MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 12, 2017 Author Posted April 12, 2017 Not to brag on my renolds wrap egg but I do believe that mine was 100 times better than those. I'm jus sayin'
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 12, 2017 Author Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) https://youtu.be/k7uPOvSormo. These are commercial eggs aswell and this is what got me wanting to make them rite here, this is just 1 ball to. But after talking with lloyd the timing is kind of bad on these but impressive to watch for sure Edited April 12, 2017 by MudDuckPyro79
rogeryermaw Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Definitely better. But these balls are tiny. Not many microstars will fit in one. They sound better in a gerb i posted on the tubes. But heck ya! Yours seem to be working quite well!
Sulphurstan Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Following question has certainly been asked somewhere, but i couldn t find it, so (again): did someone experienced storage problems with dragon eggs (Bi203 based + a little touch of spherical ti)? One month after i made mine, they were behaving " as expected", and after 5 months, they just go off with some sparks, and no noise... 1) having no real nc lacquer available in my country i did mine with pingpong balls+acetone...2) they were stored in a tupperware with a small calcium chloride container, so not a moisture problem...
lloyd Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) Sulphurstan, We've stored ours for five to six years without detrimental effects (and, in the extreme heat of Central Florida, USA). One thing we do as 'habit' is prime them using potassium dichromate solution instead of plain water. That might have an effect on their longevity. But I've not noticed any degradation of UNprimed crackle, either. "Real" NC is pretty important to their timing. I cannot speak to what it might do their longevity. There is camphor in ping pong balls' NC... so that might be one issue. Your storage doesn't seem to be an issue. Lloyd Edited April 12, 2017 by lloyd
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 12, 2017 Author Posted April 12, 2017 Well how bout that, this lil thread turned into an informative one. ;-)
Sulphurstan Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Thanks lloyd for these advices. Kdichro, real nc lacquer, all these unreachable chemicals down here ... but yes, im also suspecting the camphor... well for now, i ll make smaller batches, and use them within a shorter timeframe. Mdp79. Promise, next time i get my draggon eggs work properly, i put a nice video, no information
rogeryermaw Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 i was cleaning out my work area last weekend and found around 9 or 10 ounces of unprimed d.e. as i was burning off my pyro trash, i quite enjoyed the sharp crack of good working crackle. they seemed to store well and function like new. they were about a year and a half old.
lloyd Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 The other issue with ping pong balls is that they are not a "high nitration" NC... closer to being like paper than like guncotton. As such, with still a high level of unconverted cellulose in them, the material will be more susceptible to moisture absorption than would high-nitration material. Lloyd
rogeryermaw Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 being less aggressively flammable, would that not also possibly affect the smolder phase?
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 13, 2017 Author Posted April 13, 2017 https://youtu.be/ZQVXxooxcE4 OK here is the eggs as close as I could sit to them and hold the phone I'm done using this phone for vids I want my puter back lol.. any who these are literally killed by the phone cutting the noise out it will not pick it up at all but take my word for it these lil guys are ear ringing LOUD 8 mesh is PLENTY big enough for these IMHO anyways.
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 13, 2017 Author Posted April 13, 2017 Is it doing what it's supposed to be doing??
