I remember when times were not so sad

[Fly]

I just turned 65 years of age.I grew up in a time when we kids ran down to the fireworks stand bought a grose of M-80,s

& a grose of cherry bombs.Now I,m getting to be a old man & see how careful people "MUST" be.It really saddens me.

 

Reading the post on salutes below I must commend each one of you fellows for using such caution with your info.I lived

in Okla City when the big bang went off & lost a very good friend in that.

 

As a kid, the Forth of July was & still is my favorite holiday.I guess at heart I'm still that same kid.Now that I have retired

& getting into this great hobby everyday can be the Forth of July, thanks to folks as you in keeping this hobby safe.

 

Let me Salute each one of you!

 

Fly

[dagabu]

A fellow hobbyist dies making fireworks.

 

http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/article_d215ee9c-740f-11df-9d67-001cc4c002e0.html

[TheSidewinder]

Fly, I'm a decade behind you but I do know what you mean. When I was a small boy we could get all sorts of things that the Nanny State Liberals have since banned.

 

 

@Dagabu -

 

"If it's able to destroy a building, it's much larger than fireworks. It was also clarified that they were not pipe bombs either."

 

I'd sure like to know more than the story is saying, but I do wonder if he really was a "fellow hobbyist".

[dagabu]

Sidewinder, Mike B over at Passfire was a friend of Franks and that Frank has seen smoke coming from the garage and went in to find a batch of "stars" smoking and took the tray outside and it ignited in his hands blowing his hands off and he bled to death from the severed arteries in his wrists. Frank was not unconscious at the time of his death. Frank also had a LOT of open comp in his shop that also caught fire.

 

The PGI has a rule of no more then 500 grams of open comp in your work space. I think I understand why that is now.

[TheSidewinder]

Oh man......

 

That sucks 8 ways to Sunday.

 

But yes, that rule makes sense. And now we see why.

 

Mike B may have been someone I sold a roll of paper to at one time, and shipped it to him. He's somewhere close to the East coast, IIRC...

 

Thanks, Dave.

[ExplosiveCoek]

Do you know what kind of stars it where that suddenly ignited?

[Mumbles]

I don't think it was Mike B. I do believe the friend was Jeff B.

 

As far as what kind of stars, there is only speculation. Given what happened, I'd be inclined to say flitter/silver streamer.

[Fly]

Fellows, just what would make the stars ignite just sitting there?That make no sense.

 

Fly

[Mumbles]

There is one adverse reaction between aluminum and nitrates that can generate enough heat to ignite when in sufficient quantity. It is driven by water, and basic conditions. This is why you might see boric acid being added to certain compositions. What gets me is that reports from the gentleman's son say that the stars blew up or detonated, which lead me to believe that they might have been flitter stars. Some of them are glorified bound flash.

[ExplosiveCoek]

If they already blew up in a little damp state when just sitting on a plate, how could those stars survive a starmine lift or a shell break..?

 

This really is a strange story..

[Cookieman]

There is one adverse reaction between aluminum and nitrates that can generate enough heat to ignite when in sufficient quantity. It is driven by water, and basic conditions. This is why you might see boric acid being added to certain compositions. What gets me is that reports from the gentleman's son say that the stars blew up or detonated, which lead me to believe that they might have been flitter stars. Some of them are glorified bound flash.

 

 

Your absolutley right on that one, when I made my batch of Wiengart gold flitter stars, I found them to be alot more sensitive and blinding than the other stars. When I tested one (not out of a stargun) it ignited instantaneously and almost took my brows off.

[Fly]

I will bet you are not getting the whole story.Yea I'm a newbie, but there is something there that's not been brought out.Think about

this.If there was smoke coming out of his shop & the stars were where the smoke was coming from.Would you pick them up with your hands

& run out of the shop?

 

Or would you get water to put them out.Unless they had Magnesium in them.Heck you guys know more than me, but does this

sound strange or what?

Fly

[Fly]

Sorry Mumbles you did say "It is driven by water".Maybe that would not have worked dousing with water?Hummmmmmmmmmmm?

[Ralph]

Fly the reaction is similar to

ralphXXX (crappy spin off of negative X) ratios are 5/3/3/1 KNO₃ / Sulfur/Spherical aluminium (200-400mesh no finer) /NaOH the first 3 ingredients may be mixed together the NaOH must only be added immediately before used or may be sprinkled on top a drop of water is added and moments later a blinding white flame erpts from the composition

though it is just an exaggerated circumstances.

 

Mumbles is there any chance that they were glitter crossets that would explain the "detonation" of the stars

[Mumbles]

Crossettes are loaded after they're dry, so I doubt it. The stars were reportedly smoking, which really only happens with steam without being on fire.

[Ventsi]

Sorry Mumbles you did say "It is driven by water".Maybe that would not have worked dousing with water?Hummmmmmmmmmmm?

 

Enough water would have probably prevented a runaway situation, but that would have to be few gallons immersing the stars. That way even if anything did start to happen there is a whole bunch of water on top of it.

[dagabu]

Good catch Mumbles! Jeff B. it is!

 

I made a full sweep of my shop and cleaned it really well. I made sure that I had nothing but paper and chems (raw) in my shop and that the BP locker was far enough away to never get caught in a fire from something going badly in the shop.

 

I mop the floor too, I think it does a better job of getting Al up from the concrete and there is no dust to worry about.