Strontium nitrate drying.

[TritonPyro]

I did not realise for the first time how hygroscopic it is. My shipment was wet. I put it into a 225 f oven for 2 hours in a foil lined tray. Every 30 minutes I mixed it to regulate drying. After, I put the chem into a plastic sealed bottle with a good size handful of I gram packs of drying agent. After a year it is still as dry and when used a week ago in neds rubber stars, was perfect.

[BlastFromThePast]

How does it compare in hygroscopicity to sodium nitrate?

[Algenco]

Quality has a lot to do with it.

I have Dupont strontium nitrate and haven't had any problems.

I have rolled stars with it and they dried as quickly as any other comp

[TritonPyro]

The strontium came from a chem. supplier and it was like damp beach sand. After drying it was great. Sodium nitrate is pretty hygroscopic, more I think than s nitrate . Your right Algenco, it is the supplier that is the key.

 

Algenco, if the DuPont strontium comes dry, does it stay quite stable?

Edited April 2, 2013 by TritonPyro

[Algenco]

yep, I've bought Dupont several times and it has always been dry.

I recently bought some Japanese, it's supose to be even better

[nater]

I just used the last of my Stronitum Nitrate, after drying in an oven, milling, and storing with a desiccant pack, it stayed in great shape and the stars work great. I have a source for the Japanese kind which I will try next and see how it compares.

[50AE]

Purity is the reason and impurities such as calcium nitrate make the total product hygroscopic. I once had a lab grade Sr(NO3)2 and never had hygroscopocity issues.

[kleberrios]

The SrNO3 are all higroscopic, There aren't no ever dry, because depend of weather. If is humid weather the SrNO3 will be wet, if is dry weather it does not will be wet. I have 5 kg and it is cristal, and the star don't catch fire easy, SrNO3 must be very thin to work with stars. I developed a red strob crazy with SrNO3, and don't use Amonium Perchlorate or Strontium Sulfate, but with cristal SrNO3 the strob don't catch fire and I had that grind to work well.

[Mumbles]

Pure strontium nitrate is really not all that hygroscopic. As 50AE mentioned, it's the impurities like calcium nitrate and strontium chloride that give it the reputation that it has. It's still probably recommended to store it sealed and with desiccants, but with high quality materials it's not entirely necessary. I live in a high humidity area so I do this, but I've also lived in low humidity areas where this was not needed.

[Algenco]

I have only used high quality strontium and have never seen the "wet sand" state

As I said, I've rolled "IndependenceRed" with dextrin/water and had no problems drying or in storage