OldMarine Posted April 13, 2017 Posted April 13, 2017 MudDuck, Try this for "testing": Take a piece of visco and tape a granule of crackle every 1½" or so and light it up. You'll keep one just for emergencies! 1
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 13, 2017 Author Posted April 13, 2017 Im making some more come Friday after work with some Ti. Gonna try and make it like the kryptonite crackle ball they have one heck of a spark hit for sure
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 13, 2017 Posted April 13, 2017 I was just curious how long the smolder or delay was after lighting and if there might be any multiple pops from one piece. But that's a pretty short delay and don't appear to be any multiple pops so I would say they are pretty darn good from what I can tell and without knowing exactly how loud they are. But if they are ringing your ears it's probably about as loud as you're going to get. I would be interested in knowing which mesh MgAl you used as I've been going to get some of that good stuff but not sure which mesh I would choose from what's available. They are neat for sure and interesting how they behave. I've lit many of them with a torch 1 at a time as I tested all the many batches and formulas I tried. Some times a little itty bitty piece will crack just as loud as the rest, and then a big 'ol chunk you're really anticipating will just make a little poof. I've also made some with MgAl that was too big a mesh and regular size eggs would glow red and after a few seconds would just fade and never do anything. So I cut some giant eggs about 3/8" cubes and they were ridiculous and sounded about like a 12 gauge going off, if not louder. They are fun and really intrigue me. I've been wanting to try some ideas I have for bismuth and lead free DE. Also have a few things I want to try with working formulas. I already have 1 secret I've never gotten around to explaining and have another I need to experiment with but can't share as I've sworn secrecy. So hopefully I can get some other things to work and then maybe I'll share it all or write up article and instructions. Anyways, glad you're having fun with them! 2
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 13, 2017 Author Posted April 13, 2017 Hey fla, I got the mgal from HCS and is 200-325 mesh. And yes the little ones are almost as loud as the bigger ones. There are a few in that batch that were pressed thru last that were drying out too fast an I just pressed it thru and they were long pieces, now some of those have broke into 2 pops but not all of them most of them just smolder a second and make a heck of a pop...
Sulphurstan Posted April 13, 2017 Posted April 13, 2017 . I already have 1 secret I've never gotten around to explaining and have another I need to experiment with but can't share as I've sworn secrecy.Hope you ll at least show us a video of that secret in action, just yo tease us lol ! 1
Sulphurstan Posted April 14, 2017 Posted April 14, 2017 Thanks for sharing this video. Impressive, and - for me at least - a perfect timing between cracks + the special visual effect that enhance the whole ! Looks like it has a little bit more metal particles embedded as in the original... OK....mmmm... We could ask Mumbles to open a section like "Guessing game" or "Quest for the secret formula "... 1
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 14, 2017 Posted April 14, 2017 Looks like regular DE with no Ti to my eyes. They look bright in the video and because there are a lot I could see how someone might think it's a bunch of Ti sparks. But with Ti added, each one of those flashes will spray a nice ball of sparks out. It's actually pretty intense from a couple dozen feet away. I would actually rather make what I described above which is essentially the same thing but I use DE with Ti. They are also probably more impressive than an M80 to a layman as they are about the same size make lots of noise but also have a substantial visual component from all the flahes and sparks going everywhere. I'm ready to start making stuff again as I took a break about 2 years ago when my daughter was born. I have pretty serious health issues and can't work much so I'm a stay at home dad with her and don't have much time for hobbies. Now that she is able to entertain herself some and help do things, I have a bit more time here and there. There are quite a few things I've thought about that I want to try or experiment with including things with DE so they should make a good starting point. I rarely mess with videoing stuff and especially uploading it when I do, but I may try to just to help with documenting things. Anyways, have a great weekend everyone.
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 14, 2017 Author Posted April 14, 2017 Sulfurstan, these are the same formula that Ned and lloyd use rite down to the same mesh. There is no ti in this batch just mgal and alum 325 atomized the prime is 75 15 10 5 with 5% magnalium 325mesh just to give a bright flash at night but the eggs are as follows: bismuth trioxide -71. Copper oxide black-14. Magnalium 200 mesh- 10 aluminum 325 mesh spherical atomized- 5 nc laquer was shot shell powder taken from shells and acetone mixed at around 10 to 12% then pressed thru an 8 mesh screen 1
MudDuckPyro79 Posted April 14, 2017 Author Posted April 14, 2017 @flamtnbkr, I'm assuming you mix the dry comps as usual and add nc laquer in the same manner to a thick pancake batter then dry some then granulated the same way as I done with this recipe?
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