Bigger Bang and better lift off

[Zpyro]

i have ballmilled bp and i am not reaching the wanted hight. Is IT bec of the gap between the ball and the mortar wall? Or sove other reason.

 

And one other thing.

Im using ricehulls with BP and red metallic stars and not reaching desired Bang. Its rather like puff and then its raining red stars. What am i doing wrong.

 

I tried gumtape. Bit IT seems like the tape is to weak, IT breaks to easy.

 

Please help me!

 

I'm turning 30 in a couple of weeks and want to have i little lightshow up in the skies. "The safe way"

[enanthate]

Hi Zpyro,

Are you new to this? If so, welcome to the hobby!

It takes time to make proper shells, my shells are still sh*t after 6months practice, but thats me

 

Sounds like your BP is too slow. I assume you mill it? What mill, rotationspeed and millingmedia do you have? How much media and powder do you load it with, and for how long?

Provide as much information as possible to get more help.

Get a good charcoal. Ebay user 0115busy has great PINE that gives very hot BP in little time, check that out.

 

Proper pasting is also necessary, I suggest a minimum of 10 layers. Usually i let mine dry for a couple of days pr 6 layers.

 

 

Edit: sorry, just noticed that you mill it.

Also, ballshells or cylinder?

How much gap? what size shells?

Edited November 6, 2014 by enanthate

[Col]

Shell size/weight and the amount of lift used would be useful, generally you can compensate by using more of it. Pasting depends on the size of shell, bprh burst is ok for larger shells but it might need some help (booster) in smaller ones. You can only put so many layers of pasting on before it wont fit in the gun

[nater]

Did you granulate your lift after milling?

[Carbon796]

Also, strawboard hemi's or plastic ?

[Shadowcat1969]

And: how big is the gap between your shell and the mortar tube? And how many layers of gummed tape on what size shell? And what is the ratio of BP to rice hulls in your MCRH? i.e. one pound of rice hulls to 5 (or 7 or 4, etc) pounds of BP.

[Zpyro]

I took what you Said in consideration. But i used electric tape and filed the gap between tube and My cardboard ball with toalett paper 😀. Newbie i know. But the result was pretty good.

 

I compensaided the amoaunt of layers with 12 grams of flashpowder. 6 grams on each hemi.

 

Its a 3 " Shell.

 

And many thanks for all the replies.

 

My BP have i bought already ballmilled. Pyromicron the call it. Cheating i know. But atleast i made My own quickmatch fuse. Worked like a charm.

 

Is IT possible to use more then 12 grams of BP for lift with a Shell that weighs 120 grams. Just to make IT go higher?

[Zpyro]

Here is the result!

 

I bit uneaven!

[Col]

I`m surprised the stars survived the burst, 12g of flash for a 3" is ridiculous

[Zpyro]

I put the stars first. Then covered IT with ricehulls BP. My guess is that the bp protected the stars from the blast.

[Zpyro]

Does the video work for you guys?

[Shadowcat1969]

Yeah, that amount of flash in a 3" is ridiculous. And it does look like half your stars did blow blind, the entire "back" half of the hemisphere in your break is missing.

 

I'd really suggest dialing down the flash, even to none and take the time to properly paste the shell with layers of gummed tape. I think if you do both of those things you'll find that your issues go away. The shell will attain proper height better, and will give a better, more pleasing burst, along with complete star ignition.

 

And yes, it is perfectly acceptable to use more than 10% of the shells weight for lift, especially with the smaller sizes. But you should not use more lift simply to compensate for not building your shell correctly to the right size. Take the time to do it right, my man.

[enanthate]

12grams flash and stars ignited?

How do you mix your flash? What kind of aluminum do you have?

If I put 5 grams in a 3", TT stars will for sure blow blind..

 

By the way. You want a 3-4-5mm gap between shell and mortar. Do not put it tight.

[pyroMIKE]

use slow flash as the booster. it makes mcrh several steps better. salute type flash is not ideal as a booster.

[braddsn]

You are on your way! Things are lookin pretty good if you are just starting out! I am also in the process of getting my lift and burst dialed in, but I am almost there. A couple things I would suggest... start with no flash. Personally, I put 4 grams of flash in my first few 4" shells and it was way too much. It was causing a lot of stars to blow blind. If I use flash booster in my 4 inchers, 1 gram will be plenty. Make sure your shell is not too tight in your mortar.. you want a little clearance.. maybe 3mm total for a 3 inch shell. Granulate your powder to about 4FA size.. (close to mesh of standard kitchen strainer). I was initially using 2FA, and I just switched to 4FA and it made a significant difference. You need to be ball milling your bp, and if you are using a small mill, (like 3 or 6lbs), mill for 8-10 hours. Your stars that did light were nice and bright. And I like the crackle! Keep it up and stay safe!

