fredhappy Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) I've build this triplet to experiment with the use of KP on hulls 7/1 as break in 3 "shells.The first ring was what I'd sought after. The second and third unfortunately had some blind stars in them, but I still liked the way KP broke those shells. I'd used toilet rolls as spacers between the shells, and gave it a quick layer of kraft pasting. It's just a fancy way to triple load your guns, but they are very spectacular to watch. I know H3 is recommended for these calibres, but I don't want to use/have chlorates. I normally use mcrh 5/1 and 70/30 for these smaller calibres. This works very good once you've dialed in the amount of booster needed, star sizes, and amount of layers to paste. I am however interested in simplifying my building process. KP can be made very easily by just screening the ingredients together. A ballmill is not needed. Nor is the quality of the used C of much concern. I've read that some people mill their sulphur and charcoal together. Mine is just screened a couple of times, with 3.5 % dex, and coated on to rice hulls in a 7/1 ratio with the help of an apple shaped starmill.. KP burns much slower than meal coated ricehulls when lit in the open. In my opinion this enhances its safety as opposed to meal coated products. It is also more difficult to ignite in the open then ricehulls are. KP relies on containment to ramp up the burn rate and pressure . Downside is it is actually more sensitive in terms of friction then H3 is. But I treat it with respect, and really like the idea of not having to weigh portions of 70 30 for boosting for every shell. For consistent results you need to carefully weigh the amount of 70/30 for every shell, especially the 2 and 3 inch shells. Being able to omit this step and still get those big, round symmetrical breaks is my goal. Even if the good Dr Shimizu states that for 3 inch shells H3 is recommended, I still am convinced KP can be used for 3 inch shells. I'll keep dialing then...... 3 inch triplette ring effects KP break.AVI Edited May 15, 2011 by fredhappy
SjeefOne Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 Most definitely a nice ring break on the first one! Did you arrange the stars rolled in tissue paper again or are you using another method now? Keep 'm coming
fredhappy Posted May 15, 2011 Author Posted May 15, 2011 Most definitely a nice ring break on the first one! Did you arrange the stars rolled in tissue paper again or are you using another method now? Keep 'm coming Yes, I used the rolled tissue paper method. A bit of extra work, but I know I can get perfect symmetrical rings this way. First ring shell had my quality 8 mm buell red to 4 mm bright blue ( 1.5% Mg/Al) stars in them. The same stars I used for my double petal 4". These shells only had KP on hulls 7/1 ratio as burst. I ve pasted these shells with 5 layers of 3 strip ( 10 layers in total). Last 2 shells had old stars, I wanted to createa nice contrast with different colour changes, but unfortunately some were blown blind. I want to use KP for 3", and keep trying until I get it right. It would be a big plus to eliminate the need to use flash during building. Only having to use KP on hulls would improve safety as opposed to making a bit of flash for boosting , mixing it and weighing it carefully every time I make a shell. It would simplify things greatly if only KP hulls would be needed.
Recommended Posts