scarbelly Posted December 19, 2009 Posted December 19, 2009 Alright thanks. How about drying it on low heat on a hot plate or under a hot light bulb?
Ventsi Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 I dunno, maybe the hot plate might work. Or you could build yourself a drying box with that light bulb!
scarbelly Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 Alright haha, well I'll try a few things out. Make a science out of it, weighing the sample before and after drying. I'm feeling like the hotplate is my favorite option, because I already have one dedicated to chemistry/pyrotechnics. I really need to get some better storage... the whether can be pretty wet here.
dagabu Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 Alright haha, well I'll try a few things out. Make a science out of it, weighing the sample before and after drying. I'm feeling like the hotplate is my favorite option, because I already have one dedicated to chemistry/pyrotechnics. I really need to get some better storage... the whether can be pretty wet here. Lots of rain lately? You can just tend the ball mill and tap the jar every 15 minutes until finished. I have had to do that in the summer a few times, I have a gallon jar, PVC, and it will take a lot of abuse so banging it on the ground works well. D
firetech Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 Caking in the mill was a sign to me that it was done, and that there was to little media in the jar. If the bp is constantly getting thrown around it can't clump. My jar is filled 2/3 with .300 lead balls and 200g of comp usually fills it as high as the media comes.
scarbelly Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 Yeah we've had some rain recently, but in general the place I live tends to be very damp out. It's foggy pretty much everyday (we've been a little luckier with the weather recently, but it's still not dry). I think I'll try the banging on the jar every once in a while until I get drier ingredients. One big problem is that my mill is not parallel to the ground, and the butt end is facing slightly downhill. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure why I don't make a level spot for it... I'm pretty sure that my black powder isn't done. The first time I noticed it, I had milled a total of 10 hours. I opened 'er up and low and behold at the bottom was caked all my BP. I sieved it out and at the bottom, I could still tell apart independent charcoal particles... This time wasn't nearly as bad, but I still don't think it was quite done. I'm also fairly positive that I am not short on media. It's virtually exactly half full - 200 1/2" hardened lead balls in a 3 lb lortone rock tumbler jar (I think it's 3 pounds, the diameter is about 4 inches and the length is around 5 - 1/2 to 6". Is it possible I'm overloading with BP? I've been doing about 150 grams per batch, whereas before - when I used it on the rock tumbler - I was doing around 100 grams, and on a level surface. Sorrry to be so long winded, but which is a bigger problem in my case: wetness or the hill aspect?
Ventsi Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 SB, I do 200 gram batches in mine. Works fine. I use the actual rock tumbler and run it for 36 hours. Works great.
scarbelly Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 Ok, well I guess I'll crack out my level and try to find a better position for it. Ventsi, 36 hours is kind of a lot isn't it? Have you tried dropping back the load 50 grams? You could probably half your mill times and still get excellent black powder.
firetech Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 How slow is your mill turning? Thats extremely excessive. It may be necessary, but thats a bad sign...The common saying is that a ball mill should be able to produce satisfactory bp in 4 hours. My mill has successfully done that. I have the same mill as most of you guys do....it might be the media?http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=65840
Ventsi Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 Its just a standard rock tumbler , jar is filled with 3-4lbs of brass. Not a "real" mill. If I had to guess I'd say I actually milled it closer to 24hrs but I'm not sure, somewhere in between. I haven't really tested how long I need to mill my BP, but that seems to make it real hot. And no I'm not building a mill right now. A proper small portable magazine is next on my list after Christmas is done with.
Gunzway Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 I agree with scarbelly, you can really reduce your mill times if you drop a little back. My mill is one of those 3lb dual duo rock tumblers that I managed to snatch for free and one 3lb can generally take 200grams of composition. I've been milling 100gram batches of black powder the whole week, not just because it has reduced the amount of time I need to mill it; but been using balsa and if you know anything about balsa you'll know it 15grams takes A LOT of volume. I've been milling each batch for roughly 6 -7 hours and it's producing lift that is incredibly fast. There's no point to mill it any further.
scarbelly Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 Yeah, if I were you, before trying to drop your mill times (as everyone else seems to be able to do 200g) you should just test it out at different mill times to see how much the extra milling helps. My bet is that 24 hours is quite a bit of wasted time, in which the slight increase in speed stops being worth the time (because you could be milling the next batch in that time). That would enable 2-3 batches of really good BP in what would normally take 1 batch of AWESOME BP. May be a little slower, but I doubt that's gonna be significant.
TrueBluePyro Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) This is meant for the HE section but mumbles never replys to my PM's... I have nitro methane and AN. I want to make ANNM. [Edited] Edited December 20, 2009 by Mumbles Not happening.
