Vrizla Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Hello again fellow pyro enthusiasts, This is my third post so please forgive me in advance if I posted in the wrong area, or if there is already a thread on this topic. After searching the forum and Google I didn't find much on this subject: " Which is better domestic or Chinese Potassium perchlorate". I'm fairly new to the hobby but I just assumed that the domestic would be better. I ordered 7lbs of domestic with anti cake from Northstar. When it arrived the package said Chinese. I don't know if they slapped the wrong sticker on it or if it is indeed Chinese. If anyone could give me an educated response as to which one is generally more pure and better for pyrotechnic use, I would love to know. One opinion I read claims Chinese is better for sound and domestic is better for rocket propellant. I know I'm a newbie but I would think that the comparison should be between purity. Especially since impurities could equal disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 (edited) Hello again fellow pyro enthusiasts, This is my third post so please forgive me in advance if I posted in the wrong area, or if there is already a thread on this topic. After searching the forum and Google I didn't find much on this subject: " Which is better domestic or Chinese Potassium perchlorate". I'm fairly new to the hobby but I just assumed that the domestic would be better. I ordered 7lbs of domestic with anti cake from Northstar. When it arrived the package said Chinese. I don't know if they slapped the wrong sticker on it or if it is indeed Chinese. If anyone could give me an educated response as to which one is generally more pure and better for pyrotechnic use, I would love to know. One opinion I read claims Chinese is better for sound and domestic is better for rocket propellant. I know I'm a newbie but I would think that the comparison should be between purity. Especially since impurities could equal disaster. I have had both, even been able to sample some that a friend made at home, it all worked the same, the anti cake made for better lump free flow but made no difference otherwise. Edited August 4, 2009 by dagabu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_bab Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Don't you ever hope that the "domestic KP" is not chinese made, as for for most of the chemicals nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 It may be nice to buy domestic, but most chems come from cheap labour areas. Purity of most chems doesn't matter, sometimes sulphur is best bought well, and the type of charcoal is really important - buy to suit your project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 They've got Chinese, Spanish, and domestic KP. Unless you are Shimizu, it shouldn't make much difference. I've checked several commercial perchlorate sources for chlorate contamination, and have yet to find a batch that isn't clean. Buy what's cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 A lot of times "domestic" KP referes to CHINESE domestic - ie the typical chinese fireworks grade stuff. There were/are a number of grades coming out of china these days, the "HP" stuff, domestic, etc. There IS some actual domestic perc floating around, military surplus stuff. Western Electric made, I believe. NOT the same as the domestic that firefox sells, which is so full of anti cake and crap that it's beige. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vrizla Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 A lot of times "domestic" KP referes to CHINESE domestic - ie the typical chinese fireworks grade stuff. There were/are a number of grades coming out of china these days, the "HP" stuff, domestic, etc. There IS some actual domestic perc floating around, military surplus stuff. Western Electric made, I believe. NOT the same as the domestic that firefox sells, which is so full of anti cake and crap that it's beige. Are you not recomending the the Potassium perchlorate that contains anti cake, or just the one that you described. The stuff that I ordered from Northstar contains .30% cabosil. Which is a very small amount, and cabosil by itself is snow white. I was going to start ordering all my oxidizers with anti cake, unless there are more experienced members that think it is a bad idea. Would love to hear some feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwezxc12 Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 (edited) I think Tentacles isn't talking about Perc that's advertised to be milled with a 'reasonable' % of anti-cake in it, but adulterated Perc that has a much higher % of Tri-Calcium Phosphate in it than it should - like 8-14% or so. I remember reading some analysis posts on Passfire (Eric Hunkins?) where re-crystallization was done on several samples of Perc to compare the amount of crap in them - IIRC vintage Swedish was pretty pure, as was some Taiwanese. Chinese and "Domestic" were both pretty bad; I wasn't really surprised at the levels of impurities that some of the Perc is cut with. I bought 50lbs of the Western Electric mil-spec Perc just for colored stars for that reason...I use my supply of chunky Perc from Firefox for salutes and shell booster, not colors. Edited August 6, 2009 by qwezxc12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildo Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 There is still some Western Electric mil-spec Perc floating around. http://www.ihaveadotcom.com/cart/index.php...products_id=273 I bought 50lbs of the Western Electric mil-spec Perc just for colored stars for that reason...I use my supply of chunky Perc from Firefox for salutes and shell booster, not colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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