General Safety-Preventative measures

[BigBang]

This was copied from EP's post on the old forum

 

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This is copied from Wouter Visser's site and I figured we could use a sticky thread here with basic safety. Original page here: http://www.wfvisser.dds.nl/EN/safety_EN.html

 

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General safety

 

Important note: It is impossible to give a finite set of rules that will assure your safety in pyrotechnics. Described below you will find just some of the most important and common ('everyday') things that should always be kept in mind when handling pyrotechnic compositions and chemicals. They apply to a wide variety of compositions. But every composition is different. Some must be rammed or pressed to work properly. Other will explode when rammed. Some must be wet with water, others may spontaneously ignite when wet. Some mixtures are relatively safe to use by themselves but are extremely sensitive when used together. (A number of well known 'incompatible' mixtures and chemicals are also listed below). The point is: remember and think about the rules below, they are important, but realise any such list is inevitably incomplete. Accidents happen even in places where every conceivable safety precaution is taken. I don't guarantee your safety if you follow the rules below (also read the disclaimer), but merely say it is wise to do so. It'll increase your safety.

 

General Safety Precautions

 

With that said, a list of some generally useful safety precautions in no particular order:

 

1. Never smoke when handling chemicals or compositions.

2. Be sure you are familiar with all the properties of the compositions you work with. Thoroughly test new compositions for sensitivity, stability, compatibility with other mixtures etc, until you are absolutely sure that the mixture is ok to use in your application and method of construction. Find out as much as you can about other peoples experiences with a particular mixture.

3. Use only non-sparking tools. Make your tools from either: wood, paper, aluminum, lead or brass. Other metals and materials may spark (especially steel will).

4. Paper bags or wooden containers are good to use for storing mixed compositions. Store compositions dry and cool. Avoid plastics, glass and metal. Avoid storing compositions in general. Make as much as you will need in the near future and keep no more in stock than necessarry.

5. Never have large amounts of composition near you. If you must use larger amounts of composition in multiple items, store the bulk of composition in a safe place and bring only small amounts to your working place. Finished items should also be brought to a safe place immediately.

6. Prevent contamination of chemicals and mixtures. Have separate tools for every type of mixture (i.e. blackpowder-like mixtures, chlorates, perchlorates, etc) and clean them well with hot water and/or alcohol after use. It is no luxury either to have different sets of clothing for working with different mixtures. Wash them every time after use (dust collects in the clothing). If you have the possibility, have separate rooms or better yet: separate buildings for working with different types of mixtures/chemicals.

7. Related to 6: Keep a clean working place. Fine dust easily spreads all over your working place. Keep chemicals in closed cabinets or in a separate building. Mixtures should not be kept in the working place anyway (see rules 4 and 5).

8. Provide adeqate ventilation. This is especially important when working with volatile solvents or (poisonous, flammable) powdered chemicals. Not only can you get yourself poisoned, vapour or dust may also ignite.

9. Be aware of static electricity buildup. Ground your working table. Monitor humidity and keep it above 60% as a rule of thumb. This can be especially important in winter when preparing for new years eve (on the Northern Hemishpere at least). Touch a grounded surface before you place things on it. Touch other people before handing over compositions or finished items. Wear cotton clothing, avoid synthetics (do not be tempted to wear fleece clothing if your working place is cold in winter). Simple things such as unscrewing a (plastic) bottle, unwinding some tape or even moving your arm may accumulate enough charge on your body to ignite a sensitive composition. The risk of static electricity is often underestimated or even completely ignored by beginning amateurs in pyro, while it is actually one of the major causes of accidents in both commercial/industrial and amateur pyro setups.

10. Wear proper protective clothing. A face shield, dust mask, heavy gloves and a leather apron are minimal. Wear cotton clothing. Hearing protection can be good but it also makes it harder to hear other people's warnings.

11. Provide safety screens between you and compositions, especially when pressing, ramming, sieving or in other ways causing frictions/shocks/pressure etc.

12. Be prepared for the worst. Have a plan for when something should go wrong. Have a fire extinguisher and plenty of water ready. Think beforehand of what might happen and how you could minimize the damage. Know how to treat burns. Inform someone else so he/she can help in case of an accident. Have a fast escape route from your working place.

