itwasntme Posted August 22, 2006 Posted August 22, 2006 I been reading some rocketry forums and posts and they say that baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) will slow down BP. I have commercial 3FG Goex black powder and it is quite fast for rockets. I don't have any charcoal and my mill is broke(belt ripped) so I'd be hand mixing it. Also, does baking soda have any uses in pyrotechnics? thanks, and that loud noise wasn't me 1
al93535 Posted August 22, 2006 Posted August 22, 2006 This should have been asked in the random thread but.... I doubt hand mixing commercial grain powder with bicarbonate will slow it down much. Unless you add so much the grains are physically farther away from eachother. You need to mill the powder and add charcoal, or use a mortar and pestle and add charcoal. Get a new belt for the mill. Use a vacuum belt, or latex tubing! Yes, sodium bicarbonate is very useful for glitters and some yellow colored stars. Next time ask general questions in the random thread, or a related topic please!
itwasntme Posted August 22, 2006 Author Posted August 22, 2006 Oh, sorry about that. I just put it in the newbies forum(because I'm a newbie). Thanks though, and btw, this is a good site. I used to go on rotteneggs.com(please don't insult me) and that place was bad information. "For flash powder mix potasiumn corate sulfer, and aluminum dont no da %s so just mix it with in a cup and bbs!" Thats how I saw it.
joe609 Posted August 22, 2006 Posted August 22, 2006 Are they deliberatly intent on trying to hurt people by giving them shit information on sites like that or are they just retarded altogether?
al93535 Posted August 22, 2006 Posted August 22, 2006 Well the newbie questions area is supposed to be lightly moderated, not as much as other sections. But still, trying to keep the new topics down a bit makes the forum nicer, and easier to use. So I encourage everyone to put quick questions in the random thread.
TheSidewinder Posted August 23, 2006 Posted August 23, 2006 To the OP, Bicarb is used to slow down the burn rate for BP rockets, but only if you are starting with a "hot", optimized fuel that is giving you CATO's in the first place. There's no need to use it to slow down BP for other uses. Sleeter's book makes reference to it, but remember that he is writing for the Amateur Rocket enthusiast, who is most likely looking for high-altitude performance engines. If you are right on the edge for a given motor, adding a percent or two of bicarb to the original mix produces a lower thrust and cooler burn. Keep in mind that there are other ways to slow down or cool the burn rate, too. A percent or two of Lampblack will also reduce CATO's by reducing Infrared pre-heating of the motor grain, which can lead to a runaway burn, resulting in a CATO. Bicard is proabably the easiest way to do it, and *probably* the cheapest. But you can't just handmix it into a commercial (glazed) "G" powder. I think it would have to be an "A" powder, AND you would have to remill it with the bicarb to get a consistent result. Again, Sleeter's book gives you the needed information. Remember that he is looking for the hottest motor he can make that won't CATO. Most pyros I know aren't going for pure height, they're going for aesthetics. And the formulas they employ usually CATO because of improper fuel compression during pressing, not because the fuel is right at the upper edge of the performance spectrum. Properly made whistle rockets can really push that upper performance limit, though. Hope that helps.... M
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