Adding dark al to meal

[Ipaced789]

Quick question, would there be any extreme safety issue by asking 1-2% dark aluminum to meal powder and running it through the mill for 30 mins to mix?

 

Im asking as Ive done my testing with hulls and coating them with dark al for better break thats a bit softer than flash. But its just a pain dealing with dusting, would like to just incorporate it at the end of the mill. Thanks in advance for advice

[SharkWhisperer]

Quick question, would there be any extreme safety issue by asking 1-2% dark aluminum to meal powder and running it through the mill for 30 mins to mix?

 

Im asking as Ive done my testing with hulls and coating them with dark al for better break thats a bit softer than flash. But its just a pain dealing with dusting, would like to just incorporate it at the end of the mill. Thanks in advance for advice

Instead of dusting, and instead of milling metals with BP in a ball mill (not a good idea, even with just 1-2% dark Al), why not just screen-mix your Al together with your meal a few times through a 20 or 30 mesh screen and then use that for coating hulls? A lot safer than considering milling. Would you get away with milling? Probably. Does the risk = reward? No. You will get no discernible additional benefit/component integration from milling than you will by gentle screen mixing your Al into pre-milled meal.

 

I often add Al or Mgal to my BP mill dust for making blackmatch for certain purposes. And many fountains contain metals including Al mixed into a modified BP base comp. And Al is in many BP-based stars. But in none of those instances is the metal milled together with the BP base. For good reason.

 

Short answer: Just screen mix them together. This is now a very dilute nitrate flash/ramped-up BP hybrid, so use appropriate care.

[Ipaced789]

I appreciate the detailed reply. Kinda figured as much, considering its a metal and all, just hoped maybe I missed something and it would be safe

 

I wanted to go that route, as my workshop is my shed, and I try to not handle the dust as much as possible and its so humid in my area daily that I hate mixing anything outside.

 

But, safety wins this one. I appreciate the feedback and will go the screening route

[SharkWhisperer]

I appreciate the detailed reply. Kinda figured as much, considering its a metal and all, just hoped maybe I missed something and it would be safe

 

I wanted to go that route, as my workshop is my shed, and I try to not handle the dust as much as possible and its so humid in my area daily that I hate mixing anything outside.

 

But, safety wins this one. I appreciate the feedback and will go the screening route

 

Great. It's faster too. Two minutes and you're ready to coat hulls. Boom, you just saved 28 minutes. Shouldn't be too dusty if you're in a shed with an open door. Spraying your meal with a couple squirts of water won't hurt anything if you want to keep the dust down a little bit, but I never bother. You're just going to be putting it on damp hulls anyways.

 

Are you milling your BP with a binder like dextrin to help adhere to your hulls? Can screen mix that in, too.

[Ipaced789]

Yeah, I just add the dex 1% along with everything else. Seems like it works pretty good that way and saves time.

 

While were here, would mixing in red gum in with the milling process be close to as good of performance vs the aluminum screened? Since red gum is a fuel, it makes me curious if itll add any extra oomph to the powder. (BP is good, using willow coal now) just looking for simple safe ways to break small shells without the hassle of flash boosters lol

[SharkWhisperer]

Yeah, I just add the dex 1% along with everything else. Seems like it works pretty good that way and saves time.

 

While were here, would mixing in red gum in with the milling process be close to as good of performance vs the aluminum screened? Since red gum is a fuel, it makes me curious if itll add any extra oomph to the powder. (BP is good, using willow coal now) just looking for simple safe ways to break small shells without the hassle of flash boosters lol

No, red gum won't enhance your BP burst anywhere close to what a small amount fine metal powder will (dark Al or milled MgAl).

 

Red gum's a decent fuel and is great in stars/comets but it is not as fast or hot as metal, or hot BP, and will slow your BP down if anything. That's why Skylighter's shitty "no-milling" red gum BP kit is so shitty (well, after the crap hardwood charcoal they include.).

 

Your meal supplemented with 1-2% metal isn't all that different from plain BP in terms of general handling and safety. Just burns a little more vigorously.