SpikedCola Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 Im looking at making some fireballs with either powdered creamer, or with napthalene (sp) mothballs. But, I dont feel like holding a fuse to it to get it to light. How can I make some fuse (cant find any visco in canada) without using any compounds (I can only get my hands on kno3 at the moment), and without BP?
Pretty green flame Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 Hmm...a bit of a tricky situation. Since you only have KNO3 your best bet would be KNO3 saturated cotton string (dip some string in an ultra saturated solution of KNO3). But be aware that this kind of fuse is highly unreliable and that it does not burns with an open flame but more like a smoldering burn. You other option would be to make some sulfurless BP fuse, i mean you can get some chrahcoal can you not? Prepare some sulfurless BP and proceed as if you were making standar blackmatch.
SpikedCola Posted July 29, 2006 Author Posted July 29, 2006 Yeah, charcoal should be easy. Ive read that this is how to make it before, correct me if Im wrong:- place small sticks in a container- heat container over open flame until all smoke stops- put lid on container and let cool- open and remove charcoal sticks Sound about right? I remember them saying to use willow, can you use any other type of wood? Also, when boiling something in a pyrex flask, will it be okay to hold it over an open flame (propane stove) and then put it on something in the fridge right after? It wont shatter or anything?
lacrima97 Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 It doesn't have to be willow for what you are using. You could probably go outside and just use grass or something to make your charcoal. Pyrex is not indestructible. It is not completely resistant to thermal shock. Don't heat it and then put it in the fridge.
weknowpyro Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 When you say after heating put on lid, the lid needs to be on while the wood is getting heated in the can but make sure you have some small holes in the top to let the smoke escape. With the lid off the wood will simply become ash.There are lots of woods you can use check out the alternative charcoal thread. But if you can't get hold of willow i would say use pine or balsa because these two woods are widely available.
brainfever Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 Unless for experimental purposes, I find balsa a waste of money.There are loads of other materials that are allmost equally good and far more cheaper. Other then wood I've also heard of toilet paper and 100% cotton (rags) being cooked for their charchoal.I've allways wondered about the toilet paper though, doesn't that contain binders that make it a less pure charchoal? If you can't be bothered to make your own charchoal, other options are to buy it from pyro supply (airfloat charchoal => no mess in making it yourself) or lump charchoal for BBQ from about any hardware/food/whatever store and powdering it yourself.
SpikedCola Posted July 29, 2006 Author Posted July 29, 2006 How would I go about cooling the potassium nitrate after it has been heated then? Pour it into another container maybe? If you can't be bothered to make your own charchoal, other options are to buy it from pyro supply (airfloat charchoal => no mess in making it yourself) or lump charchoal for BBQ from about any hardware/food/whatever store and powdering it yourself.Havent been able to find anyone in Canada (yet) that accepts PayPal, but how would I go about powdering it myself? Just crush it as small as possible? Or does it have to be milled? EDIT Couple more questions:- when precipitating the kno3, does it matter if you use isopropyl or denatured alcohol?- what kind of filter should I use (would a coffee filter be ok)?- does anyone know how much will dissolve in water off-hand?- when making fireballs (as shown here), it says smokeless powder will not work. why?- will 12-2-14 kno3 fertilizer work fine?(the first three questions were directed at you brainfever, since Im reading your kno3 purifying page)
Canadian_Pyro Posted August 3, 2006 Posted August 3, 2006 Can you get sparklers? They work well as fuses in a pinch.
brainfever Posted August 4, 2006 Posted August 4, 2006 - when precipitating the kno3, does it matter if you use isopropyl or denatured alcohol?- what kind of filter should I use (would a coffee filter be ok)?- does anyone know how much will dissolve in water off-hand? - Any alcohol should do the trick, just have it cold- A coffee filter is what I used and the pictures prove that it works ...- Not off hand, but you could check solubility somewhere I suppose. Charchoal can be powdered in an electric coffee grinder, but beware of extreme messy-ness. A ballmill is much cleaner if you allow the dust to settle before opening up.It's also much finer out of the ball mill (like a liquid sometimes) then from the coffee grinder.
hst45 Posted August 5, 2006 Posted August 5, 2006 SpikedCola, for charcoal you can make a cheap-and-easy retort that you can use in your campfire. Take a piece fo stovepipe (4", 6". it dosen't matter) and two end caps. Attatch one end cap permanenty with a couple of drywall screws. With a 1/4" drill bit, run three series of holes along one side of the stove pipe, about 50 holes for a 2' secton of pipe. Fill the pipe with your favorite wood source, attatch the other end-cap, and toss the pipe on your camp fire with the holes down. As the wood in the stovepipe heats up, first you drive off the excessive moisture, then you vaporize the oils (yellow flame), and then the alcohols (blue flame). Since the holes are face-down, and the gasses keep expanding as they heat, no air can enter the retort. The only thing left that can't escape is carbon and trace mineral elements. Cheap and easy. And another great reason to sit around the campfire.
Pont Posted August 5, 2006 Posted August 5, 2006 How are you planning to "lift" the napthalene or powdered coffee creamer? Just putting it in a can with a fuse wont work which is why I found it strange that you cant just use a slower version of your lifting powder whatever it is. KNO3/ sugar fuses can be used which are very easy to make just melt together and roll in to a thin sausage. Sorry if I missed something in your posts.
SpikedCola Posted August 5, 2006 Author Posted August 5, 2006 I was planning to lift them (as the article says anyways) with BP. BP burns, expands, fires the rest of the stuff in the tube into the air, which catches on fire on the way up. Fireball. I think thats how it works anyways? However, Im going to have a hard time finding BP as I cant buy it, which is why I asked if I could use smokeless, but it says in the article that it wont work. Why is that?
Recommended Posts