Has anyone tried Shimizu Burst Charge #46?

[Potassiumchlorate]

Although KP based, this seems considerably more powerful than H3:

 

Potassium perchlorate 70

Lampblack 25

Potassium dichromate 5

SGRS +2%

 

From the tables on page 211 in Fireworks the Art Technique and Science it seems that nr. #46 is superior to H3. The experiments weren't carried out in an exactly scientific way, since the burst/carrier ratio wasn't really the same (13:14 for H3 and 10:9 for nr. #46), but:

 

1. Less burst charge all in all was needed.

2. Only half the pasting on the shell was needed.

3. The stars were propelled longer, although they were heavier, in the shell with nr. #46.

 

They must have used a much thinner paper for pasting than we use in the West, since it they had at most 40 layers and at least 20 for a 6", but nevertheless, nr. #46 seems much more powerful.

 

According to Dr. Shimizu, nr. #46 is in practice more suitable for smaller shells, but I have experienced that H3 wasn't enough for heavy stars in a 6". They dropped rather than forming a dahlia.

Edited June 19, 2012 by Potassiumchlorate

[Bcorso85]

I use 46 in all my 3 inch shells. And honestly i love it, and i love whistle boosting with it. i have two videos in the aerial shell section using #46. I use 6:1 on hulls. its messy to make because of the lamblack. I mix the damp hulls in my 16 quart mixing bowl and wipe clean immediaetly. also i upped the dextrin to 5%

[Potassiumchlorate]

Interesting. I have made some experiments before with 10 parts of potassium perchlorate and 1 part potassium dichromate as a catalyst. It's burn very good with shellac, which potassium perchlorate won't do on its own.

[Bcorso85]

Shellac is a great fuel. i have some, but havent used it yet. the addition of a catalyst makes the differnce. I believe in Blessers book round stars and shells; he instructs the addition of dichromate to KP in order to use it in smaller shells. i believe 4 inches is as big as you can go with #46 ( unmodified with the dichromate....6:1).

 

H3 is more powderful than #46 and im surprised that you had a problem with the 6 inch. I'd assume they would blow blind. It could have been your ratio on the hulls. I do get better results when i sift my dry hulls before i measure them out.

In my videos my D1 glitter was by far the bigest break i've gotten so far. it truely was huge compared to my normal breaks. The lampblack does make it cost more, but as a hobbiest a few cents isn't going to make me or break me.

 

 

 

[Potassiumchlorate]

I used cotton seeds in my 6". Dr. Shimizu says that it should work fine. Probably too little H3 vs carrier, though, 52:48. It should be 1.4:1 or about 58:42. The stars were unusually heavy too, since they contained 84% barium chlorate and were pumped.

[Bcorso85]

Nice. Well good luck and let me know how you like #46.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Lampblack? Stained skin? Dichromate?

 

I think I will stick with BP and a flash bag or some other booster. No offense but I like simple, cheap, and non toxic the best.

 

Has anyone tried their own side by side tests to see how it works? It would need to do something magical for me to consider switching over.

[Bcorso85]

yes. 46 not contained is VERY fast (6:1 Rice Hulls). It burns quickly like b.p. right out of the mill. Almost in an instant. And in my experience just like loose whistle. And you can notice alot of energy actually propelling the hulls. This is more noticeable when slightly damp. Rubber gloves, a mask, a steel bowl and cleaning supplies and all is well. The dicromate is limited but present. This has the advantage of being a single compound, instead of a burst charge, a booster places to store them, and room on the table.

[FlaMtnBkr]

You already said you "love whistle boosting with it" so if you are using whistle with it as a booster I guess I don't see the point. Just use a little more whistle mix and BP. There are a bunch of ways to break a shell including this #46. I just personally don't see the need to use lampblack that is so fine it actually gets into your skin, staining it until it works its way to the surface. And dichromate which is one of the more toxic chems used in pyro. And its probably 10 times as expensive as BP so if you make many shells at all it's going to get pretty expensive, pretty quick, just for the break charge.

 

If it works for you then that's great. I personally have quite a few ways to break shells that all work good without the need to use this. To each their own.

[Bcorso85]

If you dont want to use it thats fine, but don't use my personal preference against me. I'm just trying to tell someone it works great and is energetic. A boost is what it says, and not necessary. Ten times as expensive...no my lamp black is the same price as the red willow in my black powder. . My perchlorate per pound is a dollar more than my nitrate. 5% dichromate adds to pennies Im not a factory in China and i doubt potassium chlorate is. I may be a fairly new hobbiest and not all knowing, But I know what I know for damn sure. Dichromate is corrosive, not as toxic as lead antimony, Nor arsenic as is realgar and paris green. The simple safety precautions are always necessary.

