NFESmoke Posted March 15 Posted March 15 (edited) I am in search of a composition that burns hot and burns slow. I have a smoke mixture that uses kno3/sugar and wax that has a really great output. What I am finding is that in colder climate using a 50/50 ignition mix of kno3 and sugar burns way too fast and never sets off the smoke comp. In warmer weather it works fine but it is very aggressive. I have tried adding saw dust to the ignition mix. I tried changing the ratio of kno3 and sugar. I tried sodium perchlorate and still not getting the desired result. I almost need something that burns like those black snakes without the byproduct. just tonight I ground up one of those sticky fireplace starter bars and added that to the 50/50 mix and worked somewhat but it’s just a pain to handle Edited March 15 by NFESmoke
LiamPyro Posted March 15 Posted March 15 Depending on what chems you have on hand, I would incorporate a metallic fuel (Al, MgAl) or silicon powder and make the composition fuel-rich to slow the burn (exact proportions aren’t critical). The metal/silicon could simply be added to the KNO3/sugar, or to a mixture of potassium perchlorate or nitrate with some combination of charcoal, sulfur, red gum, or other organic fuel. Sugar works but is rather hygroscopic when not bound with paraffin. Compacting the mixture into the smoke fuel core (vs loose powder) will slow the burn and help the heat transfer, obviously. It’s been a while since I made Legendary smokes, but another trick is to coat the end of a piece of visco with a large blob of a nitrocellulose-bound ignition mixture and insert this into the device…
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