Fireball Effect w/o using coffee creamer

[BlastFromThePast]

As the title states, I would like to make a "fireball" effect without using coffee creamer. I would like to use one of the standard 1" dia by 5" long mortars from Cannon fuse. Preferably the "fireball' would ignite at roughly 4-10 ft from exiting the mortar. I really don't know how to go about doing this other than thinking about making a piston type mine with some lift below the piston and a SMALL bag of meal above the piston...I don't know if this will work and please, if others have tried/thought about doing such a thing, I would love to know your thought process and ideas. Thanks,

Blast

Edited April 26, 2013 by BlastFromThePast

[psyco_1322]

Fireball "mortars" are better shorter and fatter than something that is used to shoot shells. I don't think you will get much of anything out of a 1" tube.

 

What's wrong with coffee creamer? I like to use the country gravy mix, from Walmart, mixed with about 1/3-1/2 airfloat charcoal. A tube about 2.5" ID and about 2.5" tall would work great. Just fill the bottom with some bp, place in a piece of tissue paper, sift in your fireball mix and light. It doesn't need to be heavy duty, i use a plastic 3" salute can..hence the dimensions. You can also use fine sawdust, but it really has to be dust.

Edited April 26, 2013 by psyco_1322

[BlastFromThePast]

I don't have access to anything larger than a 2' mortar with a min length of 20". Other than that I don't have anything other than an 1" like I stated. I'm trying to do this without coffee creamer because I'm broke as shit and looking for an alternative to the classic cremora. Edited April 26, 2013 by BlastFromThePast

[nater]

Do you have a coffee can or oatmeal can? Even a plastic bucket works fine. For the fuel, almost

anything finely powdered will work. Wood meal, flour, powdered sugar, etc... Like Psyco said, cover the bottom of your vessel with BP, place a piece of tissue paper on top and fill with sifted fuel.

 

I have used this effect with different fuels to demonstrate how dust can cause explosions in silos and grain elevators.

[BlastFromThePast]

Really, even confectioner sugar would work?

[nater]

Yep, they all burn a little differnent, but will work. Have fun experimenting, I have found a soup can with a hole for the fuse works for small scale testing.

 

Like many fun projects, Ned already wrote something about it.

 

http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to-make/cremora-fireballs.asp

Edited April 26, 2013 by nater

[BlastFromThePast]

Interesting. i'm going to try 50:50 confectioners sugar with airfloat and see how that performs. I'm assuming the airfloat will help ignite the sugar considering I have heard of charcoal mine explosions before...Lets see if this works..

[FlaMtnBkr]

A charcoal mine explosion? I would be curious to know where charcoal is mined at.

 

:-)

[mikeee]

I work at a Sugar Mine.

We clean the minerals and gravel from the sugar deposits.

We refine the sugar add water to it, and sell it as High Fructose Corn Syrup.

[BlastFromThePast]

A charcoal mine explosion? I would be curious to know where charcoal is mined at.

 

:-)

 

The more I think about that the more I realize I don't know where I got that from. I think I was thinking about the demo in my chemistry class way back when where the teacher put fine charcoal in a vinyl tube and blew it out into a bunsen burner. You're right, where the hell would they be mining charcoal lol.

[mikeee]

BlastFromThePast,

 

Technical term for that is a brain fart.

Sometimes they just slip out. :-)

If I am working too late the night before I usually have a few of those the next day! :-)

Coal and Charcoal are very similar in many ways, my brain throws them into the same file folder.