AirCowPeacock Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) I want to add Firefly Al into my flash for sparks. Will this work and what % do you figure I should use? I also have 36 mesh Charcoal, -80 mesh steel and steel turnings, "glitter" atomized Al, and what can only be described as crumbs of various star compositions (inevitablity when making cut stars.) Would this work as well? Thanks in advance. Edited January 23, 2013 by AirCowPeacock
pyrojig Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 It it common in industry to use Ti for aerial salutes. The use of spherical AL is ok, but pails in comparison to metals like Ti , Mag , and other more expensive exotic metals . It comes down to a safety thing, and what will not create too much sensitivity in the comp, or adverse reactions due to incompatibilities. It is not wise to just add metals and odd comps to the flash to get a spark, you may cause a potential hazard.
AirCowPeacock Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 So my spherical Al would probably be better then my corse flake. Ok. I'll try that out. I would love to use Ti, but when it comes down to whether I'm going to spend my extra money on 4 lb perc or 1 lb Ti, I'll choose perc. I didn't want to use Fe because of safety concerns, but I thought I'd ask here and see if its ok. I don't imagine the charcoal sparks would even be visible after the light of the flash.
ChloRure Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 Always wanted to try to glue some Ti into my salute (ball paper shell), but I am still afraid to do it... anyone did it yet here ? I have Sponge ti.. around 80-100mesh and some flake Ti but sure I would use the sponge for that. And correct me if i am wrong but the ti is just for the fancy side right ? It would add nothing to the performance.
Seymour Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) Always wanted to try to glue some Ti into my salute (ball paper shell), but I am still afraid to do it... anyone did it yet here ? I have Sponge ti.. around 80-100mesh and some flake Ti but sure I would use the sponge for that. I have, and it works well, notably an economical way of using less Ti, though usually I just add Ti to the flash. 80-100 mesh is really a bit finer than I would choose for salutes, but it will work, just expect very short lived sparks. What size is your flake? Your 80-100 mesh Ti should look lovely in brocade type stars. And correct me if i am wrong but the ti is just for the fancy side right ? It would add nothing to the performance. Usually, yes, relatively coarse Ti is used (compared to most pyro powders) and it is just for sparks, although if you add A LOT of Ti you can notice the lower performance.. If you have very fine Ti, it is a flash capable metal in its own right. So my spherical Al would probably be better then my corse flake. Ok. I'm actually not so sure about this. While it's not easy to get going, your average glitter Al can go bang on it's own with KClO4 in the right environment. I think you would get more of a' fireball' with the spherical, but no noticeable sparks. A bit more of a flash. It does depend on the exact glitter Al though... that name covers a huge variety of particle sizes. The coarser flake will work well if it lights. I can see 70/30 blowing it blind, but CuO/Al lighting it, and perhaps some other slower mixes. Finer steel might light, but I'm not sure that it would be very impressive. Same with the charcoal. The bits of stars will work if the bits of stars are strong and don't need priming. I sometimes like to put small stars in flash salutes, and if they are strong, fierce burning and well primed they'll happily be functioning in a ten or twenty gram 70/30 salute. Ultimately I think you should get 3lb KP and a few ounces of Ti if you need to juggle it, or if possible, get a lot more of both. Edited January 24, 2013 by Seymour
AirCowPeacock Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 I do plan on getting Ti, I just can't yet justify getting it over other materials. I'll see if I can get a few ounces next time I order, if I just use if for salutes it should last me awhile. My firefly mis mixed flake, +30-325. So I think there will probably be a range in there that both lights and produces sparks. What amount should I use. I see titanium salutes generally call for 10%, but that seems like alot of inert material. Do you think 5% would be pleasing? Or should I go for ten. I would love to do some testing, but I can't shoot salutes very often. My neighbours would NOT approve, as such I have to drive out quite far.. I would rather not have to test it.
Algenco Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 I think what you have wil be burned up in the salute or not be visible over the flash, Ti grape nuts burns fairly quickly, anything smaller would go quicker
Mumbles Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 To get that real "snowball" type effect you do need coarser material. It of course also depends on salute size. I use something finer in my insert salutes than I might in a full sized bottom shot. This is speaking about Titanium. Even 80-100 mesh should still be visible to some degree. Glitter Al and charcoal almost certainly will not add anything to the effect visually. The star crumbs are likely in the same boat unless they're a little larger. Priming them with some sacraficial layer may make them visible or slow burning. The iron/steel might work, but will probably more likely just turn the white flash into something that looks dirtier. The firefly I still have great doubts about, but it's your best shot based on what you have. My gut tells me that it's too thin to do anything, and will just be burnt up in the initial reaction. While it may be 30 mesh wide, it's still only 25 microns thick.
AirCowPeacock Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 While it may be 30 mesh wide, it's still only 25 microns thick. True. I'll try the Firefly.... Upon further thought, what about fused manganese-aluminium oxide. I made some thermite with Manganese (II) oxide and Al, awhile ago, I have the result in a bag somewhere. Untread ground however. I'll stick to the firefly, 7%.
Potassiumchlorate Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 I use 18-40 mesh sponge Ti from FREAKYDUTCHMEN. There we can talk about big sparks Get some titanium, AirCowPeacock. It's really worth it.
dan999ification Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 it will last a while if you go easy on it. Gluing it to the hemis or cans is quite economical for shells smaller than 3inch, 100g lasted me two years but i dont fire many.Its also great for making coloured streamer stars and priming stars for boosted shells since flash lights it quite reliably.At 40-100# its quite versatile and the best for my needs. I dont think anything you have will come close to ti I also have some that is 0-100# ( sponge ) i thought i was buying 100#. I have no idea what its usefull for and cant find a single comp or effect that asks for ti this fine, it doesn't give much of a tail when added to stars only the 100# really shows up, i dont have screens smaller than 100#.Ti glitter? Any ideas Dan.
AirCowPeacock Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 Alright, I'll grab some, maybe today. I just gotta decide what else I want to order with it. Shipping and handling economy and all.
AirCowPeacock Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 sponge or spherical? My (new) favorite supplier (Hobby Chemical Supply) only has 40-80 mesh sponge. Also a few grades of FeTi.
AirCowPeacock Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 Skylighter has:"Titanium, spherical-40+300 mesh[Ti-Al] silver spheres94% titanium, 6% aluminum.Approximate Particle Size Breakdown:-40+100 mesh = 65%-100-300 mesh = 35%"
Potassiumchlorate Posted January 25, 2013 Posted January 25, 2013 Yes, sponge is superior for salutes.
Recommended Posts