stormyweathers Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 a friend of mine has some aluminum powder, NH4ClO4, KClO3, and H2SO4 is there much that we can do with this? i could easily get PVC or CuO to change the color [green i think], but like i said, i am not in any way experienced
TrueBluePyro Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Well, what do you expect to get out of pyrotechnics, are you just wanting to burn things and make these colours or do you want to throw them into the air and break them in a shell and stuff? Because if you want to do proper pyrotechnics, the first few things you are going to need are: KNO3CharcoalSulfur Those are the 3 main chems for pyrotechnics, pritty much everything evoles around those. It is used for lift, break, charcoal stars ect. As for the chems you have, they arnt the best stuff to start with, but I'm not really sure what you could do, as I dont have them. ~TBP
Mumbles Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Theres really nothing you can do with the selection you have. If you think you can get PVC from the piping, you are also severely mistaken. Follow TrueBluePyro's advice, and get the stuff for BP, and go from there.
firetech Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 If you have any interest in rocketry, APCP (ammonium perchlorate composite propellant) uses NH4ClO4 as the oxidizer and aluminum powder as a partial fuel. It is by no means the easiest to make, or the cheapest, but I know of several people who have had good experience with it.Here is a specific formula: Aluminum powder...................................16Ammonium perchlorate..............................69.9Fe2O3 catalyst....................................0.07Rubber based binder of polybutadiëne acrylic acidacrylonitrile.....12.04Epoxy curing agent................................1.96 This probably isn't very easy to obtain, but you can do some research on your own.Good luck.
Seymour Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 I would just like to add one warning. Considering you have both Potassium chlorate and Ammonium perchlorate, makesure you never ever mix these. It is one of the most dangerous incompatabilities that exist betyween firework chemicals. Ammonium chlorate would be formed, which is unstable, unreliable, and likes to set things on fire or detonate. Read Read Read And enjoy our world!
stormyweathers Posted June 24, 2009 Author Posted June 24, 2009 ive actually heard of a clean burning flash powder made out of ammonium perchlorate and potassium chloratein small amounts is it safe? and what does BP mean? and is it the same charcoal as used in grills? or a different kind?
NightHawkInLight Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 ive actually heard of a clean burning flash powder made out of ammonium perchlorate and potassium chloratein small amounts is it safe? and what does BP mean? and is it the same charcoal as used in grills? or a different kind?No, it is neither flash, nor is it safe. BP means black powder. It is the same charcoal used in grills, but briquettes contain to many bad things such as clay to be suitable. Natural wood charcoal in its original form (as in, it still looks like pieces of wood, though black) will work. Several brands sell this sort of charcoal. BTW, it cooks a better steak
Ventsi Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 I doubt it, they are both oxidizers but hey I'm no chemistry major , I do avoid it , and if you do don't do it in quantities larger than .5g since they react to form ammonium chlorate , which is a highly unstable explosive which can go off even by itself , no friction or anything , so if for some reason you do make dispose of it ASAP. BP stands for Black Powder ,a composition consistiong of 75 parts KNO3,15 parts Charcoal, 10 parts Sulfur and a binder {all parts are by weight. No , you cannot use BBQ briquets they have al kinds of caly, dirt binders etc. I even had a few nail in mine once!You can however use Hardwood LUMP Charcoal which is the stuff straigh out of the carbonization process, you can powder it and use it .
firetech Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Stormyweathers, just don't try the chlorate/ AP mixture. Save them for when you're more experienced-they will come in handy. AP (ammonium perchlorate) can be used in stars, rocket fuels and strobes. Chlorate compositions are almost always sensitive to shock and friction and until you have the basics about safety and how to use pyro chems and such I'd try and avoid it.
Swede Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Tom Perigrin's "Introductory Practical Pyrotechnics" is a good beginner book, and to do all the stuff in this very basic text alone would take a couple years of hands-on effort. You'll learn a lot of the lingo, what comps to avoid, and it'll get you going. The only thing I'd skip is the precipitated black powder he describes... I'd go right to a ball mill setup. Honestly, I think the advice to store and ignore the chlorate and perchlorate for now is a good one. I've been at it now for a couple years and I still have hardly scratched the surface as far as the art of making a good shell. You could spend a decade working with only basic charcoal streamers and glitter and use no more than perhaps 6 or 8 chemicals the whole time. Good luck, and stay safe. Read like crazy.
Arthur Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 READ lots of books, real books! Lancaster Shimizu. Perigrin perhaps Davis, All wrote good solid reliable books all are still available new or through ABEbooks.com in your country. I'd seriously suggest that you read the forum here and several books for six months without getting dirty hands! BP is the first target, then make good BP! Fountains are simple and can be a variant of BP.
stormyweathers Posted June 25, 2009 Author Posted June 25, 2009 (edited) thanks for the advicei guess ill read a few books and try to make some BP this summer also, another quick question:why does filed PVC piping not react the same way as PVC powder? Edited June 25, 2009 by stormyweathers
Arthur Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 PVC pipe isnn't pure PVC! Pure PVC is pretty useless for products as it is too brittle and decomposes in sunlight. ALL PVC that has been manufactured into sometning is 35 - 75% PVC and the rest is flame inhibitors and oily plasticisers. Also pure PVC is a micro fine powder that integrates intl compounds well. filed pipe is coarse millimeter lumps in comparison.
stormyweathers Posted June 26, 2009 Author Posted June 26, 2009 ok, i got that.is that the same with aluminum foil Vs powder?
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