13. Test a device well before showing it to an audiance. Inform any audiance well of what can happen

[BigBang]

'Incompatibilities'

 

Some combinations of chemicals lead to especially sensitive or instable mixtures. There are many more of such incompatible chemicals/mixtures than listed here but these are some of the more commonly encountered types:

 

1. Chlorates and sulfur

2. . Mixtures containing both are not only very sensitive to friction and shock but are also known to ignite spontaneously. The sulfur reacts with water and air to form trace amounts of sulfuric acid. This will react with chlorates to form chlorine dioxide, a yellow explosive gas that will ignite most flammable materials upon contact. Addition of small amounts of barium or strontium carbonate to chlorate based compositions is sometimes done to prevent buildup of acid, even in compositions without sulfur. Many older texts on pyrotechnics describe the use of chlorate/sulfur based compositions. Today, many alternative and much safer compositions are available and there is therefore no excuse for the use of chlorate/sulfur mixtures. This also means chlorate based compositions cannot be used in items that also contain sulfur based mixtures. For example: chlorate based stars cannot be primed with black powder. Nor can a H3 burst charge be used with black powder primed stars (or stars containing sulfur). Chlorates and ammonium compounds

3. . Mixing these will allow ammonium chlorate to form in a double decomposition reaction that takes place in solution (moisture speeds up the process). Ammonium chlorate is a highly instable explosive compound. It decomposes over time producing chlorine dioxide gas (see chlorates and sulfur). Mixtures are likely to spontaneously ignite upon storage or may explode for no apparent reason. An exception seems to be the use of ammonium chloride and potassium chlorate in some smoke compositions. According to Shimizu this combination is safe due to the lower solubility of potassium chlorate (compared to ammonium chlorate). I personally would still use these mixtures with great caution (or avoid them) since it seems inevitable that small amounts of ammonium chlorate will still form. The lower solubility of potassium chlorate will make it the -main- product in a double decomposition reaction but not the -only- product. Chlorates with metals and nitrates

4. . These mixtures show the same problems as chlorate/ammonium compound mixtures. The reason is that nitrates can be reduced by most metals used in pyrotechnics to ammonium. The reaction rate of this reaction is increased by presence of water. Over time (for example when drying) these mixtures may spontaneously ignite or become extremely sensitive. The fact that ammonium forms in a relatively slow reaction is treacherous. These mixtures are referred to as 'death mixes' by some. Aluminum and nitrates

. Mixtures of these compounds sometimes spontaneously ignite, especially when moist. The mechanism is assumed to be as follows: the aluminum reduces some of the nitrate to ammonium, simultaneously forming hydroxyl ions. The aluminum then reacts with the alkaline products in a very exothermic reaction leading to spontaneous heating up of the mixture. This can eventually lead to ignition. The reactions take place in solution and therefore moisture speeds up the reaction. The process is usually accompanied by the smell of ammonia. Some types of aluminum are more problematic than others. Stearin coated aluminum is generally safer to use. The whole process can be prevented in many cases by the addition of 1 to 2 percent of boric acid. This will neutralise the alkaline products. It is best to bind such compositions with non-aquaous binder/solvent systems such as red gum/ethanol. Since aluminum/nitrate mixtures are extensively used it is important to be aware of this problem which is why the combination is listed here.

[Niter]

To add to the incompatibilities list: Chlorates are incompatible with copper, copper alloys and copper salts. This includes brass in your ball mill if you are milling neat chlorate to a finer mesh. Not only is copper a combustion catalyst in chlorate mixes, but dangerously so, it may cause spontaneous combustion. Particularly dangerous is formation of Copper(II)chlorate in mixtures with chlorate and copper compounds, which readily decomposes to form oxides of chlorine, which is the trigger to spontaneous combustion in Chlorate/Sulfur mixtures.

 

In the incompatibility of Chlorate and Ammonium compounds, be also on the lookout for compounds and side reactions that may generate ammonia. A substance which can readily liberate ammonium compounds in an acidic environment with moisture would be Hexamine.

