Fire-Man Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 I'm not sure on where this should go, but this seems just about right. I am building my 2nd shells 3", and have no idea how to make BP coated rice hulls, I have dextrin and bp, plus the rice hulls. Do I shake them around in a pan? After I have the dextrin on the hulls?
asilentbob Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 This is a section for members to post tutorials... Your looking for the beginner area... But...Screen some dextrin into your meal so that the meal is about 2-5% dextrin... Personally I use 2%... whatever works... I would suggest making about 200g of this meal/dextrin to start. Next you must moisten your hulls. Different people do this in different ways... personally I put some in a round bottom metal or plastic bowl and spray them slightly with 25% isopropyl 75% water solution... I just measure by volume since it works fine for me. You don't want soaking wet hulls, just a bit moist so that the meal/dextrin will stick to them. You want to make sure that the hulls are evenly moist and don't stick to each other too. If you over wet them you must let them dry out significantly before trying again. I shake them around in the bowl and add small amounts of meal/dextrin. I keep shaking/swirling around the hulls until they are all coated slightly, then I add more... occasionally I apply a bit more alcohol/water solution and repeat adding meal/dextrin until I'm satisfied with the thickness of the BP/dextrin layer. Generally people will measure how much BP/dextin they are coating onto how much hulls... and come up with a ratio... like 4:1 BP:hulls, etc...
TheSidewinder Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 (This post *IS* in the right section, at least now. Maybe someone moved it.) asilentbob's method works well. My method is similar, but I actually soak my hulls in water then drain them in a strainer for about a half-hour. I then place my prepared BP/Dex (I use 5%) in a large ziplock, add the hulls, seal it (adding air to make it like a pillow) then shake it well, until all the comp is absorbed, then spread out on paper to dry. I use ratios anywhere from 4:1 to 7:1 and this has worked well for me.
Mumbles Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 Yes, someone did move it. Probably should have left a note.
Fire-Man Posted January 10, 2008 Author Posted January 10, 2008 Thanks for all the responses! Sorry I put it in the wrong category. I'm thinking that making the pre-dextrin+Meal, then putting it in the air filled Ziploc baggies with the soaked hulls and shaking it will be the easiest for me to try first, then when making larger quantities I will try the others. Thanks again! It's good I knew to soak the hulls!
Fire-Man Posted January 10, 2008 Author Posted January 10, 2008 Is the 25% isopropyl necesary? Can I just buy it at Home Depot? Also how long should I let them dry before I add meal? 30min?
Mumbles Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 No, the alcohol is not neccesary. For future reference, Isopropyl alcohol is also known as rubbing alcohol, and sold in every pharmacy and grocery store. Generally all I do after soaking the hulls is to shake the hulls out. I take two strainers, and place themtogether to form a aphere. I then swing them to shake all the excess water out. It takes out enough water to appropriately bind the burst.
TheSidewinder Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 Alcohol will degrade the Dextrin's ability to bind, too. It deactivates it somehow. You're safe up to about 10% alcohol, IIRC, but this is one case in which you don't need any at all.
Frozentech Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 No, the alcohol is not neccesary. For future reference, Isopropyl alcohol is also known as rubbing alcohol, and sold in every pharmacy and grocery store. Generally all I do after soaking the hulls is to shake the hulls out. I take two strainers, and place themtogether to form a aphere. I then swing them to shake all the excess water out. It takes out enough water to appropriately bind the burst. I soak them in very hot water, then wring them out in an old dishtowel, tumble them in a star roller, sprinkle with BP +5% dextrin, and mist water from a sprayer as required to make them pick up BP = 5X the dry weight of the hulls. Then I dry them on on old window screen with a fan set on lowest setting blowing across them. I recently got a large box of cottonseed that I want to try as a carrier for BP burst, but I have to pick out a lot of twigs and dried leaves from it first. Might not be worth the PITA ...
crazyboy25 Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 I soak the hulls in hot water for a half hour, then put them in a mesh bag made from window screen. Then spin them around my head for about 30-45 seconds and I dump them in a large Tupperware container with my BP and dextrin and shake it up. Frozentech, please tell us how the cotton seed goes I have been curious since I read fireworks: the art science and technique, because Takeo Shimizu recommends them.
Sylar Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 I also heard of "rice crispies" cereal being used. I have some of those and wonder how to get them to not stick together/swell up too much/become soggy ... Anyone here who has experience with this carrier?
qwezxc12 Posted January 10, 2008 Posted January 10, 2008 I also heard of "rice crispies" cereal being used. I have some of those and wonder how to get them to not stick together/swell up too much/become soggy ... Anyone here who has experience with this carrier?Sylar, I originally posted this in the Random Thread in September...You do not pre-soak the rice crispies; you alternately spray them and add meal, just like rolling stars. I make my BP/crispies in my roller. I used to use a 5:1 ratio, which is convenient as my bowl will make 600g of coated crispies without being overfilled. As I work more with flash breaks now , I've lowered the ratio to 4:1 since the BP is there to aid ignition and add gas output, not break the shell. Seems to work the same in shells 3in to 8in so far. I dump the (dry) crispies in and *lightly* spray them to just get them damp and add the BP in small increments to start with, like a slightly rounded teaspoon full. It's like rolling stars; you need to start the process in small increments or you'll fill your roller with junk and coat the bowl walls. Once the crispies have some mass to them, they tumble better and are much less likely to stick together. Once I've added ~100g of BP, I can add larger amounts at once. It usually works out to 10 sprays, then add a heaping tablespoon of BP. I used to make them in a big bowl and swirl them around while spraying, then add BP, but it left lots of dry powder. The crispies are much denser when made in the roller, too. Also, I do not use dextrin. I use 1.5% CMC milled in with the BP.
Sylar Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Thanks, definately gonna try the rice crispy way then. I'll probably use dextrin as the binder.
Phildo Posted January 13, 2008 Posted January 13, 2008 I found rice crispies a little too big for 3" shells and don't care to buy a big pile of hulls. I use common grass seed; http://www.ihaveadotcom.com/Pyro/Seed/grass_seed_burst.htm
hst45 Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 I found rice crispies a little too big for 3" shellsTry puffed milllet. You can get it at the health-food co-op; it's about the size of BB's and is killer for small shells.
oskarchem Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 Hey, I like very much the idea of using grass seads, because I have like a 25kg bag in the back of the house!
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