frogy Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 That's why you need to buy KNO3 in 22.68 kg bags I constantly make black powder and RCandy rockets and it seems I have barely dented by 100 lbs of KNO3.
TheSidewinder Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Agreed. Pyrotechnics will empty your wallet faster than a divorce lawyer.
50AE Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 I thought I was the only one spending 250 euros of chemicals and tools for 2 years.Seems I'm just a small fly comparing to you guys
WarezWally Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 It all adds up.... quickly I might add It was not to long ago I forked out nearly $150 for a set of BP tooling and tubes. On a side note, I have today (Monday) off thanks to it being a public holiday. Until a few years ago it used to be a bit depressing: The Queen's Birthday weekend and Empire Day were long the traditional times for public fireworks displays in Australia. Although they still occur, the tradition has recently been overshadowed by larger New Year's Eve fireworks, as the sale of fireworks to the public was progressively banned by the states in the 1980s. The sale of fireworks in the Australian Capital Territory is only legal during the Queen's Birthday weekend. I think I'll send off a nice rocket to remember times past
flying fish Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 This doesn't HAVE to be an expensive hobby. I make all of my experimental star formula in 10g batches, and the shells I make are generally under 2." I've lasted years on a mere 5 lbs of potassium nitrate...
BLAST420 Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 huh... well I am really just in the begginning and I am startin with 3" Chrysanthemum Shells this seems like the most expensive part because if I want to make it all ya gotta buy it all...but thats ok because you only use certain things on high volume!! But I am very happy my finnal shipment comming in so I will be all set but for the record just in one month to get set up and goin I am lookin at about $700 that alot of stuff thou.... but I do still aquire some fancys down the line but I think I am straped for a while.....hopefully I dont forclose and it will just me and my ball mill on the streets
WarezWally Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Overall its a pretty cheap hobby compared to others out there.
oskarchem Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Humm... I need to find a place where they sell KNO3 in 50kgs bags.. But in all of the garden stoors they said they don't have any, maybe I'll just have to ring them so they think I'm an adult and then go to the store if they say that they have it...
flying fish Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Yeah, when making larger batches and larger shells, the key to affordability is to find KNO3 in bulk. It is REALLY cheap as a fertilizer (I think that's what they use it for?) but not so cheap when purchased as a "hobbyist pyro supply". Then, keep the % of exotic/expensive chems like metal powders down to a minimum whenever possible. Of course, with me and my very tiny batches, I can use metal powders and exotic chems all I want without breaking the bank .
frogy Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Humm... I need to find a place where they sell KNO3 in 50kgs bags.. But in all of the garden stoors they said they don't have any, maybe I'll just have to ring them so they think I'm an adult and then go to the store if they say that they have it... Try asking around at farm supplies if you are not "afraid". Orchard's suppliers seem to be the best source of KNO3 for me. Apparently Nitrogen is needed in massive quantities at (fruit) tree farms, and possibly even grape vine orchards...
oskarchem Posted June 9, 2008 Posted June 9, 2008 I'm not afraid, I've probably done evry single garden stoor in a 50km vinicity, but I think that they are just lying to me, so I will have to make my mother go on a expedition
oskarchem Posted June 9, 2008 Posted June 9, 2008 Just for info, I have found that KNO3 is used as a strawberry fertilizer. So I will go and have a snoop around my garden stoor...
justanotherpyro Posted June 10, 2008 Posted June 10, 2008 This hobby has proven fairly cheap for me. I made all of my own tools( ball mill, star roller, star pumps etc..) from things I already had lying around. As far as chems go I make lots of TT which is dirt cheap although I foresee a purchase of another 30$ 50lb bag of KNO3 in the near future. However, thanks to 6" shells my expenses have drastically increased
Apollofrost Posted June 10, 2008 Posted June 10, 2008 Mmmm... jack and cokes, they make me so happy. I sat on my front porch with one of those and a cigar, it was nice. I've got this great big liquor cabinet that I never take anything out of, maybe that will have to change. After all, I am in college. I feel good, relaxed and tranquil. It's strange, I can still touch type even when I'm smashed. Now I'm on my back porch, a second jack and coke to my left. I'm listening to music and it's so much better now, so relaxing. The summer air is warm, the night is quiet, and all is well.
BLAST420 Posted June 10, 2008 Posted June 10, 2008 Mmmm... jack and cokes, they make me so happy. I sat on my front porch with one of those and a cigar, it was nice. I've got this great big liquor cabinet that I never take anything out of, maybe that will have to change. After all, I am in college. I feel good, relaxed and tranquil. It's strange, I can still touch type even when I'm smashed. Now I'm on my back porch, a second jack and coke to my left. I'm listening to music and it's so much better now, so relaxing. The summer air is warm, the night is quiet, and all is well. smashed after just one jack and coke.....wow must be nice
Swede Posted June 10, 2008 Posted June 10, 2008 smashed after just one jack and coke.....wow must be nice Depends upon how big it was! Actually, I think that's a good sign, a nice, mellow buzz on a fine cigar and a single whiskey. It means his tolerance is not high. Good for you, ApolloF. Savor those moments. As you age, and the world becomes a bit of a crushing MF, they become rarer. Above all, be sure your future spouse won't go Bat S--t over a drink and a cigar. Otherwise, she'll control you in other areas as well!
