Good Relatively Safe Gerb/Fountain Comps?

[jm82792]

I just made and lit my first BP and FE-TI based fountain(my first comp) and it preformed pretty well,

I'd like to use colors, and the next step from what I'm seeing is to do

potassium perchlorate based fountains/comps..

 

A couple links would be nice,

I'd like to keep it stable,

rather easy to achieve and reasonably priced.

 

It would be nice to have it so I have the least amount of chemicals and have a wide array of colors(changing the comp with the same chemicals thus changing color), however I'm not sure if that's a reasonable expectation.

 

 

Is this a good comp to try?

http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to...ks-fountain.asp

I'd like to get a idea of a chemical list for a variety of colors since ordering more than once gets rather pricey.

 

Also,

I'd like to make mini crackling stars that commercially available fountains possess,

a link would be great, although I have a feeling they aren't easy to make.

 

Thanks for reading,

Josh

Edited November 16, 2009 by jm82792

[mike_au]

Crackling microstars or "dragon's eggs" aren't too hard to make. You need:

 

coarse magnalium

lead tetraoxide (highly toxic and probably regulated in a lot of areas) or bismuth subcarbonate/bismuth trioxide (expensive)

nitrocellulose lacquer (a few people seem to have trouble with ping pong balls in acetone so you may need single base smokeless powder or real nc lacquer)

possibly black copper oxide.

 

If you are planning to make perchlorate based fountains a press would probably be a sound investment before you start. I haven't got a press, so I can't really recommend any compositions

[scarbelly]

I've heard bismuth subcarbonate is fairly cheap, but I've never been able to find any anywhere. Not that I looked particularly hard...

[optimus]

The following formulea list should be of interest. Thoroughly recommended!

 

Do NOT ram any of these compositions!

 

http://paraphysics.com/~mark/glasswick_gerb.jpg

[Gunzway]

Keep in mind, I wouldn't really call cracking micro stars (dragon eggs) 'safe'. I suppose they can become relatively safe if the correct procedures are taken and you know what you're doing (like most aspects in pyrotechnics), but I wouldn't call them a place for beginners to start. You absolutely need to press them if you don't want your fountain to explode mid-way making it. Just doing some impact tests, it doesn't take much to make them ignite with a hit and they've got some power to them.Bismuth subcarbonate is relatively cheap, I got mine for a pretty good deal and a pound or so of it does last a long time. They are also quite loud, so it might not be a great idea to do it if you live in the heart of suburbia.

[jm82792]

Okay I did read about micro crackling stars/dragon eggs,

I won't be putting it into a fountain then,

primarily since I want to keep things as non reactive as I can plus I don't currently have the money to spend on a press and I'm 17.

I'm limited to stuff that I can do without a press and I don't want to take any risks that big.

 

 

I'd like to do them using Bismuth subcarbonate,

I can't and won't risk the toxicity with lead tetraoxide.

Since I've seen micro crackling stars go off,

I think doing tiny batches would be wise since I have the time to do so.

 

 

So from what I'm understanding ramming perchlorate fountains isn't the way to go since it's more sensitive than BP based fountains, or is that associated with particular perchlorate fountain comps ?

 

Can from what optimus mentioned,

not ram the fountains and avoid the chance of it ignitng ?

 

If so how do I make a nozzle without the application of force ?

 

 

 

 

Gunzway,

Noise isn't an issue on New Years,

so many here spend hundreds on fire crackers and/or buy a $500 box of you're garden variety 1.4

(however aerials are illegal).

Not many Japanese or Chinese in the neighborhood,

but it's really loud on that particular night so it wouldn't be a disturbance.

 

However after that it would eventually cause issues,

so I need to burn everything that's noisy in one night.

 

Now you mentioned they aren't for beginners,

is that because they are so sensitive and many people do large batches ?

 

What if I did 100g batches or 50g?

Edited November 16, 2009 by jm82792

[Seymour]

Crackling micro stars are very sensitive, compared to most compositions we use. You can do what ever batch size you want, but make sure you do some research about them first. I personally see no point in doing small batches for any reason other than that is all you need for the firework you are making.

 

Black powder is pretty special in that we can ram it with a degree of confidence (which I might add is broken when it does occasionally ignite). With other compositions, including most if not all Potassium perchlorate compositions (and definitely all chlorate and Ammonium perchlorate compositions), ramming is a much higher risk (read, not good idea), and if the composition is energetic enough, it will do more than ignite when it... er... pops.

 

You can always ram a clay plug before pressing a sensitive composition above it. But you can also press clay plugs. By pressing, we are not talking about hand pressure, but using an arbor press, or a hydraulic one.

 

By the way, just like ramming BP comps, pressing perchlorate compositions has caused accidents. It is the safest way to get it done, not the safe way.

[Mumbles]

Just a heads up for everyone, but this is a good press to get started with. It's a cheap chinese arbor press. Sign up for their mailing list, and you'll get free UPS shipping and 10% off coupons all the time. They generally have minimum orders, but you can catch a good deal every now and then.

 

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=...p;PMPXNO=949902

 

That size is the largest that doesn't need to go by truck that is made by Enco, just FYI. The free shipping doesn't apply to truck shipments. Colored comps generally need less pressure anyway. See Danny Creagan's site for a way to modify the press to allow for a longer tube and depth.

[jm82792]

So pressing is a constant pressure that is safer/less dangerous,

unlike a sudden blow of a mallet.

Shipping anything out here isn't cheap,

I could imagine hundreds shipping the press here.

 

Atleast I can ram BP fountains rather safely I'm assuming.

 

I don't want to run a larger risk than BP of ignition,

Potassium perchlorate comps seem to be something that I should skip for now.

 

Well for now I've made some decent lift for some mines,

I can mess with stars and stick with simple lower sensitivity comps.

Edited November 17, 2009 by jm82792

[optimus]

Read the description of how the Glasswick gerbs are pressed in the article - I've also heard of perchlorate fountain comps being 'lightly hand-tamped'. I've used hand pressure to consolidate the blue steel gerb composition and never had any issues with CATOs or poor consolidation. I have also used hand pressure with the glasswick formulas, again no issues. As Mumbles mentioned, an arbor press is a good choice with these kind of fountains, but you don't necessarily need one. You can also press these damp with alcohol as long as you don't mind waiting for them to dry.

 

Bear in mind that these were all 1/2"ID - I wouldn't feel comfortable doing anything much larger by hand.

 

Don't get too comfortable though - always wear appropriate PPE.

[jm82792]

Using a solvent, like denatured alcohol would make it so I just have to push the "doughy" mix down the fountain and it would lower(by how much) the chance of it going off, right ?

I'm assuming it's because it makes it smooth and somewhat "prepacked" so that when you press it don it corporates much easier.

I'd like to do those comps since the chemical list is short and they aren't that hard to find,

well minus parlon, where do I go about buy it ?

 

I'll look around for a press,

so many people are moving away I could score a smaller one since I'd be keeping my fountains small.

Precisely how does using a press with fountains make it safer ?

 

 

I'm not sure what PPE stands for,

I'm assuming safety precautions but I'm thinking.

 

 

Sorry that I'm not trying to be difficult

Edited November 17, 2009 by jm82792

[jm82792]

Any suggestions on a good book for pyro?

I'd like to know a good amount about the chemicals commonly used,

what reacts with what, how to make XXX, milling and such....

Basically something that's really in depth and accurate.

[Ralph]

a press applys the pressure slowly and evenly hence making it realively safe (they even press things like mercury fulminate)

 

PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment

[jm82792]

Thanks for clarifying what a press des to make it safer.

 

And thanks for all the people who helped me out with my newbie questions!