halloweenpyro Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I am trying to make some fountains with Aluminum powder as the fuel. I was considering using Potassium Perchlorate as an oxidizer, and Barium Nitrate for green, Copper Oxychloride for blue, and Strontium Nitrate for red.I haven't ordered my chemicals yet because I haven't been able to figure out exactly what I need to order. I want to make green, blue, And red fountains and I need help with formulations and what chemicals to buy. (The Sulfur and Potassium Nitrate in the attached image are for black powder for another project) Any help is very much appreciated, thank you.
pyrokid Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Any reason for the preference for aluminum? http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to-make/plasma-cutter-fountain.asp These fountains use magnalium for the fuel and strontium nitrate for the oxidizer. You'll notice parlon in the formulas given in the above link, this is a chlorinated rubber product whose purpose is to give chlorine to the flame, improving color. I feel like you could replace the strontium nitrate with barium nitrate to make green, then achieve a good yellow by mixing red and green composition in some proportion. Blue fountains are a bit more difficult, so someone else with experience with them can hopefully chime in.
nater Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Those are all good comps. I have not made blue since I do not use AP in comps having used chlorates. I recently made a 1" purple gerb from that list with FeTi sparks that was quite nice. I have said before, they also make a nice rocket delay. Those are all good comps. I have not made blue since I do not use AP in comps having used chlorates. I recently made a 1" purple gerb from that list with FeTi sparks that was quite nice. I have said before, they also make a nice rocket delay.
halloweenpyro Posted July 22, 2014 Author Posted July 22, 2014 Any reason for the preference for aluminum? http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to-make/plasma-cutter-fountain.asp These fountains use magnalium for the fuel and strontium nitrate for the oxidizer. You'll notice parlon in the formulas given in the above link, this is a chlorinated rubber product whose purpose is to give chlorine to the flame, improving color. I feel like you could replace the strontium nitrate with barium nitrate to make green, then achieve a good yellow by mixing red and green composition in some proportion. Blue fountains are a bit more difficult, so someone else with experience with them can hopefully chime in.That looks perfect.I'll have to experiment around with copper salts for blue.Thank you.
TYRONEEZEKIEL Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Be careful with the Barium. It is quite a toxic chemical and it can really knock you down if you get exposed to it due to improper handling. Thankfully it doesn't accumulate in your system, and all you need is a pair of gloves and a respirator. Ned gorski recently had a bad experience with Barium. Just be careful. Fountains are not difficult to make. It is good that you are starting with them. Look for the Turbo Pyro ebook on skylighters website. It has a good fountain tutorial if I remember correctly. Another thing to note, do not hammer color comps into your tube for your fountain. They need to be pressed hydraulically.
nater Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I have not been able to make a good blue fountain with coppers and perc. I was trying star comps I use with material added for sparks, up close they look more pale than I want. One recent experiment might be passable, blues are tricky. The good blue lance and gerb comps all AP based. Even then, I want a bright royal blue which is hard with easily available chemicals.
Respirator Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 (edited) I feel like you could replace the strontium nitrate with barium nitrate to make green, then achieve a good yellow by mixing red and green composition in some proportion. That link puts strontium nitrate down at 50% of the composition. I'm not sure if the same ratio with Ba(NO3)2 will work, I have similar formulas for fountains where it makes up 70+%. This website (http://www.houseoexcess.com/pyro/Yellowcoloredfire.html) lists a yellow colored fire formula: Yellow Fire #1Potassium nitrate.................................4Sulfur............................................1Charcoal..........................................2Sodium chloride...................................3 No exotics required here but I have my doubts about it working. I just brought it up seeing that table salt is common. Edited July 22, 2014 by Respirator
Mumbles Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Having used similar fountain formulas, I can tell you that a 1:1 replacement of strontium nitrate for barium nitrate will work just fine. These formulas from John Glasswick are the ones I've used. I've made them all except the blue, for the same reasons that Nater mentioned. I ultimately decided to make yellow and oranges out of Ba(NO3)2 / Sr(NO3)2 mix instead of sodium nitrate. It's humid here in the summer, and sodium nitrate is difficult to keep dry. If you're interested, I can try to look up the ratios I used. http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to-make/colored-firework-fountains.asp
halloweenpyro Posted July 22, 2014 Author Posted July 22, 2014 Be careful with the Barium. It is quite a toxic chemical and it can really knock you down if you get exposed to it due to improper handling. Thankfully it doesn't accumulate in your system, and all you need is a pair of gloves and a respirator. Ned gorski recently had a bad experience with Barium. Just be careful. Fountains are not difficult to make. It is good that you are starting with them. Look for the Turbo Pyro ebook on skylighters website. It has a good fountain tutorial if I remember correctly. Another thing to note, do not hammer color comps into your tube for your fountain. They need to be pressed hydraulically. I an studying to be a chemist, so I expose myself to and know how to protect myself from toxic/hazardous substances all the time. I'll most likely end up weighing out my chemicals in my fume hood to take care of any dust, but I'll also be wearing my PPE.
halloweenpyro Posted July 22, 2014 Author Posted July 22, 2014 I have not been able to make a good blue fountain with coppers and perc. I was trying star comps I use with material added for sparks, up close they look more pale than I want. One recent experiment might be passable, blues are tricky. The good blue lance and gerb comps all AP based. Even then, I want a bright royal blue which is hard with easily available chemicals.I've seen some comp. formulas that include Paris Green ( Copper Acetoarsenite) as the blue colorant, and it's supposedly very effective, but I really don't feel comfortable using compounds that contain Arsenic. That's a bit too toxic for me. I might try this:KNO3.........................12Sulfur.........................4Sb2S3.......................2what should i use as fuel?
nater Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Paris green / potassium chlorate makes the best blue stars I have seen in person, but paris green is not easy or all that cheap to get. Some pyros are searching for the elusive cop light blue, but even the best come up short. I just want to make the best blue and purple I can, with easy to find materials.
Recommended Posts