Commercial chlorate stars? - Broken taboos?

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Reviewing videos of Maltese and Chinese shells I often cannot help thinking that it´s commercial practice to break taboos and to use metal fuelled chlorate stars. I think I saw one chinese table of these some years ago, but I´m not sure. So is this completely wayward or are they really using formulas every amateur would reject? Edited January 19, 2010 by AdmiralDonSnider

[Bonny]

Reviewing videos of Maltese and Chinese shells I often cannot help thinking that it´s commercial practice to break taboos and to use metal fuelled chlorate stars. I think I saw one chinese table of these some years ago, but I´m not sure. So is this completely wayward or are they really using formulas every amateur would reject?

 

I'm sure it's possible. Might depend where the shells are sold though. In Canada they are tested for composition as well as a few other things befroe being allowed. They do analysis of the weight and chemical makeup of the stars,burst etc... An item will fail if an undeclared chem is detected or a declared chem is absent, or not within tolorence.

See here (Canada)

 

3.1.2 Chemicals Normally Precluding Authorization

The following chemicals are not allowed:

• Arsenic compounds - poisons;

• boron - readily oxidizable;

• chlorates with sulphur, sulphides, ammonium salts, elemental metals (such as magnesium

or aluminum) or copper or copper salts - such mixtures are friction sensitive and liable to

spontaneous combustion;

• chromium and chromium compounds;

• gallates or gallic acid - incompatible with many chemicals;

• lead and lead compounds or salts - poisons;

• mercury compounds - poisons;

• phosphorus, except for red phosphorus in toy pistol caps;

• picric acid and picrates - incompatible with many chemicals;

• thiocyanates, except for snakes - explosively oxidizable;

• zirconium - explosively oxidizable

[a_bab]

Maltese shells are in no way commercial. They don't sell them to anyone. I saw in a documentary the statement "these shells are so dangerous nobody would buy them".

What happens there is that they are all amateur pyrotechnists on a very large and professional scale

 

As about the chinese, local authorities always find chlorates in report compos, along lots of other issues. It would't wonder me at all if chlorate would be used in some exported chinese stuff. After all, at some point there was even some QM exported to US that stepped on would snap and pop. A simple test revealed chlorate obviously. If one gets cheap with BP slurry (whatever that means), why wouldn't he go further?

[Mumbles]

I have heard that some clubs in Malta are beginning to shift to perchlorates in some cases. At least from what I have seen, the prices are becoming comparable. For use in standard flash compositions, one of the more dangerous chlorate formulas they use, I wouldn't be surprised to see a switch. It isn't something that would be that noticeable either. Despite the crazy maltese reputation, I wouldn't be surprised to hear it is phased out in the next 20 years or so.

 

The maltese accept and work with their risks. The chinese, well they have a chinese reputation. Profit at the cost of safety, legality, and trust.