FiroweWorks Posted yesterday at 01:41 AM Share Posted yesterday at 01:41 AM Hello, I just made some BP with my new ball mill. I decided, for fun, to mix by hand some bp and NaHCO3 with a 80/20 ratio. It burned bright yellow (even though it doesn't look like it in the vid). Was my ratio close to the best for a yellow flame? (I couldn't find any recipes that only include sodium bicarbonate). Also do all chemicals that make colors in stars have the same ratios? Does anybody have a chart for different star comps? PXL_20241105_234008062~3.mp4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiroweWorks Posted yesterday at 02:00 AM Author Share Posted yesterday at 02:00 AM Just tried again but doubled the sodium bicarbonate... it proved too much. Wouldn't burn. So now I know I was at least a little close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiroweWorks Posted yesterday at 02:24 AM Author Share Posted yesterday at 02:24 AM Also extra questions, how are the names for stars made? for example d1 glitter what does the d1 mean? Also would it be better to use slower bp for stars so that it burns for longer? Sorry for so many questions.😅 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zumber Posted 22 hours ago Share Posted 22 hours ago (edited) I really don't know what are you trying to prepare. I assume you are looking for yellow star using sodium bicarbonate. Have you searched this forum and read something what you want to do? If you search here you will find a lot of information, before experimenting something read some basics so it will give a proper direction plus safety instructions. There is no rule for star names, the person who invented something he decides name for it, sometimes name is given according to ratio of oxidizer and fuel for e.g. C6 C8 etc...name can also be given according to star function e.g. glitter,streamer,strobe,colour etc. For more information read terms and definitions which is already posted here. Edited 22 hours ago by Zumber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmjlab Posted 8 hours ago Share Posted 8 hours ago Lots of questions! 1. Is my ratio close to the best for a yellow flame? Lol, you were there, you tell me..... in all seriousness, a lot of people don't care for a sodium colored flame and use different methods to achieve different versions of yellow, each is subjective to the person wanting to make yellow, as to which is the best. Just search for "yellow star" and do some filtering, and you will see what we mean. Sodium bicarbonate is used in a quite a few glitters as an antimony replacement, but I've not seen any yellows that rely on baking soda. 2. Do all chemicals that make color have the same ratios? No. Much like yellow, different formulas use different chemicals to achieve the subjectively "best" colors. Some formulas may look the same, but different in percentages of the color imparting chemical, as a means to tweak color depth, shade, brightness, etc. 3. Does anyone have a chart for colored star compositions? Maybe, if they made one. But it would be incredibly difficult to capture all colors in one chart. Some color "systems" may have a chart available online, such as the "Veline" star system, or the "NX" star system (standing for Ned Gorsky's Test System - I'd highly recommend a subscription to fireworking.com if you can swing it, there is a formula database there. ) 4. How are stars named? What Zumber Saud above. Specifically the D1 was an effort by a guy named Drewes, with input from Rebenklau, to create a nice glitter using baking sida, IIRC (nice being subjective - but it's a popular formula, so lots of people agree), so they names it D1 for Drewes who started and was the main effort of making the star. IIRC they started with a Winokur glitter formula. 5. Would it be better to use slow B.P. for stars so it burns for longer? Like all things pyro, it depends..... slow b.p. is great for prime in most cases, as it allows a better transfer of heat to the star comp underneath. You can also use individual chems for any of the stars that call for b.p., it will just look a bit different. And like Zumber said, in some of Shimizu's charcoal stars like C6, etc, sometimes they are a faster burning comp, so it depends. Lists of questions, but like others said, it's helpful to put them in context if you want any input of value. To learn more, aside from here on APC, there's a few great books like F.A.S.T. (Shimizu), Pyrotechnics (Hardt), and several others that address pyro. A subscription to fireworking.com where there are the more active users, and a wealth of information, and/or passfire.com which has a lot of articles and info (but not many active users). Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Swede Posted 7 hours ago Share Posted 7 hours ago Lots of good advise but I would like to point out that black powder never is used as the base for coloured flames. You need much cleaner burning compositions for that, with less particles in the flame and usually no charcoal at all (or just a very small amount). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted 4 hours ago Share Posted 4 hours ago Quote There are many sorts of stars made with black powder ingredients, try all of them til you have them right and repeatable, then look for mixes using BP ingredients plus one or two items. Buy or download any of the classic texts, and find the formulae offered and understand how they work -binders, fuels, oxidisers, chlorine donors, etc etc. Then you will begin to understand which formula to use and why. A typical colour star will be ABOUT 60% Perc 15% fuel, 5% binder and some colourant and chlorine donor. Chlorates cannot be safely used with BP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiroweWorks Posted 3 hours ago Author Share Posted 3 hours ago Sorry but I'm new to making stars. What is perc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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