[Vrizla]

Hi my name is Vinny L I just joined the forum. I tried to make a new topic and quickly found out I had to post first. This thread is kind of in the subject area of the topic I was going to post :

I know you are should use separate screens for fuels and oxidizers and that you should clean them after each use. My Question is how well should I clean my oxidizer screen from using Potassium Perchlorate, and then Potassium nitrate. Is compressed air ok or should I use soap and water

Edited July 29, 2009 by Vrizla

[Mumbles]

I don't bother with separate fuel and oxidizer screens. All my compositios are screened together anyway, so it's kind of a moot point. I do wash them off with soap and water after a day of manufacturing though, and even then I'd wash between unrelated compositions.

[Seymour]

I also use the same screens for everything that gets screened.

 

Out there in the 'real' world it is often advised to make sure that fuels and oxidisers are kept a mile apart so as to avoid the possibility of explosives being made.

 

In our hobby there is a 100% chance of explosives being made.

 

However there are cases where you do want to use different screens, for different mixes. Certainly Ammonium perchlorate (or other Ammonium salts) and Potassium chlorate (or other chlorates) should be kept completely seperate, as they form Ammonium chlorate, which is unusably sensitive, even as a contaminant.

 

I can easily get away with only using one set of screens because I use no chlorates. I only wash them if I want to avoid contamination that may disturb the effect I'm after, since if a chemical is a serious risk to screen, I do not do it.

 

As an extreme case to finish on it is common practice (note Mumbles reply) to screen all the chemicals in a composition together, fuels, oxidisers, metals, colourants and all! This is definite case of fuels and oxidisers both using the same screen!

 

It is important to note however, that some compositions are too sensitive to screen together, particularly but not exclusively flash and whistle mixes.

Edited July 30, 2009 by Seymour

[scarbelly]

..., that some compositions are too insensitive to screen together, particularly but not exclusively flash and whistle mixes.

 

Do you mean too sensitive?

[Seymour]

Thanks for pointing that out! It is a very big error!

Fixed now

[Ralph]

To add to the incompatibilities list: Chlorates are incompatible with copper, copper alloys and copper salts. This includes brass in your ball mill if you are milling neat chlorate to a finer mesh. Not only is copper a combustion catalyst in chlorate mixes, but dangerously so, it may cause spontaneous combustion. Particularly dangerous is formation of Copper(II)chlorate in mixtures with chlorate and copper compounds, which readily decomposes to form oxides of chlorine, which is the trigger to spontaneous combustion in Chlorate/Sulfur mixtures.

 

In the incompatibility of Chlorate and Ammonium compounds, be also on the lookout for compounds and side reactions that may generate ammonia. A substance which can readily liberate ammonium compounds in an acidic environment with moisture would be Hexamine.

 

 

this is with soluble copper salts insoluble copper salts such as copper oxide pose little risk soluble ones cause huge risk. copper chlorate (it took a composition (rice grain lump of composition burt into flames with gentle heating while still damp) is indeed very sensitive and decomposed very easily any way i have heard that the same is true with perchlorates so i guess soluble copper salts in general should be avoided i know in the past i considered using copper nitrate

[Mumbles]

All of the soluble copper salts that come to mind are pretty hygroscopic anyway, so they don't have a great deal functionality outside of specialized binding applications.

 

I agree that it is less important to avoid insoluble copper salts and chlorates. Chlorate blues would be impossible otherwise. I like to stick with the oxide and carbonate. They're naturally slightly basic, so that helps to reduce any potential sensitivity. I'm not sold on oxychloride with chlorate just yet without some testing or data. The oxide and carbonate are cheaper anyway.

[Ralph]

I agree with using the oxide and carbonate.

as far as prices of oxychloride here in aus are it always seems to be cheaper than oxide and it is quite available though i personally have stooped using it.

 

as far as the solubility goes parts of it are sufficiently soluble to be dissolved than once the solution is filtered (to remove the insoluble bits of the oxychloride) than when potassium carbonate was added a blue precipitate (copper carbonate) formed so it could pose a risk.

[PyroArteom]

Hey everyone!

 

I'm very new to this site and new to pyrotechnics.

 

I have a question though. Is it possible to make/ launch Arial shells in Northern California for your personal non-commercial use? I know that fireworks that explode leave the ground, or spin uncontrollably are illegal?

 

Are any special permits/ licenses/ ground rules required? I've read the "Orange Book" but can't seem to find anything.

[madmandotcom]

and for goodnes sake, stand back when testing, dont just shove a match in there and hope for the best

[TheArchitect23]

Hey everyone!

