Need a New Ignition System (semi newbie)

[Vrizla]

Yea that the higher voltage is also the other drawback, I have learned so much since starting this thread. I could barley solder at all when I first started it, now I'm almost a pro. I just wish I ordered more match heads!!! I'm almost out. I also forgot to order rice hull's today which I'm dangerously low on.

 

The forth is my favorite holiday, my only rule is no idiots. We have everything 1.4 purchased 1.3 homegrown, it''s the event of the year and all my friends know where the best show is. Every year it gets bigger and better. As much as I love making cakes and shells there are some items I can't resist buying either just cause I love them or I'm not at that creative level yet.

Edited June 17, 2011 by Vrizla

[Kenny]

So far I have only used cheap ignition systems with the clip on type ignitions and regretted it. I know someone in CT who knows all about this he helped me last year with my display shells, but I can't get a hold of him. I'm not ready to make a big investment and I have been reading all day and I'm more confused then last year. I also had more time to prep. I did want to build an ignition system if i can make a good one cheaper then I can buy. I want all hard wire, preferably disposable or at least some of it. E-matches can be a pain especially if you thread them. I was thinking If I made a pyro slurry on every wick I could ignite it by twisting shooting wire around each fuse then pass electricity . I know I still need to design my box and get the right gauge wire. Does anyone think this will work or do I have to buy the nichrome wire. I saw some posts where people just wrap the nichrome like I'm planning on doing with shooting wire. If I'm totally heading in the wrong direction let me know

 

If you want a system without e matches try using steel,nichrome,copper,etc wire.The thickness doesn't matter as long as your battery can supply the amps.The trick here is to get the wire hot enough through resistance.Try taking an old drill battery because those have high amperage.An old 18volt Nicad or Nimh will do just fine most of the time.Obtain a halogen lamp ceramic plug(optional)for launching rockets.DO NOT COOL WITH WATER AFTER IGNITION!This will cause the plug a lot of shock and evidently break.You can also use alligator clips.Next you should get a relay,a short length of thick wire and a really long wire.I use an old audio wire.Now down to how.Take the short length of thick wire and cut three pieces.Solder one end to the "plug" of the battery and the other to the open switch of the relay.Take the second piece and solder it to your plug or clips and other pin of the open switch of the relay.Take the third piece and attach it to the other side of the battery plug and the other end to the clips or plug.Now take the thin long wires(audio cable end) and solder it to the other pins of the relay.Now depending on your relay voltage take two 9 volt batteries and connect in series.Now simply test the relay by taking the other two end of the audio cable and connect them.If you here a click that mean you did everything right.a switch can added later.Now take the wire of your choosing(steel in my case)and put it in the plug.connect the 9 volt battery again and if the wire glows red congrats.Whats happening is you short out the drill battery allowing the current to flow to the other side and turning the wire hot and if on long enough will melt like a fuse.You can try a really long length of wire and see it glowing without it melting.Its a small light bulb.Anyways if the wire didn't glow there a # of things that might have been done wrong.Try using a shorter length of ignition wire.You could try a different battery and check if the wires in correctly.If you have any problems tell me and I'll try to find a solution.I know lots of this is unclear.Just send me a message on what you need clarified.I might make a you tube video on this in the future but for now just watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=476z35wHhyA&feature=relmfu

Edited July 10, 2011 by Kenny

[Vrizla]

I originally was thinking about that a couple of months ago, now I wouldn't use anything but e match. The 50 gauge can be set off with a hearing aid battery so there is no need to use a large battery on the level I'm at, This year I used a 9 volt.and a nail board. I'm going to order some 50 gauge resistance wire to ignite flash pots and other things like that. The price of copper is way to high to waste good wire using a battery with high voltage and amps. I'm not sure if a drill battery has enough amps to fry cat 5 or shooting wire, I would guess probably not? but I'm going to stick with my 9 volt for now.

 

When I was talking about threading e matches being a pain to thread I'm not sure if that was the proper terminology. I was talking about how some people make their own e match kind of similar to the ones used by Estes model rockets. Some people solder resistance wire right to lead wires with out using a match head that already has it wrapped. Then other people I have seen take a needle and poke it through visco then do the same. I guess it all comes down to personal preference what application you are using it for and skill level. I defiantly gained lots of knowledge this year. As I'm a full time student and work full time I'm guessing i'm not going to get to the computer fired system for a couple of years. I would love to get to that point and enter competitions but right now I'm short on time and money. One benefit I enjoyed from using a nail board is controlling the show from the reaction from the crowd. I saw what they liked and it was like I took them on a insane thrill ride hitting them with what they wanted then switched it up to send them through a loop. Unfortunately I had a last minute venue change but I was able to get the ok from local fire and police department. There were tons of people there in the safe zone, and every one of them said it was the best show they had ever seen. Now that I'm more experienced with e match I might do some direct ignition from lift cup next year, but as it most likely will be controlled by hand; the rate of speed quick match burns I can't see it being much faster either way.

Edited July 11, 2011 by Vrizla