Is this burst comp still usable?

[jrin0630]

I made BP coated rice hulls the other day (5:1-BP-Hulls) and I don't think I rung enough water out of the rice hulls when I started. I ended up with a lot of clumping but I was able to break most of it apart so now I have a mix of coated single hulls and coated double hulls which sort of resembles "heavy" 2FA. Can I use it like this? Has anyone had this happen? Thanks

[Maserface]

What binder did you use? I had it happen once when I used soluble glutinous rice starch (SGRS) as the binder. I broke the grains up as best I could, and again when they had dried some, and they worked alright.

 

Since then I've used dextrin as the binder, and really take care to get the moisture out of the hulls. It's easier to add a couple sprays of water than it is to take them out

 

Good luck!

[Merlin]

your mcrh will work if dry. Next time put your wet Hulls in a pillow case and sling until no more water at all is coming out. Some Hulls will try to stick together anyway so I let them dry spread out a little and tumble a bit in the mixer. You want them damp but you don't want them leaving water on the walls of the mixer else some of your BP will stick to the mixer rather than the Hulls. Once you have them properly wetted nothing could be easier. I use a small cement mixer from harbor freight.

[jrin0630]

Thanks guys. I think they were definitely too wet when I started and after the first BP application, you're hosed if they are too wet. Going to use them anyway.

[Mumbles]

If you carefully rake the hulls as they're drying it can help to break up clumps before they get a chance to fully adhere together. I wouldn't worry about some small clumps. If they're more than say 3-5 hull clumps or 1/2" globs, then there may be some issues. If you're using the typical method of overfilling and tapping to settle the contents of the shell, they may break apart in processing.

 

As a side note. An acquaintance of mine used to use this to his advantage. Coating wetter hulls typically gives bigger clumps. He used this deliberately to make burst for larger shells without needing to worry about sourcing other carrier media. Larger shells, the larger the allowable clumps.

[Lrsnsam]

I usually put my rice hulls into a pot and rinse with hot water and agitate them. I repeat this until the hot water I put in is more clear. This helps the rice hulls from clumping together and makes them just a tad lighter. Works for me.