TrueBluePyro Posted December 20, 2009 Posted December 20, 2009 This is meant for the HE section but mumbles never replys to my PM's... I have nitro methane and AN. I want to make ANNM. [Edited] Fair enough. I'll find the information my self.
TheEskimo Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) Scarbelly...I would have to say that dampness is the problem, not overloading. My media fills up perhaps 3/8 of my jar, and I routinely overload, until the jar is 4/5 full of BP ingredients. Anytime I just chuck in the ingredients plain, it clumps. But, if I put my charcoal and KNO3 in the oven at 175F for 20 mins, and transfer directly to the ballmill, I never have clumping problems. I then mill for about 6-7 hours for BP that knocks your socks off. Of course, charcoal makes a difference in the power...my grannie's paulownia certainly packs a punch.However, I don't know if this applies to different sized mills. Would clumping affect a gallon jar less than a hobby mill jar? My jar, btw, is 4 inches by 12 inches, ID.Goodness me, according to xetap, my mill is too slow. I think mine clocks out around 65-75rpm for my jar. Edited December 21, 2009 by TheEskimo
scarbelly Posted December 21, 2009 Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) Can someone suggest to me something I might get some friends for christmas? I'm specifically asking about three girls, we're all pretty good friends, one of whom I am as you might say, interested in, and she knows it, and she is in me as well (at least unless that's changed very recently). Thanks for any help guys. I feel like kind of an idiot for needing to ask this... EDIT: I'm not thinking fireworks btw. I show them fireworks anyways, and that would be somewhat selfish IMO because I get more pleasure out of them than anyone else. Edited December 21, 2009 by scarbelly
firetech Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 All girls like chocolate, unless they don't. Hope this helps! But ugh,,, I don't know. It really depends on what they are interested in. I don't think they would be into getting make up or body lotion from a dude, but maybe something nice like jewelry and some candy. I don't know how old you are, which makes a difference......I hope my response isn't too immature for your age. Good luck!
scarbelly Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) Thanks. Yeah I should have mentioned that I'm nearly 17, a senior in high school. I sort of had already decided to myself that jewelry wasn't something I wanted to do, it's really hard for me to pick jewelry and chances are I'd screw it up. Edit: xetap: I actually have given them all a crapload of music (like 700 songs around 2 weeks ago) and they told me I didn't need to get them anything else. Obviously I still feel like I need to get them something more, but it doesn't have to be huge. Edited December 22, 2009 by scarbelly
Ventsi Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 Guys , I have some 40-10 mesh iron/steel powder, curls/chips. Its brake dust from my auto shop class. I'm going to throw together one or two 1"ID fountains using some fountain mix utilizing BP & Fe. Should I be worried about oxidation issues? Nothing is going to be wet at any point and the stuff is fairly coarse so I wouldn't think so. Also anyone here tried the following gerb comp. : ?BP 73Fe 27 If so , does the standard 1/3 ID choke rule apply? And should the BP be mill dust or would just regular green mix do fine?
firetech Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 I think that will be pretty fast and hot. I'd try C6 or even TT. Just please don't ram this....Ideally the mix should be riced so that the iron will be separated evenly throughout the comp. I would do this will acetone or any other liquid that isn't water. BP usually contains some very small percentage of moisture...but I think you'll be ok. If anything the oxide will just speed it up.
dagabu Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 I think that will be pretty fast and hot. I'd try C6 or even TT. Just please don't ram this....Ideally the mix should be riced so that the iron will be separated evenly throughout the comp. I would do this will acetone or any other liquid that isn't water. BP usually contains some very small percentage of moisture...but I think you'll be ok. If anything the oxide will just speed it up. Yes, you need to coat the iron, it will oxidize and leave you with nothing to burn. Mineral oil is OK, diesel or kerosene is fine but had to be rinsed first, Wax is great, it can be left on forever and contributes to the fuel. KNO3 will oxidize the iron when mixed. D
Ventsi Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 Alright, I'll coat with wax via heating and stirring. Would 1-2% wax be a reasonable amount?
Mumbles Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 Do you know how fast it oxidizes the metal? I've made successful fountains with uncoated iron and steel before. They were all fired within a few days though.
dagabu Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) Do you know how fast it oxidizes the metal? I've made successful fountains with uncoated iron and steel before. They were all fired within a few days though. Yes, time and temperature along with available water. KNO3 is naturally hygroscopic, it holds water very well, it contributes to the oxidization. As it oxidizes, it creates a barrier and keeps the iron from creating sparks. In fountains (or other fire works) the metallic iron oxidizes to produce Fe 2 O 3, a process that produces a large amount of energy sufficient to cause the reacting iron particles to glow, this is not present in rust, the method is different. D Edited December 22, 2009 by dagabu
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