Jonathan Posted December 24, 2013 Posted December 24, 2013 What have you discovered or learned about pyro in 2013 that's interesting? Number 1 for me is the all-around great oxidizing power of potassium bromate. Number 2 is that PTFE powder is a great oxidizer for powdered metals. Number 3 is that if kept dry, NaClO3 is a great substitute for KClO3; for example, in sugar and H3 mixes. Number 4 is plain old ball-milled 75:15;10 (granulated with red gum or dextrin) will perform many pyro jobs. Number 5 is how many good non-metallic fuels there are. For example, the sugar alcohols, PVC powder, dextrin, dextrose. Number 6 is how important it is to cover up, keep the work space clean, and keep gloves, hands, and clothes clean.
bob Posted December 24, 2013 Posted December 24, 2013 (edited) I suppose a few of the things I have discovered would be,How many different stars can be made out of the simple black powder chemicals. That it is very important to use GOOD tubes for spoolets. And how important it is to dry things properly.bob Edited December 24, 2013 by bob
pyrokid Posted December 24, 2013 Posted December 24, 2013 Jonathan, could you please elaborate on your experiences with PTFE? What type of compositions is it suited for? My biggest personal advance was gaining a greater understanding of the dynamics of KClO4 burst charges mixed with BP burst charges. Cool stuff!
asdercks Posted December 24, 2013 Posted December 24, 2013 The most important discovery I made during 2013 was... 1. How patient I can be, for instance: to do one thing at a time paying attention to details, waiting for things to dry thoroughly, not shortcutting pasting steps, to take my time to properly prime large batches of stars (no star roller yet),to make 240 bombettes (bottom plug,cut 240 1.5" pieces of fuse and rolling a piece of tape on every single one of them, filling with flash and stars and top plugging every single bombette), measured and cut time fuse using a ruler and anvil cutters, etc. I really love this hobby.2. I've discovered how much time and effort it takes to pump 3 kilos of 1/4 stars, .
Jonathan Posted December 24, 2013 Author Posted December 24, 2013 Jonathan, could you please elaborate on your experiences with PTFE? What type of compositions is it suited for? My biggest personal advance was gaining a greater understanding of the dynamics of KClO4 burst charges mixed with BP burst charges. Cool stuff! PTFE powder is teflon powder. Two carbon atoms + four fluorine atoms per molecule. The fluorine atoms provide powerful oxidation. When I mix PTFE with Mg-Al, for example, I get a brilliant flash. 50:50 by weight is what I've tried. I don't build rockets that explode in stars or colors at apogee; but I imagine a PTFE-powdered metal composition could be used for some burst purpose.
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