pyrochris732 Posted April 23, 2010 Posted April 23, 2010 Hi, Do I need boric acid for the below comp? I just got the stuff to make these stars and would like to pump these. Im worried about the al reacting with water. Also, can i substitute lampblack for the airfloat? YELLOW GLITTER ChemicalParts by WeightPotassium Nitrate48 Airfloat Charcoal9 Sulfur11Aluminum (12-20 micron, atomized)9 Antimony Trisulfide, Chinese Needle10 Sodium Bicarbonate or Sodium Oxalate9 Dextrin4
FREAKYDUTCHMEN Posted April 23, 2010 Posted April 23, 2010 No you don't need boric acid.Small (amateur) batches never require boric acid, because the batches are so small the can't really heat up anyway. Charcoal plays an important role in glitter formula's, I can't hardly imagine it's replaceable for lampblack. But try a 100gr batch and you'll see.
pyrochris732 Posted April 23, 2010 Author Posted April 23, 2010 awesome awesome, thanks a lot. I'll let you know how they came out. Maybe ill even take a picture or something, lol.
AdmiralDonSnider Posted April 23, 2010 Posted April 23, 2010 Don´t use boric acid in comps containing sodium oxalate, because the salt is said to react to give borax.
pyrochris732 Posted April 23, 2010 Author Posted April 23, 2010 will do Admiral. This is another one i found on cannonfuse.com that I think im going to try instead: Glitter starSource: rec.pyrotechnics archive, post by Tommy Hakomaki <tommy.hakomaki@mailbox.swipnet.seComments:Preparation: Wet with ethanol/water (70/30) Potassium nitrate.................................55Aluminum 200-400 mesh.............................5Dextrin...........................................4Antimony(III)sulfide..............................16Sulfur............................................10Lampblack.........................................10 I know some of these are very dangerous to inhale. I have a normal dust respirator. It covers my mouth and nose. Can i use that when mixing these? Thanks, Chris
FREAKYDUTCHMEN Posted April 23, 2010 Posted April 23, 2010 I don't like the "normal" dust respirators. I have used them in the past I still had black snot.Something like this is better: http://media.msanet.com/NA/USA/MSASafetyWorks/RespiratoryProtection/TwinCartridgeRespirators/ToxicDustRespirator/Toxic-Dust-Respirator.jpg
pyrochris732 Posted April 23, 2010 Author Posted April 23, 2010 freaky i just got one at home depot for 30 bucks.. it works well!
swervedriver Posted April 24, 2010 Posted April 24, 2010 Hi, Do I need boric acid for the below comp? I just got the stuff to make these stars and would like to pump these. Im worried about the al reacting with water. Also, can i substitute lampblack for the airfloat? YELLOW GLITTER ChemicalParts by WeightPotassium Nitrate48 Airfloat Charcoal9 Sulfur11Aluminum (12-20 micron, atomized)9 Antimony Trisulfide, Chinese Needle10 Sodium Bicarbonate or Sodium Oxalate9 Dextrin4 That's a beautiful yellow glitter you listed above. I saw it somewhere credited to Winokur and described as "State-of-the-Art Yellow Glitter", but I don't know the name or number of it. I've made quite a few different glitters and that's a good one worth trying I think. I used the sodium oxalate version, with 75% 400 mesh/ 25% 120 mesh spherical Al, and 75% airfloat charcoal/25% 60 mesh charcoal, all spruce. This mix has a nice delay with bright flashes of yellow. No boric acid was used, they were rolled stars. Easy to roll btw.
Mumbles Posted April 24, 2010 Posted April 24, 2010 Boric acid will not react with sodium oxalate to make borax. Anyone who came up with that has not had general chemistry in a long time. I also disagree with the statement that amateur sized batches never require boric acid. I've had multiple batches heat up and react on me. Granted they'll never get hot enough to ignite, but the batch of star comp will still be ruined. I usually use a boric acid solution just to be safe now.
Recommended Posts