Svimmer Posted December 20, 2017 Posted December 20, 2017 Hi i just made a bathch of 100g black powder and it turned out really gray. Im not sure what charcoal i used but i think it is a mixed one and i know this is not the best for black powder. The charcoal is very hard and heavy can that be the reason that it turns out gray. Is there another composition for such a charcoal ?. I just added more charcoal until it was about right color and threw it back it the ballmill. and hopefully it will burn alot faster. I made a sulfurless and had same problem that it turned out to gray then i added more charcoal and id have to say it turned out really fast.
OldMarine Posted December 20, 2017 Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) My mill dust is always gray but after I granulate it I see the normal BP color. What charcoal are you using? I wouldn't use color as a judge of anything BP related. Edited December 20, 2017 by OldMarine 1
Svimmer Posted December 20, 2017 Author Posted December 20, 2017 My mill dust is always gray but after I granulate it I see the normal BP color. What charcoal are you using? I wouldn't use color as a judge of anything BP related.Im not sure hat charcoal it is. but it is a mix and very hard charcoal.
starxplor Posted December 20, 2017 Posted December 20, 2017 When dry, it can look lighter than after wet and granulated. What is more important is consistency... is the whole batch all the same grey, or are some parts lighter/darker? If there are parts that are lighter/darker, this is likely where charcoal/KNO3 is not properly mixed. If it is consistent colour all throughout, it can be relied on to act the same test after test and use after use, which is what pyro is based on. 1
Svimmer Posted December 20, 2017 Author Posted December 20, 2017 When dry, it can look lighter than after wet and granulated. What is more important is consistency... is the whole batch all the same grey, or are some parts lighter/darker? If there are parts that are lighter/darker, this is likely where charcoal/KNO3 is not properly mixed. If it is consistent colour all throughout, it can be relied on to act the same test after test and use after use, which is what pyro is based on.it was ballmilled for 8 hours so it was properly mixed. I just granulated it so time to dry it and see.
OldMarine Posted December 20, 2017 Posted December 20, 2017 My cedar coal looks as black as ebony when I load the mill but the nitrate and sulfur must lighten it some in the milling. 1
Svimmer Posted December 20, 2017 Author Posted December 20, 2017 Heres how the ball looks http://bldr.no/BPy
MrB Posted December 20, 2017 Posted December 20, 2017 I just added more charcoal until it was about right color and threw it back it the ballmill. and hopefully it will burn alot faster. New way of doing it, as far as i know. Going by weight, is generally the norm. Just keep records, so you know what worked, and what didn't.Good luck. 1
Arthur Posted December 20, 2017 Posted December 20, 2017 If I'm tired I weigh out the ingredients individually before making comps. this means that you see and check what you are doing. If the charcoal is hard, then possibly it's not well ground, so not well mixed. 1
ExplosiveCoek Posted December 21, 2017 Posted December 21, 2017 Meal powder is always slightly grey. However, the softer/finer your charcoal is, the darker the meal powder will be. I always had this guideline: your composition (powder mix) will always take the color of the most fine particle in there.After wetting and granulating your KNO3 will redissolve partially in the charcoal. Making the KNO3 not the finest part anymore, but the charcoal.Hence leaving it more black than before the wetting proces. 1
Svimmer Posted December 21, 2017 Author Posted December 21, 2017 Meal powder is always slightly grey. However, the softer/finer your charcoal is, the darker the meal powder will be. I always had this guideline: your composition (powder mix) will always take the color of the most fine particle in there.After wetting and granulating your KNO3 will redissolve partially in the charcoal. Making the KNO3 not the finest part anymore, but the charcoal.Hence leaving it more black than before the wetting proces.Thank you very good information !
snowzoor Posted December 28, 2017 Posted December 28, 2017 (edited) Hello, i don't want to open another topic so i am just going to ask here. One month ago i made black powder, and it is a lot more fast than the one i made today. Can you tell from the burning of it, where did i go wrong this time? Was my milling time too short or maybe i messed up ingredients a bit? Here are the burnings of them both: Faster one:https://www.dropbox.com/s/w0i2uw6izjpeiu7/20171228_182503.mp4?dl=0 The one from today:https://www.dropbox.com/s/xy2obedff07gah4/20171228_180928.mp4?dl=0 Edited December 28, 2017 by snowzoor
NeighborJ Posted December 28, 2017 Posted December 28, 2017 Normally you wouldn't be able to tell what is wrong by a video but the second video has large sparks floating away. This does indicate that the particles are not milled enough. 1
snowzoor Posted December 28, 2017 Posted December 28, 2017 Thank you! Do i need to mill it for four hours again or i can mill them for shorter time, since they were already milled? I guess the problem was that i was milling 80g this time and last time i only milled 60g i have really small mill and it was probbably too full.
OldMarine Posted December 28, 2017 Posted December 28, 2017 Put it back in the mill for about half the time you used before. Do you cook your own charcoal? If so there is a chance you overcooked it. I did so and had a slow sparkly BP. Made a nice rocket delay but not much else. I hope for you it's just under milled as NJ said.
snowzoor Posted December 28, 2017 Posted December 28, 2017 (edited) Yes i cook my own, but it is the same charcoal as in the first video so that shouldn't be a problem. The only difference was that i wanted to save some time since NY is coming and i put in the mill 80g batch instead of 60g. I am just going to go with 60g and half the time as you said. Will post test results when done! Edited December 28, 2017 by snowzoor 2
snowzoor Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 (edited) The powder was just a bit wet still. I tried firing 10g of whistle mix with it and the second one is the pistol salute. The ratio of BP is 3g for 30 grams salute and it worked just fine! Here is the link:https://www.dropbox.com/s/mt7du1pgqzc6u4s/20171230_125043.mp4?dl=0 Edited December 30, 2017 by snowzoor
Arthur Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 All the pyro formulae that I know of are in weight (or parts by weight) Once you have the right weights then you mill them together. The usual issues are with the milling. If it's a "fine" mix to burn then simply mill it more til it's all one colour. DIY mills are very UNlikely to be as efficient as big commercial mills, 12hours milling is nothing uncommon!
Svimmer Posted January 2, 2018 Author Posted January 2, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MsSXX52vC8 Good enough for lift?
Mumbles Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 Looks fine to me. As others have said, I wouldn't worry about the color itself, just the performance. 1
Arw Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 Hey all!I'm back after 1.5 year.I ask a question here to do not open another topicmy meal powder always stick around of my ball millI guess my KNO3 was wet but dry them in 45 degree for 8 hours but they are stick again!!!!!mill time is 12-18h
dagabu Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 Water, that is the only reason it will stick. It needs to be dry, check the charcoal, it is usually the culprit. 1
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