Crackling glitter

[Pretty green flame]

Does anyone here have any practical experience with Fuchs's pop glitter?

There seem to be two basic formulas, which on is better in terms of noise.

 

44.88 Potassium Nitrate

14.28 Sulfur

14.00 MgAl -200 mesh

10.50 Antimonytrisulfide

8.84 Airfloat Charcoal

4.50 Copper(II)Oxide

3.00 Dextrin

 

and

 

61.00 Meal

10.00 Antimonytrisulfide

14.00 MgAl 325 mesh

7.00 Sulfur

5.00 Parlon (Binder?)

4.00 Copper(II)Oxide

 

Any problems with this composition? DIfficult to light? Any special prime needed? What are the most likely things to cuase problems?

 

Thanks

PGF

[Arte valdo]

I am tried before, unfortunately the problem with the mg / al be good mesh, got only the flash and star it.

[Cookieman]

Hey guys, I made a batch of This glitter but I don't get any crackle. Here is the formula I used and a short vid.Hopefully I can correct the problem. This batch was tested after 2 days and bound with N/C. I'm thinking there not totally dry yet but I'm not sure.

 

Meal...................61

Antimony Trisulfide.10

Magnalium -325m...14

Sulfur......................7

Parlon.....................5

Copper (III) oxide...4

[Twotails]

Cookie, I'll whip up a batch after work tommorrow, as i have corser Mg/Al and that may be the problem(?) never tried it, so i cant tell, but i'll post it when i get them done. maby another member has more information on it.

[Cookieman]

Cookie, I'll whip up a batch after work tommorrow, as i have corser Mg/Al and that may be the problem(?) never tried it, so i cant tell, but i'll post it when i get them done. maby another member has more information on it.

 

 

Ok sounds good, Thanks. Mine just looks like a flash of BP.

[Karlos]

This isn´t good formula. When do you use destrin, effect look like normal glitter, but for better effect you need NC, because only by NC-acetone binding system burning this composition pretty. Burning of these stars is uncertain. Often burned guick without reguiring effect. Composition is unstable and after week, structure of stars is changed(quickly with NC). In china and Japan are more ordinary crackling stars with metal powders and crackling grains, called time rain willow. 20% of grains in BP type composition work well.

I tried BP composition with magnalium and 20% crackling grains:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HajdaHanabi#p/u/34/4Bl7BlK3Www

Edited August 15, 2010 by Karlos

[Twotails]

OK Cookie, I just got done testing the stars(on ground). I used this formula:

 

44.88 Potassium Nitrate

14.28 Sulfur

14.00 MgAl -200 mesh

10.50 Antimony trisulfide

8.84 Airfloat Charcoal

4.50 Copper(II)Oxide

3.00 Dextrin

 

with the only diffrence being that I used -60 mesh Mg/Al insted of the -200 mesh. and for the trisulfide I used Chiniese Needle. the KNO3 was corse, little smaller then(or about the same) as fine sanding sugar or salt. the charcoal was Skylighters AF, as well as Dextrin, the copper (II) oxide, and sulfur.,

 

and bound with NC(would have tried the dex binder, but I swore it uses NC, saw it in a discussion before)

 

not sure if it makes a diffrence but I first scaled out the KNO3, then added the antimony, then the copper (II) oxide and sulfur, dextrin, then charcoal. then i added the Mg/Al and mixed it fully in a bag(till everything was uniform in color), and added the NC. I used NC about as thick as molasses or cornsyrup, and made it into a slight slurry, allowing the acetone to evaporate untill it was a uniform dough. i then pressed it into a patty, and cut it into squares.

 

hope that helps, hopfuly a video to follow.

[Cookieman]

OK Cookie, I just got done testing the stars(on ground). I used this formula:

 

44.88 Potassium Nitrate

14.28 Sulfur

14.00 MgAl -200 mesh

10.50 Antimony trisulfide

8.84 Airfloat Charcoal

4.50 Copper(II)Oxide

3.00 Dextrin

 

with the only diffrence being that I used -60 mesh Mg/Al insted of the -200 mesh. and for the trisulfide I used Chiniese Needle. the KNO3 was corse, little smaller then(or about the same) as fine sanding sugar or salt. the charcoal was Skylighters AF, as well as Dextrin, the copper (II) oxide, and sulfur.,

 

and bound with NC(would have tried the dex binder, but I swore it uses NC, saw it in a discussion before)

 

not sure if it makes a diffrence but I first scaled out the KNO3, then added the antimony, then the copper (II) oxide and sulfur, dextrin, then charcoal. then i added the Mg/Al and mixed it fully in a bag(till everything was uniform in color), and added the NC. I used NC about as thick as molasses or cornsyrup, and made it into a slight slurry, allowing the acetone to evaporate untill it was a uniform dough. i then pressed it into a patty, and cut it into squares.

