Black Powder Thread #1

[TheSidewinder]

I thought the whole purpose of alcohol was to break the water surface tension and better homogenize the comp. High-charcoal comps sure need it, in my experience.

[Mumbles]

Yes it does that, but it also drastically drives down the solubility of KNO3 in water as well.

[TheSidewinder]

Ah, ok. That figures, actually. And explains something from last year, too. Thanks.

[Arthur]

The alcohol is there in the CIA method to ensure that the KNO3 crystalises rapidly, hence forming the smallest possible crystal size. Slow recrystalisation from water produces large crystals - too large for BP to burn. Finer crystals mean better and more intimate mixing hence faster BP.

[psyco_1322]

Not in this case sidewinder, it is to keep the KNO3 from recrystalizing and slowing the powder after milling. Otherwirse thats what it is used for.

 

But isnt 30% a lot of water Mumbles?

[pyrogeorge]

99,6% sulfur is good or not to make BP?

[Swede]

99,6% sulfur is good or not to make BP?

It's good. My batches work well using crummy garden sulfur. You can make sulfurless BP that works fine, so the presence of 0.4% impurities in the S shouldn't hurt anything.

[pyrogeorge]

please help me!

i try to make black powder..i premilled the kno3 for 4hours and the charcoal for 2 hours until it make powder..now i grind together the chemicals in the wieght of 500gr..The ratio is 375kno3-75c-50s..but i make a test after 1 hour grinding the chemicals and it is slow burning BP..why?also it isn't gray but black..

 

i have rock tumbler not ball mill

[Swede]

What sort of charcoal are you using?

 

The energy of the BP comes from the fuels, primarily charcoal, but also to a lesser degree the sulfur. The KNO3 simply helps it burn, fast. You can have stuff called "charcoal" but if it is overcooked or not prepared properly, it will make crummy BP.

 

One hour in a ball mill or rock tumbler is not very long. Try milling longer than one hour. Give it 4 or 5 more hours, and then test a bit of the meal powder. be sure the powder is not clumping at the ends of the jar... I saw that happen to me recently. The media were grinding... nothing. All of the powder was trapped and did not mix AT ALL. That was because I did not have enough media to work the jar properly. What sort of media are you using to mix the chemicals?

[pyrogeorge]

i bought charcoal from super market..also i use different size for grinding media together..(15mm-20mm-25mm).it is wrong?And my media isn't enough.It was less than 1/4 of the jar.

But i think that i overload the jar..

[Frozentech]

i bought charcoal from super market..also i use different size for grinding media together..(15mm-20mm-25mm).it is wrong?And my media isn't enough.It was less than 1/4 of the jar.

But i think that i overload the jar..

What kind of charcoal from the supermarket ? If was briquette type, that is the worst possible charcoal you can use. Try and find lump wood charcoal, such as "Cowboy Brand" in the U.S.

 

Fill your milling jar 1/2 full of media. Then, your ingredients should fill it to 2/3 full. Since you are using a rock tumbler to mill, I would recommend you let it mill for 12 hours.

[pyrogeorge]

sorry but i don't know what briquette means..but if it means a fire starter with other chemicals inside like oil,no it isn't.

the bag of charcoal didn't write from what tree it was..it write that it comes from Argetina.

[FrankRizzo]

Charcoal Briquette (clay binder, bear turds, misc)...makes good charcoal stars, but not good black powder.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Charcoal_Briquette.JPG/250px-Charcoal_Briquette.JPG

 

Lump Charcoal (charcoal and a bit carbonized bark)..preferred over briquettes

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/images/lumpcharcoal.JPG

[psyco_1322]

Hay that looks just like my bag of charcoal....you thief! Give it back immediately!

[pyrogeorge]

this is my charcoal

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/7264/dsc00257sq3.th.jpg

[nick2354]

I got the same charcoal as you.

 

I used that crap Charcoal your using and my black powder was complete crap and I couldnt figure out why it sucked.

 

Just make your own, and cook Newspaper its quick and easy and makes some very fast BP.

 

 

 

Making Charcoal is a simple process.

 

1. Get a Heat resistant can and drill a hole big enough to put a pen through it.

 

2. Fill the can up with Newspaper or other type of wood.

 

http://www.apcforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=105 (read this)

 

3. Put Can in the fire and wait untill the white smoke *STOPS* coming out, from the whole u drilled earlier on. This take about 30-45 minutes

 

4. Remove from fire and wait 20 minutes before opening lid. If you open lid earlier it seems to turn to ash.

 

5.Make Black Powder!

[Richtee]

The alcohol is there in the CIA method to ensure that the KNO3 crystalises rapidly, hence forming the smallest possible crystal size. Slow recrystalisation from water produces large crystals - too large for BP to burn. Finer crystals mean better and more intimate mixing hence faster BP.

Question: Sooo, why would I not break up my pucks while damp? I finished the puck press a'la Dan Williams the other day and have a couple drying. I broke one up to maybe 3/4 inch chunks, left the other as a cylinder 2 X 1.5 inches or 77.2 Cm cubed. Seems like that's gonna take quite a while to dry whole...

[pyrogeorge]

nick2354

Why this charcoal isn't good??

[Stinger]

Hi

 

You can see the reason for yourself if you burn a charcoal briquet:

Slightly brown CLAY is left after it had burned out.

 

If you burn lumpwood charcoal, there is a very white ash left.

The reason for the much residue left from charcoal briquet BP is the clay,

it acts like a fire retardant in your BP, resulting in a crappy burnrate of the BP.

 

 

Stinger

[Richtee]

Hi

 

You can see the reason for yourself if you burn a charcoal briquet:

Slightly brown CLAY is left after it had burned out.

 

If you burn lumpwood charcoal, there is a very white ash left.

The reason for the much residue left from charcoal briquet BP is the clay,

it acts like a fire retardant in your BP, resulting in a crappy burnrate of the BP.

 

 

Stinger

Isn't that lump he's showing in the pict?

[Swede]

Hi

 

You can see the reason for yourself if you burn a charcoal briquet:

Slightly brown CLAY is left after it had burned out.

 

If you burn lumpwood charcoal, there is a very white ash left.

The reason for the much residue left from charcoal briquet BP is the clay,

it acts like a fire retardant in your BP, resulting in a crappy burnrate of the BP.

 

 

Stinger

Isn't that lump he's showing in the pict?

I agree, from the pic it looks to be useable charcoal, not reformed into a briquette. You can't tell from a picture, but it LOOKS okay.

 

I think from the description of his setup, that he is not getting a good milling action. The 1/2 media, 2/3 full should be the first thing to correct.

[Richtee]

I should know... I smoke a ton of ribs and other delectable items, and lump is my usual heat source. Pulled pork sammy anyone? :{)

[Mumbles]

Pipipi, I have to ask, how big is your rock tumbler? It sounds to me like the jar is way under charged in terms of media, way over charged in terms of BP, and you're not giving it nearly enough time.

[pyrogeorge]

it is dual drum rotary tumbler (6lb).it has got two separate barrels 3lb capacity each barrel..and the barrel size is 4-3/4"H x 4-1/2"OD

[Mumbles]

I hope you split the batch up between the two jars. Anyway, yes you will need to mill significantly longer than 1 hour, especially with such a low media fill. Try 10 hours, and report back to us. Everything else should probably be alright as far as the chemicals and such. They should at least make decent BP.