DeadFX Metallic/organic Red

[DeAdFX]

Name of composition:

Composition Type:Colored flame/Colored sparkler

Creator:Me, DeadFX

Color/Effect: Red flame w/ sparks depending on metal

The Composition: (in parts)

 

Red Compisition #1

Potassium Perchlorate 1.5

Hexamine 1.5

Strontium Nitrate 5.5

Metallic powder* 1.5

Polyvinyl Chloride 1.0

 

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqrtZCRREHw

 

Red Compisition #2

Potassium Perchlorate 2.5

Hexamine 1.5

Strontium Nitrate 4.0

Strontium Carbonate 1.0

Metallic powder* 1.5

Polyvinyl Chloride 1.0

 

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPhVTAqIDNc

 

Red Compisition #3

Potassium Perchlorate 7.0

Hexamine 1.5

Strontium Carbonate 2.0

Metallic powder* 1.5

Polyvinyl Chloride 1.5

 

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmyWoVI8WNI

 

Red Compisiton #4 [a modified formula I found off of rec.pyrotechnics original inventor unknown]

Potassium Chlorate 6.0

Sucrose 2.0

Strontium Carbonate 2.0

 

RED compistion #5 refined #1

Strontium Nitrate 5.0

Potassium Perchlorate 1.5

Hexamine .5

Polyvinyl Chloride 2.0

Magnesium Powder 1.0

 

 

*metal powder can be any of the following Magnesium, Aluminum Magnalium, Titanium or Titanium aerospace alloy. Aluminum Powder produces the weakest looking flame while Magnesium is the best. I don't have Magnalium powder so I cannot comment on that. I haven't tested these formulas without metallic fuels but I assume sugar might make a descen't replacement for metal part. One could also add sulfur and or charcoal for easier ignition or as a sub for the metal components.

 

 

Any Precautions/Incompatabilities/extras:

Nitrate/metal reduction (formation of ammonia). I believe that is it. I don't really think the second compisition offers any real advantage to the other two but I will have it there for comparison.

 

Precedure/Preparation: Screen chemicals if necessary. Mix fuels together and crush any lumps. Mix oxidizers and carbonates and crush any lumps. Mix the fuels and oxidizers together and add your favorite binder or use the Polyvinyl Chloride as the binder. I haven't tried binding these compisitions yet but I assume around 4% dextrin would be acceptable.

[Mumbles]

Its hard to tell sparks when the composition is not bound and in the air. With glitter stars for instance, on the ground a lot of them just slag up with very little visible sparks. Get them in the air though and it's totally different.

[DeAdFX]

The red is very good in all three compositions (even if I didn't like the second one, too much smoke for my taste) but to tell you the truth I didn't see much of sparks. I don't think powders are the best source for sparks, I made better experiences with metall grits.

But again, the colors are very good, same for your barium green.

Actually in the second one the wind changed direction and started blowing smoke towards me. All three are fairly smokey. Aluminum will spark a lot more at the cost of color. Oh and thanks

[tentacles]

deadfx: first, thank you for some excellent comps!!

 

The red #2 is VERY bright! I used firefox's Mg "floor sweepings" and to avoid a water/mg reaction I used the pvc for binder with acetone.. It worked very well, i cut and dried them, they light fairly easy with some (almost) veline's prime, quite bright, the same slightly orangey red as deadfx's video.

 

I did have a bit in the bottom of my ziplock container that I was cleaning up, so I put some acetone in to soften it, swished it around and rubbed it to loosen, then added some ethanol to about 50%, then I thought to add water - after the alcohol the solution was pretty much seperated, I figured the KP and SrNO3 would simply dissolve in the water. The solution turned into a grey glob that I was able to roll into nice little sticky (but not gooey) balls, and I dried these out just for the hell of it. They took fire like they had BP prime (yet no prime) and burned even brighter than the others I made. Not sure if i'll bother to try playing with this method again (except when cleanup time comes!) b/c it's a PITA.

[DeAdFX]

deadfx: first, thank you for some excellent comps!!

 

The red #2 is VERY bright! I used firefox's Mg "floor sweepings" and to avoid a water/mg reaction I used the pvc for binder with acetone.. It worked very well, i cut and dried them, they light fairly easy with some (almost) veline's prime, quite bright, the same slightly orangey red as deadfx's video.

 

I did have a bit in the bottom of my ziplock container that I was cleaning up, so I put some acetone in to soften it, swished it around and rubbed it to loosen, then added some ethanol to about 50%, then I thought to add water - after the alcohol the solution was pretty much seperated, I figured the KP and SrNO3 would simply dissolve in the water. The solution turned into a grey glob that I was able to roll into nice little sticky (but not gooey) balls, and I dried these out just for the hell of it. They took fire like they had BP prime (yet no prime) and burned even brighter than the others I made. Not sure if i'll bother to try playing with this method again (except when cleanup time comes!) b/c it's a PITA.

Well I know that Hexamine and Strontium Nitrate are very soluble in water and that PVC is fairly soluble in certain organic solvents. Prehaps an emulsion formed. Maybe there was a very intimate mixing of the chemicals? Its a thought.

[tentacles]

Here's an interesting note - I was just playin in Excel, seeing how much chems you need to order for my various formulas (which isn't very many, really) and expanded to how much it costs per lb... Formula 1 actually costs less than formula 2 (based on oxidizers from skylighter thanks to cpsc).

 

chem parts % 1 lb makes cost per lb

kp 1.5 0.15 6.33 1.06

SrNO3 4 0.42 2.375 2.53

hexa 1.5 0.157 6.33 0.947

Mg 1.5 0.157 6.33 0.947

saran 1 0.105 9.5 0.63

 

$6.12 per lb of stars

 

The "1 lb makes" means 1 lb of the chemical makes x lb of stars.

I used Saran in my example because I am going to switch to using just one chlorine donor. The price is negligibly different from PVC.

[tentacles]

I HATE to double post, but ...

 

movie! http://www.apcforum.net/files/redstars.avi 2.2mb

 

Shot this up, not sure how far it went up but this 3mm visco seems to burn quite a bit faster than the 2.2mm I had been using. Maybe I'll switch to using the 2.2 for the time fuse again.

 

Info on the shell: 1 3/4" easter egg, hot glued together.. I'm experimenting with different methods for inserting the break, and I used puffed wheat with meal powder, and .4g of hot flash. Not a very good break, and I don't think many stars lit up. I'll insert a picture of the stars, they are granulated through an 8 mesh hardware cloth screen, very small. I would like to point out that the stars are not primed!

 

My launch tube I just got from cannonfuse, it's one of their 1 7/8" fiberglass guns, and I'm thinking my 9.4g of lift is maybe a bit much (it's firefox charcoal). I shot another shell, with blue stars, that didn't go very high (early break). I used 1g of flash on that one, with a much bigger break. Also didn't prime those stars, with better ignition (than these).

[DeAdFX]

Ok I just tried using methylene chloride for binding these stars. I must say methylene chloride hands down is the way to go even with toxicity taking into concern. The stars catch fire fairly easily from a torch even when they have some solvent present.

 

Now if your concerned about cancer and all that other fun shit then I recommend using parlon/acetone instead.

 

When my BP is done I will try posting a stargun test. I think I might make some of my green stars too.. Kinda lazy at the moment

 

 

EDIT: My bad I neglected to mention that I already had a mix of 50/50 acetone/ethanol in my stars already... So I guess a 25/25/50 of acetone/ethanol/methylene chloride is the way to go