[FlaMtnBkr]

It would be better to do things correctly than trying to compensate by using electrical tape, toilet paper, and enough flash to remove all your fingers and leave you with the nickname "stumpy". Not trying to be mean but that is the reality of this hobby. And taking shortcuts is a guaranteed way of leaving a gap that you can't see but that fire can find it's way into and igniting the contents before you want it creating a flower pot and throwing debris.

 

While writing this I flipped a switch and saw a flash bright enough to illuminate the whole side of an appliance through the white plastic. If that had been in a different place and under the right circumstances it could have been the trigger of a bomb. I'm just highlighting it because stuff happens and if you aren't prepared for it the results can be devastating. They can be even if you have taken all the precautions that you can.

 

Read up as much as you can, be as safe as possible, and follow practices that are highlighted in good pyro literature and not the first thing you find on YouTube. Being in a hurry and rushing things is the quickest way to a mistake. You don't always get a second chance with a mistake in this hobby. Being new, rushing for a deadline, and taking terrible shortcuts just sends up a lot of red flags. Take your time and make it another 30 years.

Edited November 12, 2014 by FlaMtnBkr

[enanthate]

You know that you have ALMOST 5 seconds fuse, right? It's on its way down before break, could have hit you in the face actually.

[Merlin]

I had problems getting my BP DRY. You can test dryness by putting your BP in a ziplock bag in the sun. After a white if it is still wet you can see moisture form in the bag. You can try using red gum and denatured alcohol as found on Skylighter website to get to dryness quickly. I had a couple batches of water/dextrin that were not dry so I soaked the BP in acetone a couple hours then screened and dried. BOOM. Or you can make benzolift a bp/whistle mix with acetone that is more powerful than the best bp but does not have as much danger as flash. I have used benzolift for both lift and breaking 3 inch shells. On the baseball test my ball reached over 600 ft with 15 grams of benzolift. A bit much.

 

Flash is dangerous. Static electricity will set it off. A 100 grams in one pile can self detonate if you are talking 70/30 flash. It should never be used in lift and there are much safer formulas for breaking if BP alone doesnt work. It it is hot BP it should. You dont need to use rice hulls in 3 inch shells. Use granulated BP without the hulls.

450 grams of Flash will vaporize you and could blow your house of the foundation. Flash is very dangerous.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Merlin

[ddewees]

^damn, that sounds like some good flash you've got there...

[calebkessinger]

That's oooonly a pound What could go wrong?

For three inch shells I put aproximately 3 grams in the middle.

Oh, and I use 1/2 nitrate 1/2 perc flash. (spanish flash) Works for me. A little boomer in the small shells really helps get everything lit and on its way uniformly. As the shells get bigger thee need for it goes down but it still helps. ( for me)

[Merlin]

^damn, that sounds like some good flash you've got there...

 

That's oooonly a pound What could go wrong?

For three inch shells I put aproximately 3 grams in the middle.

Oh, and I use 1/2 nitrate 1/2 perc flash. (spanish flash) Works for me. A little boomer in the small shells really helps get everything lit and on its way uniformly. As the shells get bigger thee need for it goes down but it still helps. ( for me)

Dont misunderstand me I was only warning about the danger of 70/30. Make it a garden shed instead of a large house....... either way it will kill you. I have not used it to burst 3 inch shells. benzolift works fine for me. I personally would not mix more than 40 grams which can still remove your face. I admit I have thought of 3 grams in a central flash bag in 2.5 and 3 inch shells to help get symmetrical burst pattern better but I have not tried it.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Merlin

[ddewees]

I think the most I ever mixed was 11lbs... 7/3/1.

 

Not a pleasant experience. I prefer AN/Al or AP/MgAl when handling so much.

 

I mixed it in my bathtub, that way I could turn on the water if something ignited.

[MrB]

I think the most I ever mixed was 11lbs... 7/3/1.

Well, someone said something along the lines "if your going to blow your self up, do it properly the first time".

I think that qualifies.

 

 

I mixed it in my bathtub, that way I could turn on the water if something ignited.

I'm not sure you would have time enough to make a significant difference. Good thing we never had to find out.

B!

[Merlin]

That's oooonly a pound What could go wrong?

For three inch shells I put aproximately 3 grams in the middle.

Oh, and I use 1/2 nitrate 1/2 perc flash. (spanish flash) Works for me. A little boomer in the small shells really helps get everything lit and on its way uniformly. As the shells get bigger thee need for it goes down but it still helps. ( for me)

You mean 1.5 grams BP and 1.5 grams 70/30? What is the formula for nitrate portion that you use?

Edited December 9, 2014 by Merlin

[Merlin]

That's oooonly a pound What could go wrong?

For three inch shells I put aproximately 3 grams in the middle.

Oh, and I use 1/2 nitrate 1/2 perc flash. (spanish flash) Works for me. A little boomer in the small shells really helps get everything lit and on its way uniformly. As the shells get bigger thee need for it goes down but it still helps. ( for me)

What is nitrate flash. I assume the perc is 70/30?