[Potassiumchlorate]

My perchlorate is twice as expensive as my chlorate and three times more expensive than my (potassium) nitrate. My potassium dichromate was cheap, since I bought it together with lots of other stuff, but, like I said, I had problems with two 6" with barium chlorate stars. Flash is of course impossible in such a big shell, so it must be stronger than H3 but not much stronger, or the stars will be crushed. The only option would be to optimize the H3 somehow. I used H3 on cotton seeds, but maybe H3 on rice hulls would perform better.

 

The stars were unusually heavy, though, even for 20mm stars. They weighed about 12 grams each, if I remember correctly. In comparison Bleser Red Mg of the same size weigh about 8 grams each and Lancaster Silver about 7.

Edited June 24, 2012 by Potassiumchlorate

[Bcorso85]

Have you tried K.P....or K.P. with dichromate?

[Mumbles]

I've never used #46, but I have used #44 (I think). It's the same thing with charcoal in place of lampblack. I made an 8" shell with it, and that thing opened hard, but I still had good ignition. The craziest thing was that of all formulas, this one started to mold a little bit (puffed rice media). You'd think that the dichromate would have killed all living organisms. I'm not sure how small of a shell that this burst would be suitable for. I did properly hand paste the 8" shell in with broken virgin kraft as opposed to using gummed tape for what it's worth.

 

I do personally prefer using single burst compositions, and not boosting my breaks if I can get away with it. To me it's more consistent.

[Potassiumchlorate]

Have you tried K.P....or K.P. with dichromate?

 

Well, this is a KP composition, although you might define KP as the 70:18:12 potassium perchlorate/charcoal/sulfur composition. KP is the Latin word for potassium perchlorate - kalii perchloratum

 

But no, I haven't. But maybe my H3 was inferior in some way. Maybe I didn't use enough. I used 52:48 on cotton seeds.

Edited June 25, 2012 by Potassiumchlorate

[FlaMtnBkr]

If you dont want to use it thats fine, but don't use my personal preference against me. I'm just trying to tell someone it works great and is energetic. A boost is what it says, and not necessary. Ten times as expensive...no my lamp black is the same price as the red willow in my black powder. . My perchlorate per pound is a dollar more than my nitrate. 5% dichromate adds to pennies Im not a factory in China and i doubt potassium chlorate is. I may be a fairly new hobbiest and not all knowing, But I know what I know for damn sure. Dichromate is corrosive, not as toxic as lead antimony, Nor arsenic as is realgar and paris green. The simple safety precautions are always necessary.

 

I already said if it's what you like, more power to you. Just trying to understand it's use if using whistle to boost anyway. My nitrate is an eighth the price of perchlorate/chlorate. Lampblack is about 10 bucks a pound and I make my charcoal so it is free. I think the dichromate is about $12 per pound. For me good BP is about 75 cents per pound and probably about a tenth the price of #46. And there may be some other chems that are more toxic, but dichromate is still one of the more toxic chems used, though realgar and paris green really aren't used any more. Not frequently at least. These chemicals require quite a bit more safety precautions than most fireworks chemicals. At least by me and I don't do anything without a high quality respirator. But I have 2 severe and rare blood diseases from exposure to chemicals so I try my best to steer clear of toxic chemicals. All this really doesn't matter though as it's just my preference. I personally think the negatives out weigh the positives and was just bringing them up.

 

Have any of you tried BP coated hulls coated in slow nitrate flash? It is a one component break. It is what Ned Gorski uses in his bigger shells and he has some of the best shells I have seen in person. It's easy, cheap, and nothing exotic or toxic. Not trying to be argumentative, just pointing out there are alternatives. But I'm sure I'm a little more cautious about toxic and messy chemicals than most people are.

[Bcorso85]

I wouldn't like to be argumentative either. The shells they are best suited for is 5 and under I believe. And maybe I get a good deal on Perchlorate, or Im getting screwed on Nitrate. Either way I Think the cost is low for a hobbyist but not free. Sorry for your blood diseases. I truly do wish you the best. I have used b.p. with a slow nitrate. I also have used 46 with a slow flash. Honestly I really use b.p. to break If I'm in a jam. I mill compositions in 100 gram batches for now and I don't like to take from my lift "stash". So I have my little system of time management when making shells.

 

As far as problems with break charges the one problem I ever had was do to weakness of the composition. Just before assembly I noticed that the oxidizer didn't dissolve 100% on to the carrier. I had noticed white specs all over the comp but dismissed it during manufacture.