firetech Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 I don't see a thread of starmines and other devices of that sorta so I will begin one here.Has anyone has any experience with ghost mines? Aka gas or liquid fueled fireballs. I've been trying myself on a very small scale with gasoline and have not had any success.. the my current ratio was 2g bp under 2.5g gas in a 3/4 tube.
Ventsi Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 There is alredy a thread on liquid fireballs. http://www.apcforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=281 Itried making some small 1" ghost mines with methyl and Boric Acid Btw. 2g BP for 2.5g Gas?Thats way too much Try 2g BP for atleast 10g gas.
firetech Posted March 17, 2009 Author Posted March 17, 2009 Skylighter had a ratio of something like 40g bp/50g gas..I was following that. I noticed the liquid fireball thread within minutes after posting this topic..Oh well. This forum needs a thread on mines anyway. I'll give the 2/10 ratio a try.
Ventsi Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) You misread He uses 40 grams confined High-Q BP for ONE Gallon of Fuel and 50 grams colorant [boric acid is my favorite] Acording to my Calculations The ratio is: 4 grams for half a liter of fuel ,try using a 1/10 ratio or something it should be plenty since it the normal lift ratio.It should work IMHO If all else fails use some CuO/Dark Al flash [im too scared to go near any "real flash"]. It should be 10g flash for half a liter of fuel Edited March 18, 2009 by Ventsi
firetech Posted March 18, 2009 Author Posted March 18, 2009 ah Ventsi, thank you. You're right thats what I had skipped over.
psyco_1322 Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 I suggest you dont try shooting a liter or any amount of fuel with flash. Flash is not going to end this very pretty. You're looking to get a grounded lampare effect with that, this includes flying pieces of mortar. Good bp, like Goex, would be suggested for use.
FrKoNaLeaSh1010 Posted April 4, 2009 Posted April 4, 2009 Flash can definitely be used in smaller ground based fireballs as long as you dont use metal canisters. You just need to realize that you only need a very small amount and I used to used slightly over fueled or adding some coarser aluminum for more sparks to ignite the gasliquid fuel. I also agree that making methyl borate using boric acid and methanol makes a beautiful green fireball. I used to dig a hole and put a 3-4g flash salute m80 styled in the bottom with a big ziploc bag full of gasoline or methyl borate on top. Since the charge itself is underground there is very little risk of shrapnel or flying debris
superman1451 Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 Is it highly recommended to put metal in the lift?I attempted to make a green fireball but all we got was vaporized methanol. Also we tried some flour fireballs but those were a complete fail. We ended up throwing the rest into the campfire for the heck of it.
firetech Posted April 15, 2009 Author Posted April 15, 2009 Couldn't hurt, it would actually encourage the burning of the substance you intend to create a fireball with. Flash can be used but isn't always recommended.
Mumbles Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 Some construction details might be helpful in diagnosing your problem. I can tell you from experience that no metal is needed in the lift to ensure ignition of fuels like methanol, though I've never tried straight flour.
superman1451 Posted April 16, 2009 Posted April 16, 2009 Sorry about the slow response, I've had to deal with school and suchSome construction details were:On the green fireball we tried, I had a 2-strand homemade quickmatch that ran down to a plastic baggie with 44 grams of charcoal airfloat lift that was taped to the pipe. That went into a 2.5 inch morter. Then on top of that went a plastic baggie with 355 ml of methanol with 1 or 2 spoonfuls of boric acid. The baggie was sort of a tight fit but eventually went down the morter. When it lit it seemed like fireing a dummy shell For the flour fireballs, we just got a couple of spoonfuls of the same lift and put a tissue paper in between then put 3-4 spoonfulls of flour on top. The morter was about 1.5 inches and was side fused. The first one just blew the flour out. The seconed one we put more lift and more flour and leaned it up against a box. On this box we put a pile of magnesium on which we lit. We were loosely basing the idea off of the mythbuster sawdust fireball. This one completely destroyed the morter
Ventsi Posted April 16, 2009 Posted April 16, 2009 I have also found out that simply placing the lift in a baggie and firing wont do. What you could do is:1.Put a little bit of metal insde your lift baggie[Ti sponge ,Al flitters even some SteelWool will do!]2.Put a secondary ignition ,for example some stars in the lift or maybe a small but strong flame on top of the mortar.Even a stick taped to the side of your gun with some tussie paper soaked in gasoline /methanol will ensure igition.But be cautious ,you dont want the fuel to ignite too early!
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