Flash Replacement

[MeowMix]

I was interested in ordering dark aluminum and percolate in 7:3 and making flash for small salutes. But reading a lot of stories about it and just beginning pyro, it seems like a bad idea. What could I use to make salutes and break boosters instead?

[Maxim]

I would go for 325 mesh bright flake Al, that is also used for painting. It's coarser and the mix gets less sensitive.

[MeowMix]

That's still flash powder, is it not? Dark Aluminum isn't the only material I was thinking of using. Flash in general is what I'm afraid to try. As I'm a beginner.

[Maxim]

If you are scared of trying it - try the slow flash ( 50% KNO3, 20% 325 mesh bright Al. 30% Sulfur ) you won't be able to ignite it with a hammer. It workes well as a burst for small shells, but not as strong as KClO4 flashes.

PS: Flash isn't scary at all if you make your work carefully and if you have clean chemicals. But yes, try the slow flash first.

[MeowMix]

Would your "Chinese Flash" used in your .9" shell be safe enough for a beginner to work with? Because I'm interested in making shells that size. Or would the slow flash be enough to break shells that size?

*Sorry for being such a noob about this

Edited May 26, 2016 by MeowMix

[MadMat]

One thing I suggest you do is research, research, research. There is a tremendous amount of information on these forums. there is a good deal of information on Skylighter's website as well. Additionally, even though they are on the pricy side, there are books out there that can be indispensable. Knowledge is your best way of staying safe. I'm not telling you to not post questions, they are a great way of finding things out when you are unsure, but research will give you the information to know when to ask questions (if that makes sense to you). One thing I will warn you about, be careful of videos posted on YouTube. There are videos on there that are just plain wrong and some are actually dangerous. Oh, welcome to the forums

 

One other thing I might add; if you are really new to pyro, maybe you should start on something other than shells, fountains for example. This isn't just for safety reasons; I know someone in particular that got tired of failures and things not working out to the point that he completely gave up on pyro for a hobby.

Edited May 26, 2016 by MadMat

[Maxim]

The "chinese flash" ( which is actually a russian modification of some other chinese flash ) is safe to work. Mix it with diper method and you are good to go. Be sure that your S is clean of any remains of sulfur acid.

However, even slow flash can make a pretty nice burst for 1" shells. This is one on a rocket with Sunrise stars.

Don't go all KClO4 so soon, try the slow flash first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlOkJt93_JQ

Edited May 26, 2016 by Maxim

[MeowMix]

Be sure that your S is clean of any remains of sulfur acid.

What does this mean?

*Again, sorry for being a noob

[OldMarine]

Use pure sulfur such as rubber-makers.

[MeowMix]

Is pyrochemsource a reliable source for the chems?

[Maxim]

Meo, most of the produced sulfur contains very very small amounts of sulfur acid. However these small amounts of acid can make the flash a lot more sensitive or even cause a selfignition. This comes super important when people use star mixes with KClO3 and S at the same time. But there you can add some carbonate to the mix to reduce the acids ( carbonate + S acid = sulfate ), but with mixes containing metals you can't add carbonate, because it might "eat" up the metal.

When I only began fireworking I used the S from a local pet shop, it's very clean, but expensive.

 

Another important thing Meo. We ALL were noobs once. Don't be afraid to ask questions, because your LIFE depends on knowing certain information, which is best to be obtained from experienced fireworkers. Be carefull and always think what you do. If you have any concern or a problem - ask.

PS: If you want to can always PM me, I know what being an annoying noob is, and I would be glad to help you as much as I can.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Maxim

[MeowMix]

What's the risk of it auto igniting? I'm looking to buy "High Purity" sulfur, but how risky is it?

[Maxim]

With high purity S it's totaly safe from auto-ignition. Also be sure of the purity of KClO4.

[Mixer]

Meow,

 

You can test for sulfur acidity with its wash water using litmus paper.

[AzoMittle]

Meow,

 

Don't worry too much about flash at this point. If you continue with pyro there will come a time when you'll need, and by that point you'll probably know enough to feel comfortable working with it. You mentioned you want to use it for salutes and boost breaker, again I say don't worry about that. You can break with black powder alone, the booster is more of an 'as needed' thing. If you do work with flash or whistle, keep your amounts as small as possible, even a few grams can do bad things.