 

I'm very new to this site and new to pyrotechnics.

 

I have a question though. Is it possible to make/ launch Arial shells in Northern California for your personal non-commercial use? I know that fireworks that explode leave the ground, or spin uncontrollably are illegal?

 

Are any special permits/ licenses/ ground rules required? I've read the "Orange Book" but can't seem to find anything.

 

You Answered your own question. If they are illegal, they are illegal.

 

There are no permits to shoot illegal fireworks in that state. You would need a type 54 commercial manufacture. Which you will not qualify for, afford, or get approved for.

 

Find an open are with nothing and nobody around to test and shoot your stuff.

Edited November 3, 2011 by TheArchitect23

[dagabu]

You Answered your own question. If they are illegal, they are illegal.

 

There are no permits to shoot illegal fireworks in that state. You would need a type 54 commercial manufacture. Which you do not qualify for, afford, or get approved for.

 

There is no longer any "Type XX" licenses, they simplified them

 

Mostly true, if you join a club (Blurgrass Pyro comes to mind), you will be able to make and shoot pyro on their license. The reason I say mostly true is that according to the BATFE, you can make and use explosives on your own property... As was already said, the state and local laws are the ones that will prohibit you from pyro.

 

Get in touch with a club near you, join the PGI, go buy some books and stay safe!

 

-dag

Edited November 3, 2011 by dagabu

[mikewest124]

Hello, I am new to the forum and new to the hobby. I have been searching the net for plans and ideas on cannons. I came across this site and with the rules of this forum it proves that this can be a safe hobby and information needs to be understood instead of just downloading a set of plans on the net and killing yourself and or others. I would like to learn how to build different size cannons Black Powder for different objects but want to start out out with something small and then go bigger the more I learn. Anyone who can put me on the right track would be greatly appreciated.

[NightHawkInLight]

Hello, I am new to the forum and new to the hobby. I have been searching the net for plans and ideas on cannons. I came across this site and with the rules of this forum it proves that this can be a safe hobby and information needs to be understood instead of just downloading a set of plans on the net and killing yourself and or others. I would like to learn how to build different size cannons Black Powder for different objects but want to start out out with something small and then go bigger the more I learn. Anyone who can put me on the right track would be greatly appreciated.

 

Welcome Mike. Hopefully someone here can help you out with cannons, most of us are strictly into fireworks. With a cannon you're primarily looking at making a steel or brass pressure vessel, and you need to know what thicknesses will hold the force. It not only needs to be able to hold pressure, but it also needs to be of a design that can withstand the shock of instant pressurization. Good geometry would likely be the key to that. You should probably be looking into the manufacture of gun barrels. Only a fool would try to make a barrel for a high powered rifle themselves from what I understand due to the metallurgy involved, but if you look at the shapes of the barrels you would probably come out with a good design if you increase the thickness to compensate for the inferior steel you are likely have access to.

[Arthur]

The air cannons used in the entertainments industry TEND (but not exclusively!) to run from a 4 - 6 Bar pressure reservoir. So after buying a proper air reservoir certified to a bit more than that and fitting good, rated connectors mast things that work as mortar tubes work as barrels for confetti.

 

If you want to propel solids like cannon balls then barrels are very different, as is the law on making firearms -a barrel that fires projectiles.

[Xtreme Pyro]

Hey everyone!

 

I'm very new to this site and new to pyrotechnics.

 

I have a question though. Is it possible to make/ launch Arial shells in Northern California for your personal non-commercial use? I know that fireworks that explode leave the ground, or spin uncontrollably are illegal?

 

Are any special permits/ licenses/ ground rules required? I've read the "Orange Book" but can't seem to find anything.

 

Since your in California, I would look into joining the WPA. We have two shoots a year, one called "Winterblast" in mid febuary in Lake Havasu AZ, and one called "Do-It" in late september / early october in Hawthorne, NV. Winterblast is the largest event of the two you can build your own, buy class C and B product on the clubs licence, and shoot for four days straight. Do-It is three day event that is mainly a manufacturing event with a couple of vendors for commercial class C and B product.

