretty much work. Starting out like you are, i'd use the dextrin, and water approach. Later, down the line, you'll have a press, and can make rock hard granulated stuff, without a binder. Good luck, stay safe.B!
insutama Posted February 7, 2015 Author Posted February 7, 2015 okay awsome thanks alot guys looks like ill first be trying granulating with no binder
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