BLAST420 Posted June 11, 2008 Posted June 11, 2008 AHHHHH......BANGER!!! FINNALLY ARIVED NOW OFF TO FIND A DAMN PLACE TO PUT IT ALL...... http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/breimer06/DSC00249.jpg
frogy Posted June 11, 2008 Posted June 11, 2008 Holy hell... Is that a 5 lb bag of charcoal and 5 lb bag of dextrin? Or is that sulfur? I can't believe Skylighter shipped of Al and Oxidizers in the same order... How many times have you ordered from them previously?How many pounds of Al, KClO3, and KClO4? Looks like you'll be set for at least a few weeks Please give us a list I'll take a picture of all my glassware once it gets here today\tomorrow... On another note, beware squeamish... Here's a picture of my back, where I got a mole that was inhibited by cancer (Melanoma) removed today. http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/4687/picture005xu1.th.jpg
BLAST420 Posted June 11, 2008 Posted June 11, 2008 ouch damn that doesnt look pretty well at least its outta there...... well lets see off the top of my head you were looking at...o yea the box that was labeled Al wasnt FULL of Al lol I wish $$$$ couple pounds of German Dark Alpound a MgAl -325lb strontium nitratelb barium nitratecouple pounds of pot perchlorateabout 5 pounds of pot chlorate(kinda sits around... good for some comps and smoke mixes!!!)some wood meallots of KNO3lb cryolitelb strontium carbonatelb zinc powderZZZZZlb copper carbonatelb PaRlOn 70 percentile rightgood ol red gumslbs sodium benzoatelbs claylbs dextrinblue mix(smokes)5lbs charcol 5lbs sulfur...........maybe some more.......yah
ULTRABUF Posted June 11, 2008 Posted June 11, 2008 Wow, thats quite the load. I am happy because my collectors edition of Opeth's new album Watershed arrived today.
frogy Posted June 11, 2008 Posted June 11, 2008 Here's the labware... Ironic that it came nearly right when I was posting "I'll take a picture of all my glassware once it gets here today" I was like a child on Christmas ripping through all the paper and slashing all the tape with my boxcutter like a maniac. Ahhhhh, what a beautiful sep. funnel... It came with a Teflon stopcock, even though I ordered ground glass, but SEoF actually charged more for teflon, and PTFE is fine for me... It's safe with Nitric and most organics I'm working with. Opened up:http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6224/labwareoutrw5.th.jpg I recieved everything but:1 E385-3PK EYE DROPPER PIPET WITH RUBBER BULB 3PK3 3407 CLAMP HOLDER, Light Alloy, off-set jaws2 3351-2 SUPPORT STAND w/ ROD Cast iron 5" x 8" Apparently test tubes come in packs of 4... so even though I ordered 10, I received 12 Almost no complaints here... Except for one beaker that has a small bump of extra glass on the lip, and the slightly worn labels on the 50ml beakers, nothing at all had any defects whatsoever... No chips, no breaks, no frosting (except for the funnels, but that's how they're made). "Storage Mode": http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/155/labwarestoragext1.th.jpg Also have to note that while scavenging my house for old chemistry things, I found some Potassium Iodide solution in a children's Chemistry set. http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2826/potassiumiodinekk9.th.jpg I think I should be able to get about 2.16 grams of Iodine out of that solution if my math is correct (at 100% yield). 10 cc @ 9.1 KI... "Lab grade" so it should be 100% pure water. 9.1% of 10cc = 0.91cc KI * 3.13 g/cc = 2.8483 * 126/166 (I g/mol [ / ] KI g/mol). Somethings wrong there, but I'm just not noticing it
flying fish Posted June 11, 2008 Posted June 11, 2008 Wow, today was an awesome day at work. I found someone who is (I believe) able to swiftly solve a drawn-out technical problem that has troubled us for...practically years by now. And at the same time, we (a small start-up company) just got a partnership with a multi-billion dollar company which sure helps to solve our financial problems! And, we just finished renovations on the lab that I work in, which should make things a hell of a lot more productive. And, I'm going to be training a new female intern. I hope she is hot . This calls for a drunken celebration...which will probably never happen just because we never seem to get around to such activities (we've had a golf rain-check going on for months now).
tentacles Posted June 12, 2008 Posted June 12, 2008 I'm pretty stoked, after beating the dead horse all morning yesterday trying to get my argon tank filled with a stainless steel favorable gas blend, I got er done today. Should have it back in a week or so. It's not the ideal mix I wanted, but for that they'd have to ship it off like 1000 miles and who do you think pays for that? Not them! Anyways, the mix I've ordered up is used for making stainless steel food equipment so it will be more than serviceable. $55 to fill my "Q" size tank.
Swede Posted June 12, 2008 Posted June 12, 2008 Nice stash, Blast! I thought MY first order was big. I got no perchlorate, and too many less useful items like Kyanite and water glass, but a pretty good initial stock. Your list looks like a good one for a great many comps.
frogy Posted June 12, 2008 Posted June 12, 2008 about 5 pounds of pot chlorate(kinda sits around... good for some comps and smoke mixes!!!) Watch out with that... Chlorate can "detonate" by itself with friction... So don't go dropping it from too high, or hitting it with hammers... I know someone that was hammer testing (remotely) KClO3 + a sledge hammer in a guillotine-type machine... Just a few pounds of force and it'll "explode".
Recommended Posts