 

Here's the website: http://www.westernpyro.org

[KuzkinaMat]

As an aside, do bromates (such as KBrO3) and iodates (such as KIO3) pose unique risks in handling, in the vein of KClO3's incompatibility with sulfur? I understand that oxyhalogen salts other than chlorate are relatively exotic oxidizers and have little practical use in professional or amateur pyrotechnics, but as an electrochemistry enthusiast with a large variety of specialty electrodes, I have greater access to these than those who purchase their chemicals from a licensed pyrotechnics supplier, who would likely not stock such chemicals due to the near-zero demand for them.

 

I would assume that the decreasing electronegativity of bromine and iodine make them more sensitive and dangerous than chlorine-based mixtures in all practical respects. If I were to hazard a guess, they would make inferior propellants due to the lower volume of the combustion products, but louder reports due to the faster potential burn rate.

 

Do you have experience with handling bromate or iodate compositions?

[Mumbles]

Yes, they are much more sensitive to pretty much all the common sources (friction, impact, etc) than chlorates for the reason you mentioned. I've had some in the past, but never got to experiment much with them.

 

Salute weren't of much interest to me, nor do I think it would be affected too much. The salts are denser, which also means that you need less fuel to balance it out. I really don't know how the relative densities of the compositions would measure up. The only time you'd ever be able to see a difference is with relatively small salutes, and even then the sound is more determined by casing than the composition.

 

I was more interested in colored compositions. Metal monobromides or iodides have different spectra than the chlorides. I think copper monobromide was the one I was interested in. The wavelength falls into a turquoise region I believe.

[6squirrels]

just a quick question regarding incompatabilities, i have a really huge compiled list of star compositions, and a lot of them have a note that says "warning, contains a chlorate and sulfur. handle with care." which is all fine and dandy, i'm aware of that incompatability. but on another list, there are a couple that have sulfur and a perchlorate. is that safe? or relatively more or less safe? although i do have a large interest in chemistry, but im not quite sure of the chemistry behind that incompatability so i thought i should check.

[KuzkinaMat]

just a quick question regarding incompatabilities, i have a really huge compiled list of star compositions, and a lot of them have a note that says "warning, contains a chlorate and sulfur. handle with care." which is all fine and dandy, i'm aware of that incompatability. but on another list, there are a couple that have sulfur and a perchlorate. is that safe? or relatively more or less safe? although i do have a large interest in chemistry, but im not quite sure of the chemistry behind that incompatability so i thought i should check.

 

Perchlorate/sulfur is much less of a problem than chlorate/sulfur. For some arcane reason grounded in molecular physics, perchlorate seems much more chemically stable than chlorate. In fact, melting some chlorate salts while maintaining a temperature beneath their decomposition point causes them to absorb oxygen from the air to produce perchlorate.

 

Obviously, this method is inferior to and more dangerous than electrolytic generation of perchlorate, but illustrates the thermodynamic favorability of perchlorate to chlorate.

 

Perchlorate/sulfur is used in "strike-anywhere" matches that are sold for kitchen use all over the country, except in California for some ridiculous reason. This wouldn't be true if there was any serious safety concern, since one match head igniting would set off all the rest of the box, which would probably set off nearby boxes, and so on.

Edited March 16, 2012 by KuzkinaMat

[Mumbles]

I'm not sure that the chlorate actually absorbs oxygen from the air. In the formulas I've seen for the reaction you describe, the chlorate undergoes a disproportionation to perchlorate and chloride.

 

4 ClO₃ ^- ---> 3 ClO₄ ^- + Cl^-

 

If by "arcane" you mean only understood by anyone who has ever had general chemistry then I suppose you are right. In perchlorate the chlorine achieves a nobel gas electron configuration having formally given up all 7 of it's valence electrons. In chlorate, the chlorine only has a pseudo-nobel gas configuration giving up 5 of it's valence electrons. This results in a completely empty p orbital set, but completely full s orbital set. This achieves at least a partially stabilized state. This is why the lower oxides are generally rather unstable. It's more energetically favorable for them to disproportionate into chlorate and chloride.

 

I'd also be interested in seeing some reference to perchlorate and sulfur being used in strike anywhere matches. As far as I knew, they still use a chlorate based composition.

[dagabu]

It's sulfur, potassium chlorate, phosphorus sesquisulfide and ground glass in modern NON GREEN strike anywhere matches.

-dag