Krazer Posted March 16, 2017 Posted March 16, 2017 Do I have to mix black powder with dark aluminum? I want to know for firecrackers. Thanks!
jordanm Posted March 16, 2017 Posted March 16, 2017 Double post. Also your talking about flash so this post will be blocked in no time.
MrB Posted March 16, 2017 Posted March 16, 2017 Actually... I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about. A BP based composition with a bunch of dark alu could be used as a fountain, i suppose... Bottom line is he has no idea what he's doing, and while i'm not opposed to helping out in such a scenario, i don't think he actually wants to learn either.B!
FlaMtnBkr Posted March 16, 2017 Posted March 16, 2017 Actually, granulated BP with a small amount of aluminum powder to dust and coat the BP grains, but not enough so excess collects at the bottom, will significantly increase the flame temperature. And according to the (ideal) gas laws this greatly increases pressure which makes BP burn much faster which will make for a more powerful and louder cracker or shell. This is/was a fairly unknown or undiscussed method of boosting BP that I've mentioned over the years and more recently has had some discussion on the forums. I'm sure I'm not the first person to discover this but it doesn't seem real well known and is a good way to boost BP for those that don't want to mess with flash or whistle. Dark aluminum burns fast and will work fine but in this case it isn't the main fuel and the main thing it's contributing is heat. So a dusty aluminum powder like 325 mesh atomized will work. I haven't experimented a ton with it and dark Al may make a noticeable difference but isn't necessary to help as a booster. I've had some shells I've done this with and people wondered if they were broke with flash and they can sound almost like a flash salute. So, if making crackers with BP you don't have to use aluminum, but you can. Plenty of people make great maroons using just BP and good confinement. But you can help them by adding a little. That said, I have a feeling someone heard firecrackers use dark aluminum and they assumed they are full of BP and they are wondering about the aluminum and if it has to be added in addition to BP. This is just a guess because I know a lot of people think 'gunpowder' is in anything that goes boom. From firecrackers, to everything on the 4th, and even in bombs that get dropped from airplanes during war. Just my WAG based on the somewhat confusing OP...
MrB Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 Actually, granulated BP with a small amount of aluminum powder to dust and coat the BP grains, but not enough so excess collects at the bottom, will significantly increase the flame temperature. And according to the (ideal) gas laws this greatly increases pressure which makes BP burn much faster which will make for a more powerful and louder cracker or shell. Boosting BP to make for a louder bang, given a specific container, yeah, sure works. But it is by no means necessary for a firecracker, which OP should have been able to figure out on his own, and it by no means turns it in to flash, as per jordanm's post. And adding more will, as i indicated, make it into a poor road-flare.OP needs to look at basics, and fountains, is a safer bet then firecrackers. Fewer people lose their hands making, and using them.B!
MadMat Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 Though I don't do it much (kind of boring. I want the color and effect of a good shell instead). I have made firecrackers that worked just fine with straight BP. My BP makes a loud enough boom, it just doesn't have the sharp crack to it. We know what does, but I'de rather not get into that with a newbie.
jordanm Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 I know that BP is not used to make flash i was insinuating that the OP seems like he is asking a question in regards to the flash composition. I dont know what Krazer is doing but going around the forums just posting Hey is not a good use of this forum when he could be searching the archives to gain valuable knowledge.http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/12206-noob-question-about-screens/page-2
Krazer Posted March 19, 2017 Author Posted March 19, 2017 I do not want to use flash powder as I hear it is very dangerous and I do not want to lose any digits.
braddsn Posted March 21, 2017 Posted March 21, 2017 Krazer, that's a smart move. In the future, when you have some experience under your belt, you can certainly experiment with small amounts of flash.. it's not the devil! I waited an entire year doing pyro before messing with flash. I have made some loud crackers with straight bp. I have not added aluminum, so I am not sure what exactly that would do for the volume of the report. My best advice to you on BP crackers is.. 1) Make meal coated rice hulls, and use that instead of straight bp.. it will burn quicker.. and 2) Make sure the charge is well confined. Start small and do a lot of testing. And 3 (most important), use some good safety fuse (visco). Get the stuff that burns 30 seconds per foot. A good, reliable, consistent fuse is a must for safe fireworking! Good luck. Post more questions if you have em.
Ubehage Posted March 28, 2017 Posted March 28, 2017 I do not want to use flash powder as I hear it is very dangerous and I do not want to lose any digits.Everything in pyro is very dangerous Flash is propably THE worst composition to go off in your face. Caution is required and strongly recommended. Anyway, to your original question:In my early pyro-days, I did some experimenting with BP and Alu, and I discovered that a very loosely packed mix of those may result in a very loud boom.However, I only experienced this twice. And both times it was not my intention to get such a loud noise.And I haven't been able to repeat it when I was trying to.
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