firecracker help

[hamilton]

hi, I'm new to the pyrotechnic side (used lightly), i am use to making smoke ''bombs'' and model rocket engines.

i have now made a few rockets and all going well. i have brought a pack of the wrong size tubes and i am trying to make firecrackers out of the but i have only got one to work,

i am using a 75-10-15 mix for the bp. my problem is the mixture when light just comes shooting out of the fuse hole, its good to look at but i want to get a bang.

 

i know, i know your not going to like me asking this question but what am i doing wrong?

 

'and before people start saying how i'm going to be blowing stuff up it will be used to go on top of rockets to become a dispersal charge.

 

cheer's hamilton

Edited October 16, 2011 by hamilton

[cogbarry]

hi, I'm new to the pyrotechnic side (used lightly), i am use to making smoke ''bombs'' and model rocket engines.

i have now made a few rockets and all going well. i have brought a pack of the wrong size tubes and i am trying to make firecrackers out of the but i have only got one to work,

i am using a 75-10-15 mix for the bp. my problem is the mixture when light just comes shooting out of the fuse hole, its good to look at but i want to get a bang.

 

i know, i know your not going to like me asking this question but what am i doing wrong?

 

'and before people start saying how i'm going to be blowing stuff up it will be used to go on top of rockets to become a dispersal charge.

 

cheer's hamilton

 

BP is not commonly used in firecrackers as it burns relatively slow compared to other pyro compositions and will behave as you described. Some type of flash powder is what you'll find in most firecrackers. All flash compositions are dangerous and they are much more sensitive than BP. Even the safest flash comp is still sensitive to static. I would suggest you gain some experience in pyro before you start experimenting with flash. Also, you need to research the laws (federal,state and local) as this can get you in a lot of trouble.

[Potassiumchlorate]

No, no, you can use BP in firecrackers. The trick is to either ram mealpowder really hard and use strong endplugs of bentonite or to use corned powder loose in a tube but still with strong endplugs but of wood or very thick cardboard.

[hamilton]

cheer's for the help people. i have been explained it in the chat room and understand what to do thank you.

[dan999ification]

cheer's for the help people. i have been explained it in the chat room and understand what to do thank you.

 

 

i can break 6mm id 2mm walls with .5g of my bp you can stand on these tubes,and they are nice on rockets

ramming the bp will not make a firecracker, and it will not woosh out unless you have loose bp meal or slow powder and or the fuse hole is too big.

 

dan.

[Potassiumchlorate]

Before firecrackers were banned here I know that they were made of rammed BP. I have "dissected" a few of them in my days.

 

Though it seems like British firecrackers were made of corned BP or even NC.

[Mumbles]

It may have seemed pretty dense, but they were very likely not rammed. Think about the other things that are made from rammed BP, like spolettes and rockets. Sure, rockets can CATO if the nozzle is too small, but I can assure you that not all the BP is consumed. The other thing that makes them CATO is cracks, IE a higher surface area.

[Verge]

I have had problems with plugs.Never has one of my paper plugs work so usually just crimp the ends of the tube I rolled and then tie it down with twine.

[cogbarry]

No, no, you can use BP in firecrackers. The trick is to either ram mealpowder really hard and use strong endplugs of bentonite or to use corned powder loose in a tube but still with strong endplugs but of wood or very thick cardboard.

 

With all due respect, my friends and I were taking many firecrackers (and many different brands) apart in the 70's and the comp was most definately not BP. We would often make one big cracker out of the comp we acquired from many small crackers. Yes I know BP and other comps were used but this certainly was the exception and not the rule. Most every kid in the world tried and failed to make crackers out of their father's BP. Guess what? ....yep, ground spinners. Most crackers are made using flash. I'm not the most knowledgeable person here but this I know. I don't know if hamilton is about to go through ramming and all the steps to contain the BP version. Seems unrealistic to me. However, I also warned him of the dangers and legal issues involved with flash and/or devices made with flash comps.

[nater]

I have had what I consider success filling empty space of a finished motor with loose bp and a pinch of ti. cap with an end plug and wood glue. it is hardly comparble to a proper salute but still has enough of a pop so you can time your delay. i said success because it works as i expected.

[Potassiumchlorate]

After checking some vids on professional firecracker making on YT I must admit that you guys are right about not ramming the BP.

[dan999ification]

i can break 6mm id 2mm walls with .5g of my bp you can stand on these tubes,and they are nice on rockets

ramming the bp will not make a firecracker, and it will not woosh out unless you have loose bp meal or slow powder and or the fuse hole is too big.

 

dan.

 

 

the old british standard bangers 1985 until they were banned here were most probably bp because they had no flash at night when you lit them, and im told they had a weakness on the inside making them break uniformly evry time which is a problem to achieve as mentioned, some bangers did feature a fountain like build up most probably a spollette type delay after the main fuse is lit giving the impression they are rammed and over contained, it could be achieved by ramming but it is not worth going to the effort to balance it all.

 

dan.

[hamilton]

just looked at rule 10 if any mods want to close or delete this thread please do so. This is so no one gets the idea of using this as a high explosive such as attempting to make a stick of dynamite.

[pyrojig]

just looked at rule 10 if any mods want to close or delete this thread please do so. This is so no one gets the idea of using this as a high explosive such as attempting to make a stick of dynamite.

 

LOL... not so sound goofy, but your hardly gonna make a stick of dynamite out of powders extracted out of flash-crackers or bp. At best you'll get a loud ground salute.

 

These are not H.E.'s they are on the lower end of the food chain of explosives. They are deflagrations , not detonations.

