moondogman Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 Hello allMaking campfire color "balls" is what got me interested in making my own fireworks, so far i havens had much luck with anything but "campfire blue" made into balls with sawdust and wallpaper paste. Im thinking the moisture from the paste was the main problem. Im thinking wax and sawdust would have been a much better idea. Lithium chloride boric acid and sopper sulfate all gave me nice colors in an alcohol flame but did crap in the campfire. Anyone have iny suggestions/thoughts. Here is the link that got me started.. http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/a/aa052703a.htm I tried all of the chems in the list the only one that impressed me was the copper chloride. Thanks Steve
Algenco Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 Copper Oxychloride is the only dependable colorant I know of, just sprinkle on the fire, really nice blue
TheSidewinder Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 Something I first saw a couple years ago, and was rather surprised it works so well.... Take a 6" or so length of pure copper pipe. Then cut a piece of the cheapest garden hose you can find. The stuff that's sold at Wal-Mart at $5.00 for 25 feet.... that sort. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Place cut hose in pipe, wrap with plain paper just to keep the hose in the pipe, and place on top of campfire. Give it some time to get going and you'll be surprised at how much color, and the variety OF color, there is. Lasts a fair long time too. Once campfire is out and cool, collect the copper pipe for use again. Another piece of hose, wrap in paper.... repeat.
NightHawkInLight Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 Something I first saw a couple years ago, and was rather surprised it works so well.... Take a 6" or so length of pure copper pipe. Then cut a piece of the cheapest garden hose you can find. The stuff that's sold at Wal-Mart at $5.00 for 25 feet.... that sort. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Place cut hose in pipe, wrap with plain paper just to keep the hose in the pipe, and place on top of campfire. Give it some time to get going and you'll be surprised at how much color, and the variety OF color, there is. Lasts a fair long time too. Once campfire is out and cool, collect the copper pipe for use again. Another piece of hose, wrap in paper.... repeat. That's the trick I was going to suggest. It works great. Drill a few holes in the sides of the pipe so the gas escapes out more than just the ends. Crimp an end of the pipe as well so that you can face that end downhill without the hose dripping out. I suggest roasting your hot dogs prior to throwing the pipe in the fire...
oldguy Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 (edited) A word of advice about campfires, colored or otherwise. I spent a lot of time out in the mountains. Good campsites usually have a an existing fire pit or 2. Years back after starting a fire in a fire pit. After it was going well, there were a couple fairly large explosions in it. They were caused by some idiot discarding batteries in that fire pit. Another time a few 22 shells went of, either planted intentionally or stupidly discarded in a fire pit. Before use, it is wise to sift through ashes in a fire pit, for that very reason. Just to insure there is nothing in the pit, that might explode when a fire is built in it. You never know what might be lurking in one, unless you take a minute to sift the ashes. It's a simple precaution & only takes a few minutes. Better safe than sorry. Edited March 2, 2011 by oldguy
Bonny Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 For campfire colours,if you read the packets of the commercial stuff, it's mostly copper salts. IIRC, I used a mix of copper carbonate and copper chloride. I tried to make a red with SrCO3 and some PVC or parlon, but it didn't work very well.
Ralph Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 your other option is to throw some lances/stars/waste comp/flares in there as these are designed to create the exact salts you want in a flame and will continue emitting the color long after all the oxidizer and fuels are used up (though if you plan on making them you could tweak the formulas to give better results) I did this last time I went camping used a blue flare I had made to ignite the fire than threw it in the whole thing remained blue and green for ~20min
Bonny Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 your other option is to throw some lances/stars/waste comp/flares in there as these are designed to create the exact salts you want in a flame and will continue emitting the color long after all the oxidizer and fuels are used up (though if you plan on making them you could tweak the formulas to give better results) I did this last time I went camping used a blue flare I had made to ignite the fire than threw it in the whole thing remained blue and green for ~20min Bad idea...Most comps are designed for more than creating the salts...I threw some old waste stars and comet chunks into the fire and ended up with a "whoosh" and embers all over a 5-10' radius around the fire pit.
Ralph Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Bad idea...Most comps are designed for more than creating the salts...I threw some old waste stars and comet chunks into the fire and ended up with a "whoosh" and embers all over a 5-10' radius around the fire pit. were they coloured stars ? or things that burn more feircely ?
Bonny Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 were they coloured stars ? or things that burn more feircely ? The "leftovers" I had were star/comet mixes, BP type and glitters...
dagabu Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) I must have thrown 10# of star "mutts" into camp fires, never had one do anything but burn. Could it have been a cossette? Edited March 4, 2011 by dagabu
Bonny Posted March 5, 2011 Posted March 5, 2011 I must have thrown 10# of star "mutts" into camp fires, never had one do anything but burn. Could it have been a cossette? NO. It was (good sized) chunks of a comet/star comp (more or less BP + metal type) and they almost exploded when tossed into the fire.
Recommended Posts