Polumna Posted June 2, 2007 Posted June 2, 2007 hi all I got some KNO3 today and i have mixed up a tigertail-star composition from the greeen man page. 44%KNO344% pine charcoal6% sulfur6% dextrin I tried to light the compositiion, but the composition never ignites.The composition was mixed well and all the chemicals were dry. Any advices would be great, Polumna
pudidotdk Posted June 2, 2007 Posted June 2, 2007 The chemicals must be very well mixed and the charcoal airfloat. The mixture is very hard to light on the ground and burns poor once ignited, but try fire it from a stargun, or a mortar if you go bigger, and it will work okay.
Polumna Posted June 2, 2007 Author Posted June 2, 2007 hi Ok, thanks for your advice.Maybe it helps to wet the composition with 75/25% water, alcohol mix to get the KNO3 into the pores of the charcoal? I have pumped a few stars with a syringe and I´ll try to ignite them. Polumna
Mumbles Posted June 2, 2007 Posted June 2, 2007 Yes, the stars MUST be wet and formed into stars. The powder of the comp barely burns. Ballmilling also helps greatly in producing a nicer effect. It causes the stars to burn shorter, but the spray is wider and more fine grained.
hst45 Posted June 2, 2007 Posted June 2, 2007 (edited) Just mix the compounds together, wet with 75/25 H20/EtOH, cut/pump your stars, and let them dry for a day or so. They should light great every time. Tigertail is EXTREMELY forgiving, and almost impossible to do wrong. Good luck! EDIT: Mumbles, you beat me to it! Edited June 2, 2007 by hst45
moonshot Posted June 3, 2007 Posted June 3, 2007 The proportions of your chems is right. When I make TT stars I mill my mix to get it very fine. Then wet it with the 70/30 water mix until it has the feel of stiff putty. Too much water and you have a gooey mess. But if this happens add some more dry mix. I then roll the comp between pieces of wax paper to the desired thickness, usually 1/4". I then peel the top piece of wax paper off the comp and using a putty knife or thin metal strip I cut the rolled comp into 1/4" squares. If your stars are hard to ignite try drying them longer. When the star is really dry it will be hard like a rock due to the dextrin binder. I also prime my charcoal stars by rolling them in meal BP just after I cut them. Priming virtually insures good ignition. Heres a rocket I made with TT stars. http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m314/di...=Picture054.flv
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