 

If you haven't yet you should start with things like black powder, stars, lances, and fountains. You have to be able to make decent black powder and stars to make a lot of other things (like shells) anyways. Salutes may seem like an easy way to bypass the trouble of stars and burst but they really aren't. And while, yes there are some thump-junkies out there, most people find salutes/crackers annoying after the first couple times.

 

There's my 2 cents.

[mikeee]

Binary mixing methods are another safe method for mixing flash compounds.

[Seymour]

If you are scared of flash as a beginner, and desire to avoid using it in any form for now, I support you. It was years since I moved on from BP type fireworks.

 

You can boost BP by adding 5-10% Dark Aluminium to the surface of BP burst. You can get decent bursts with plain BP too, using good techniques and materials

[mikeee]

Extra level of containment will also provide "more bang for the buck" when looking for better performance of burst and reports.

[schroedinger]

Meo, welcome to te forums.

I'am glad that you joined this hobby and obviously did some research before starting to build anything.

 

Like you saw yourself, flash is nothing recommended to start with. But one thing about it, is that you also shouldn't be scared of it, just acknowledge that it is bejoined your actual skills to handle safe.

 

At the point where you are now, you also have no reason to worry about flash, it is just not needed. But there is an other comp, you should get to work first: Black Powder.

Black Powder is the real "Blood" of pyro, you 2ill need it everywhere.

 

You should start by making black powder, which is able to lift shells and then start with 4" shells. These don't need a booster for a good pattern. Just straight 2FA. After you got some experience with these, you can advance further. For stars i would recommend starting with TT, C8 and D1.

[Maxim]

4" is pretty big to serve as the first shell.

[AzoMittle]

Is pyrochemsource a reliable source for the chems?

 

Yes, they are, I use them on a regular basis and love them.

 

Schroedinger hit the nail on the head, like usual with him. <3 "For stars i would recommend starting with TT, C8 and D1." TT = Tiger Tail, C8 = Chrysanthemum of 8 Charcoal : 10 Nitrate, D1 = Simple Glitter. These are all great suggestions! They are easy, will teach you about the effect of ratios, BP, milling, mixing, and different ways to make stars (rolled, cut, and pumped).

 

Maxim, I humbly disagree that 4" is too large. My first shell was an 8". I would suggest starting with plastic shells though, it is one less thing to worry about starting out, you can always switch to paper or canisters later on.

[lloyd]

Max,

No, it really isn't. It's small enough to be economical to make, and doesn't incur all the weird problems that very small shells elicit. It's large enough to be easy to handle, and not require any exotic assembly methods.

 

And... it can be broken with straight BP or aluminum-enhanced BP, while much smaller shells cannot be.

 

I have always recommended that beginners start with 4" shells.

 

LLoyd

[Mixer]

Lloyd,

 

that statement could be a little misleading to Meo.

 

Small shells can be broken with straight BP - I have made many 1.5" ball head shells for small rockets. With good quality 4FA BP and good containment the bursts are more than adequate.

 

Personally in the absence of experienced supervision (for safety reasons) I think he would be safer starting small until he has gained more experience.

 

Just my humble opinion.

[Mumbles]

I gave him some information on a club in his region last night, so hopefully he'll have some proper supervision and guidance.

 

I've always liked 3" shells to start with for basically the same reasons described above. With how big commercial class C shells break, a BP or lightly boosted 3" shell can be slipped in without too much notice. 4" is certainly easier to manipulate inside, but can stand out a bit more.

[lloyd]

I feel with the care and extra effort (and knowledge) necessary to make a 30mm shell work well over what it takes with a 100mm shell, that he'd be SAFER with the larger shell.

 

I can only speak to my own experiences, though, Max. I teach this to beginning amateur pyros, and have taught manufacturing staff for decades. Small shells require meticulous care over assembly issues -- issues beginners don't always recognize.

 

I'm gonna sort of "throw my weight around" on this one, because we made tens of thousands of 30mm shells each year at the factory, and I KNOW how easily perturbed their performance can be by the slightest inattention on the part of the builder.

 

LLoyd