silver star

[Bcorso85]

Hey guys,

I've been trying to find my own silver formula that suits my needs. The ones I've tried, and made up, have that bushy sparkle burn. I'm looking for a solid silver streamer color.

Using potassium nitrate, spherical aluminum ( for rolling) charcoal, dextrin, sulfur.

I would like to keep the nitrate and aluminum, and charcoal in the formula. Can I make this star with out sacrificing this ingredients?

[Bcorso85]

This was my last try

 

 

Potassium Nitrate 55

 

Dextrin 5

Sulfur 6

 

Atomized Aluminum (Alcoa) 30

 

Aluminum Flake -325 14

 

Charcoal 4

 

Boric Acid 1

[Bcorso85]

This was my last try

 

 

Potassium Nitrate 55

 

Dextrin 5

Sulfur 6

 

Atomized Aluminum (Alcoa) 30

 

Aluminum Flake -325 14

 

Charcoal 4

 

Boric Acid 1

 

The burn was quite fast, and didnt have that solid silver color. i want to slow the burn, therefore burning slower.

[lja]

Try 5- 10 parts of Antimony Trisulfide added to the formula. It should help "whiten" it up.

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

Replace the KNO3 for KCLO4, and maybe less to slow the burn rate.

[ExplosiveCoek]

And add some red gum. This has a high fuel value, which will decrease the amount of burned Al, therefore giving you more of a streamer instead of a flashcore. In combination with a swap of oxidizers this should give you what you want.

 

Don't add the Sb2S3, it's quite useless.. Al streamers will be white from itself. If you want Sb2S3 for fuel, red gum is better.

Don't give advice if you don't now what you're talking about.. It will only give bad results for the one asking the question.

[lja]

Since Hardt, Ellern, Shimizu, Degn and Oglesby all have published Silver Streamer formulas using Antimony Trisulfide as a fuel you should try reading a book or two before critisizing my advise.

[ExplosiveCoek]

I would like to see a quote or 2 about that. You might confuse them with glitters, but regular white streamers don't use Sb2S3 most of the time.

 

The only streamers I can recall from Hardt where KNO3 based, no Sb2S3 in them, and they just sucked when I made them. Don't hold on to those books too much.

Another example: Those fire dust storms from Shimizu also contained Sb2S3, but they didn't give a white streamer effect either. Almost none of those KNO3 based comps do, which all of those books are advocating.

 

 

But if you have a nice vid and speak out of experience instead of having read it somewhere, then I stand corrected. I just didn't find much star comps to be useful from these books. Most of them are outdated and just summing up their names wont get you anywhere.

[pyroviper]

I use the following formula for silver.

Kclo4. - 38 parts

MgAl. - 38 parts

Parlon - 14 parts

Red gum - 5 parts

Ti sponge - 5 parts

 

This does give a small tail. Im thinking if take the ti sponge out you'd have just the silver star.

You could use the alcoa in place of the ti sponge.

 

Formula is used in the skylighters rainbow star kit.

 

The MgAl i use is 325 mesh so it burns quick. You could use 200 mesh to slow it down some.

[Potassiumchlorate]

Lancaster silver is great:

 

Potassium chlorate 56

German Black 19

Al, bright flake 19

Dextrin 6

 

The stars almost explode. If you use atomized aluminium instead of bright flake, it will burn considerably slower, though.

[Short5]

I use the following formula for silver.

Kclo4. - 38 parts

MgAl. - 38 parts

Parlon - 14 parts

Red gum - 5 parts

Ti sponge - 5 parts

 

This does give a small tail. Im thinking if take the ti sponge out you'd have just the silver star.

You could use the alcoa in place of the ti sponge.

 

Formula is used in the skylighters rainbow star kit.

 

The MgAl i use is 325 mesh so it burns quick. You could use 200 mesh to slow it down some.

I made this star with 325 mesh mg/al and have found it almost usless it burns so fast. It makes a nice white core but the small 5/16" stars I made hardly stream they burn so quick.

[Potassiumchlorate]

You have to make them big. I pump Lancaster's abovementioned composition to 20mm. They burn for almost a second that way.

[pyroviper]

I made this star with 325 mesh mg/al and have found it almost usless it burns so fast. It makes a nice white core but the small 5/16" stars I made hardly stream they burn so quick.

 

Thats why I mentioned using 200 mesh MgAl to slow it down. I like the quick burning silver because I can mix slower burning colors with it. The bright silver stars burn out leaving the other colors behind. Makes them look like they appear from nowhere.

Edited June 20, 2012 by pyroviper

[Bcorso85]

thanks guys.

 

Antinomy--that was my next guess. Using the dark pyro grade I've made some beautiful white stars. In a three inch shell I'm looking for those nice thin arms. Red Gum is something I'm trying to avoid. Every composition I hand roll with red gum really breaks my balls (Sorry to be blunt). I get alot of toro that builds up fast and dries too quick. I'm thinking of switching the oxidizer but i had read in the Firemaker, the nitrate slows the burn down.

 

 

Can these stars be rolled without the aluminum flake? I had designed the formula keeping it to a minimum. Ideally, I would like to you atomized, sherical and dark.

[Bcorso85]

You have to make them big. I pump Lancaster's abovementioned composition to 20mm. They burn for almost a second that way.

 

 

HA! Thats one of the problems im running into with silver formulas. The burn rate.

[Zumber]

The burn was quite fast, and didnt have that solid silver color. i want to slow the burn, therefore burning slower.

you can use shimizu brilliant core formula by reducing barium nitrate's proportion with increase in potassium nitrate.

[Potassiumchlorate]

1 kilo Lancaster Silver.

[Mumbles]

Is that the chlorate based silver star, or the nitrate based silver star?

 

It also looks like you need a better binder or more pressure. If you don't already, you may want to try using thin wheat paste to bind them.

[Potassiumchlorate]

The chlorate based, of course.

 

But, yes, they are a bit fragile. They probably need more dextrin or another binder, like you say. I pressed each star very hard, but they still not hold together very good at the edges. Well, well, they'll burn within a second or so in a shell anyway.

[Peret]

According to Brock, crumbling chlorate stars are the biggest single cause of accidental detonations in the mortar, and those stars are nothing but compacted flash powder. I think you're way too over-confident about the safety of your compositions. Be safe.

[Potassiumchlorate]

Hm, I might better burn those in a starmine or simply on the ground, then.