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Posted

Used the formula

 

Potassium Perchlorate - 70%

Charcoal - 18%

Sulfur - 12%

Dextrin + 2%

 

Granulated through window screen. Maybe that is where I went wrong, as I was not to impressed with the burst.

 

Shell was my first attempt at mouse turds as you can see they were to small. TT + 5% MgAl

shell 35 mm film can filament tape spiked

KP burst

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5YdE9skl3Q

 

DaM

Posted

Your stars burned too quick to give an idea of what the burst is doing. Try again with some longer burning stars.

Posted

The burst sounded okay. KP is sort of finicky in my experience. It burns fairly slowly on it's own. To achieve it's full potential, it needs to burn under sufficient pressure. This means appropriate reinforcement of shell casings. It also tends to mean there is a minimum sized shell where it's works properly. Many people find it to be unsuitable for shells smaller than 3 or 4". Accordingly, it's also unsuitable for too large of shells. 6 or 8" is around the maximum for single petal shells. This is all for ball shells. I've never tried it granulated as a burst, so I'm a little lost on giving advice here, and things may be different.

 

Investing in some literature, like Fireworks: The Art, Science, and Technique by Shimizu will cover most of these points.

Posted

I have to admit I don't really see the value of KP burst. It is much more expensive than black powder. What advantages does it offer?

Posted (edited)

It was a simple experiment for me, just made 100g batch. Don't know unless you try.

 

Also I am unsure of the quality of my perchlorate, as it was purchased from someone unknown to me.

 

I do not have access to any sort of chemical testing.

Edited by DaMounty
Posted

There are plenty of positives to it. It's more powerful when used correctly. It doesn't need to be milled. It doesn't require hot or specialty charcoal. It's actually not that much more expensive than BP, especially if you can buy in bulk/semi-bulk or if you factor in the charcoal or time investment.

  • Like 2
Posted

I think the star was crushed. You need to check the strength of the stars.

 

I use a lot more of dextrin in coal stars. 8% or 9%.

Posted

Has anyone used methylene blue for fish to test for perchlorates?

Posted

I stand corrected with a little more reinforcement, the KP performs quite well. I believe I milled the C6 stars a bit long though. They burnt fast.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fz9Wd6bklI

 

Dam

Posted

Has anyone used methylene blue for fish to test for perchlorates?

I use methylene blue food coloring, no problems.

Also C6 stars burn very fast, they are quite close to bp.

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