nesc39 Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 So I just came across 50lb bags of black powder for 375$. U can chose 2fa 4fa or 7fa. That works out to 7.50$ a pound and site says you can order up to 50pounds with explosives license. By the time I buy all 3 chems to make it myself it costs about 6$ a pound. I can only do 200g batches and it takes forever. so why would I wanna make it myself?
Mumbles Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 This would be the difference between bulk purchasing and retail purchasing. If you purchased chemicals in bulk, your BP would come out around $1-2/lb. That said, if you're interested in larger shells, but don't have the milling capabilities, this might be the way to go. Investing instead in a decently large mill, you'd break even in cost right around 50lbs of BP.
nesc39 Posted June 26, 2013 Author Posted June 26, 2013 1-2$ a pound wow. I haven't seen nitrate for less than 3.50$ a pound but I also haven't inquired about it either. I personally would never use more than 10 pounds a year so I think buying it made works for me
Bobosan Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 Skylighter occasionally runs prilled KNO3 @ $2.51/lb but you have to get it 10# at a time plus shipping. The prilled stuff can be coffee milled to a fine enough grade for screen mixed BP. A ball mill would be best.
dynomike1 Posted June 26, 2013 Posted June 26, 2013 So I just came across 50lb bags of black powder for 375$. U can chose 2fa 4fa or 7fa. That works out to 7.50$ a pound and site says you can order up to 50pounds with explosives license. By the time I buy all 3 chems to make it myself it costs about 6$ a pound. I can only do 200g batches and it takes forever. so why would I wanna make it myself?I think you meant 50lbs. without a lic. KNO3? check with Californapyro.
FlaMtnBkr Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 If I make my own charcoal, which is hotter than commercial airfloat, I can make BP for about $0.65 per pound. I can make about 2 lbs at a time in my ball mill in about 3 hours. My ball mill was also essentially free using parts I had laying around or scavenged. If people saw it they would laugh but it works. The heater hose and a drive belt were all I had to buy. Though I think my motor is on it's last legs and need to figure out something new. The jar was by far the most expensive part. I had the pipe but 6" fittings are expensive. The media is made from free wheel weights though they probably aren't free anymore unless you know someone. The mold for the media is a candle stick holder which has a very slight taper and was a dollar at goodwill. Anyways, a lot of things can be cheap if your willing to ask around for things. Including cheap BP that is much hotter than Goex. I have made a BP tester that others use and Goex results in a 5 s flight time. I have made 9 second BP when I was experimenting with different wood for charcoal. I don't know what the tree is called but charcoal from it is significantly hotter than willow when made into BP. Might want to see what shipping is on that BP. Bet it is pretty expensive. There is some fuse powder that is a dollar a pound. I think shipping was the problem when I looked into it.
flying fish Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 Look into greenhouse grade KNO3 (either from pyro or agricultural suppliers). I get 50# bags for $50 from a supplier who only delivers to club shoots, but I've heard of similar deals from agricultural suppliers. Sulfur I've gotten in 50# bags for $30-something and commercial airfloat 50# for $65 (that was at PGI). I make my own charcoal if I want high performance BP but for filler pulverone it's nice to have a stockpile of commercial airfloat laying around. Even with commercial charcoal that's only a dollar and a penny per pound.
taiwanluthiers Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 If you buy greenhouse grade kno3 it will work fine, I got some 50lb haifa for like 50 dollars.
flying fish Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I'm trying to find it now, but I remember reading a memo from FPAG on high performance pulverone. They claimed that Haifa GG was "crap" and had recommended another brand. Although Haifa is also what I use and I don't have any complaints about the performance of my BP. I'd be curious if anyone has done a systematic study on KNO3 sources.
nesc39 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Posted June 27, 2013 Dynomike..... Yes I meant 50# without an explosives license. Thanks for all the posts guys.
FlaMtnBkr Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I don't know what kind of Haifa they had a problem with or if that was a typo. But a few other members of FPAG tested 8 or 9 different kinds of KNO3. Different fertilizers, some technical grades, etc and the Haifa greenhouse grade was the best. It was the purest and resulted in the hottest BP, though I'm not sure of their testing procedures. I have used quite a bit of the Haifa greenhouse grade and have never found contaminates. I have found a couple rocks in another brand, Yara I believe. It has worked well for me so far.
flying fish Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 Thanks for the info! There is a chance that I may not be remembering correctly, so my apologies if I am spreading mis-information.
FlaMtnBkr Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 No, I think you are correct. It seems there was a recent post about that article which ended up as a Skylighter article. I believe what I referred to was also printed in the FPAG newsletter, but I was also told about it in person.
Peret Posted June 28, 2013 Posted June 28, 2013 I believe all 'A' type powders require a license to purchase any quantity. though it wouldn't be unheard of for people to break that rule occasionally. It's 'G' grade sporting powders where you can buy - actually I think the rule is "possess" - 50 pounds without one. Having said that, there's no difference between them really, except that the screen sizes are different. Eg 2FG is about 4FA.
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