Salutes have a place in pyro as do all other items. It is one thing for a knewl to ask how to make a b*mb or big firecracker to destroy his neighbors mailbox . It is another thing to have a person come to this forum with serious Q.'s on what is safe or usable for a audible effect. Most of these effects discussed here are used as aerial effects and not ground salutes per-say.

[Falcon2]

I love making BP firecrackers;

 

There are several tricks that I've used to help get a better bang:

High strength casing but it has to be weaker than the end plugs - I've had good success using newspaper rolled up (didn't even use glue)

Don't bother with paper end plugs - they're for flash based crackers and don't work with bp - the best I've used is by crimping the ends of the tube inwards like some commercial crackers and covering with hotglue - only 80% of the tube wall is crimped in the other 20% holds the hotglue - this is why I didn't use glue when rolling the tube!

For me a wider shorter casing has shown to be better than a long thin casing

 

Have a go trying to crimp and add the fuse - this is where I need to do some more experimenting.

 

Only fill the casing 1/2 to 2/3rds full of black powder, it has to be loose and have an airspace, 1/2 full cases are usually the best any more and you lose bang.

Use commercial or really good homemade black powder. The homemade powder should be compressed (higher density and thus more powder in the case) and of small grain size - as small grains burn faster. You may be able to use a very good meal powder by following the half full rule, I have some 8hours milled meal which is extremely fast and powerful - it may work!

 

And remember that you get a better bang as the entire strength of the casing increases - probably try making a sphere similar to an aerial shell as its the strongest shape - tubes are a lot easier though. Even small weaknesses in the case result in a poor bang (ie fuse hole)

 

And finally enjoy the resounding booom you can only get with BP!

Edited October 19, 2011 by Falcon2

[pyrojig]

This brings up a old method of making what they called Maroons. They where a bp cracker . The tube was cardboard and the plugs where thick chipboard glued in. The whole thing was wrapped with jute or strong twine in several directions, then dipped in paste . A fuse hole was punched and a B.P. firecracker with a nice kick was created.

 

 

I love making BP firecrackers;

 

There are several tricks that I've used to help get a better bang:

High strength casing but it has to be weaker than the end plugs - I've had good success using newspaper rolled up (didn't even use glue)

Don't bother with paper end plugs - they're for flash based crackers and don't work with bp - the best I've used is by crimping the ends of the tube inwards like some commercial crackers and covering with hotglue - only 80% of the tube wall is crimped in the other 20% holds the hotglue - this is why I didn't use glue when rolling the tube!

For me a wider shorter casing has shown to be better than a long thin casing

 

Have a go trying to crimp and add the fuse - this is where I need to do some more experimenting.

 

Only fill the casing 1/2 to 2/3rds full of black powder, it has to be loose and have an airspace, 1/2 full cases are usually the best any more and you lose bang.

Use commercial or really good homemade black powder. The homemade powder should be compressed (higher density and thus more powder in the case) and of small grain size - as small grains burn faster. You may be able to use a very good meal powder by following the half full rule, I have some 8hours milled meal which is extremely fast and powerful - it may work!

 

And remember that you get a better bang as the entire strength of the casing increases - probably try making a sphere similar to an aerial shell as its the strongest shape - tubes are a lot easier though. Even small weaknesses in the case result in a poor bang (ie fuse hole)

 

And finally enjoy the resounding booom you can only get with BP!

Edited October 19, 2011 by pyrojig

[optimus]

Loudest thing I ever heard was 80g of hot meal (powder, not granulated), a couple of turns of craft, and heavily spiked. If you can confine BP well, it WILL be incredibly loud. You can even 'glaze' BP with dark al to give them a bit more punch - several commercial battlefield simulators use this. Much more 'boomy' than flash crackers of the same size.

[Col]

the old british standard bangers 1985 until they were banned here were most probably bp because they had no flash at night when you lit them, and im told they had a weakness on the inside making them break uniformly evry time which is a problem to achieve as mentioned, some bangers did feature a fountain like build up most probably a spollette type delay after the main fuse is lit giving the impression they are rammed and over contained, it could be achieved by ramming but it is not worth going to the effort to balance it all.

 

dan.

 

I`m old enough to remember setting off Little Demon bangers and they used corned bp with spolette and blue touchpaper fuse. The fountain effect came from the spolette delay. When you got a dud you`d just break the banger in half, pour the corned bp into a heap and make a genie

[dan999ification]

I`m old enough to remember setting off Little Demon bangers and they used corned bp with spolette and blue touchpaper fuse. The fountain effect came from the spolette delay. When you got a dud you`d just break the banger in half, pour the corned bp into a heap and make a genie

 

thats right a plastic spollette was used on the standard ones but they were a bugger to light the ignition comp was like trying to light asbestos. i prefered the brocks because they had visco and flash from what i can remember, but the black cats were the best with the striker on the box.

 

dan.

[Potassiumchlorate]

This is what we had in my country (no, it isn't my homepage, alas): Firework nostalgia The only one that was not solely BP was the Thunder King. Thunder King was a small aerial salute. In 2001 they banned firecrackers, but thanks to a loophole in the law you can still buy Thunder Kings, if the flash is coloured, because, according to the law, it's not a firecracker then but a small display shell. Edited October 19, 2011 by Potassiumchlorate

[dan999ification]

This is what we had in my country (no, it isn't my homepage, alas): Firework nostalgia The only one that was not solely BP was the Thunder King. Thunder King was a small aerial salute. In 2001 they banned firecrackers, but thanks to a loophole in the law you can still buy Thunder Kings, if the flash is coloured, because, according to the law, it's not a firecracker then but a small display shell.

 

 

yep they must contain an effect here you could still get them 2 years ago but new regs saw them go again im sure the manufacturer's will find a way around it which probably means less silver powder

 

dan.