 

hope that helps, hopfuly a video to follow.

 

Thanks twotails, so I guess my Mg/al was to fine. I have some treated -80mesh Magnesium laying around, how do you think that would work?

[Twotails]

I think that may turn it into a Mg/BP electric star. also i wouldent reccomend it. I had a batch go Haywire last winter, althoug it had untreated Mg(100-200mesh) in it, the sulfur reacted with the Alcohol/Acetone(must have had a little water in it) to make a little sulfuric acid, that reacted with the Copper(ii)oxide to make Copper sulfate in solution, that(being an acid salt) attacked the Mg, causeing it to heat up almost to ignition. now im not sure if thats the way it REALY happened(chemicaly atleast) but i'll tell you what, Im not useing that comp ANY more without treating the Mg. I think it would work it you used Dry Acetone for the NC, and had coated Mg, but i dont think it would crackle. If you had any corse Ti, it may be possable to sub that for the Mg/Al or atleast a portion. Or maby a delay agent(bicarb, or a carbonate) to further slow down your comp your using. I have a composition that you may want to try, it sounds like an electric spark( it sorta crackles) it does need to be fine tuned(as it looks like a mess right now) but its an interesting effect star, High in sulfur, and produces alot of smoke(less than AP/silicone blue stars though!) If you interested i'll PM it to you. I also have a another comp that you may like(not crackling, but interesting effect.)

[Cookieman]

I think that may turn it into a Mg/BP electric star. also i wouldent reccomend it. I had a batch go Haywire last winter, althoug it had untreated Mg(100-200mesh) in it, the sulfur reacted with the Alcohol/Acetone(must have had a little water in it) to make a little sulfuric acid, that reacted with the Copper(ii)oxide to make Copper sulfate in solution, that(being an acid salt) attacked the Mg, causeing it to heat up almost to ignition. now im not sure if thats the way it REALY happened(chemicaly atleast) but i'll tell you what, Im not useing that comp ANY more without treating the Mg. I think it would work it you used Dry Acetone for the NC, and had coated Mg, but i dont think it would crackle. If you had any corse Ti, it may be possable to sub that for the Mg/Al or atleast a portion. Or maby a delay agent(bicarb, or a carbonate) to further slow down your comp your using. I have a composition that you may want to try, it sounds like an electric spark( it sorta crackles) it does need to be fine tuned(as it looks like a mess right now) but its an interesting effect star, High in sulfur, and produces alot of smoke(less than AP/silicone blue stars though!) If you interested i'll PM it to you. I also have a another comp that you may like(not crackling, but interesting effect.)

 

 

I do have some coarse titanium and I also have some 80mesh sponge.I'm pretty sure that the reaction was due to untreated Mag.I treated my mag. with Dichromate and have some left over when I made my AP strobe's. Yeah, I wouldn't mind a PM of some comps.Thanks!!!

[Mumbles]

I've long been kind of skeptical of the composition with parlon in it. Free chlorine has been known to kill the glitter effect, much to the detriment of colored glitters. None the less, I looked up the original source of the modification of rec.pyro and it is definitely listed with parlon. I hope you guys can figure it out. I think the comp that Twotails has is more on the order of the right track. I don't know about the magnesium, but if you try it, it definitely needs to be protected. Linseed oil should be enough.

 

Twotails, that's a pretty complex scheme you have there. Have you considered the possibility that the nitrate can just react straight away with the magnesium, or did you actually see metallic copper?

[Twotails]

That's probably what happened, but no doubt theres a possablility it may have happened. And why would it form Metallic copper? I though dilute Sulfuric+ Copper(ii) oxide yealds Copper sulfate pentahydrate. It probably was just a nitrate reaction.

[Mumbles]

Copper sulfate is caustic in the fact that it easily undergoes single displacement, which produces metallic copper, not because it is mildly acidic.

 

CuSO4 + Mg ---> MgSO4 + Cu

[Twotails]

oh, I though thats what you ment when I posted that. Too bad it dosent work in reverse.

 

 

[Cookieman]

OK twotails, I made a batch of that formula you gave.I didn't have any -200m Mg/al so I used -80m treated magnesium and -80m Titanium sponge 1/2 and 1/2. Bound with N/C. My only complaint was that it burned to fast.If I add sodium oxylate will it slow down the burn time?