insutama Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I have made about 4 batches of black powder all which i have granulated with 99% isopropanol alcohol and left to dry over night and they all turned out great now i just made a batch of rocket fuel with all the same chems i used in the previous batches of black powder but i could only get 91% isopropanol so i wet the meal powder made a ball with it then granulated it threw the same screen i used before and it has been sitting on kraft paper dryin for 3 days now and it just seems like when i touch it it really makes my hands black and it really dusty is this because i didnt use enough alcohol when i was granulating it or is it because its not dry enough what should i do should i try and wet it again and granulate it again do i need 99% alcohol ? i use no binders just alcohol im using it for rockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 3 percent mineral oil will solve this problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 thing is it was fine last few times just not this time is it because im not using 100% alcohol or is it because i didnt wet it enough before i granulated it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Probably the alcohol. I get dusty propellant just using alcohol too. If you want a dust-less propellant, use wax or mineral oil. If you don't want to, go back to the 99% stuff. From my understanding, the sulfur dissolves somewhat in the alcohol and that's why you can somewhat granulate it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 Ah I c I'm having trouble finding 99% isopropanol is there any other type of alcohol I can use that's easy to find ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Denatured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 so last night i re wet all the black powder with 99% alcohol and left it to dry over night and this morning its the same as it was before it sticks to my hands and is super messy i dont get it is this batch ruined should i throw it out or how can i save it ? i was gonna leave it for a couple more days out to dry see if this helps but it doesnt seems wet because its really dusty. maybe ill try using mineral oil do i use alcohol and mineral oil or just mineral oil ? i dont wanna add a binder because im gonna be using this powder to ram into my rockets so dont want it real hard i just want it so its not so messy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldspark Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 I wish I had an answer for you but I don't, you have sparked my interest though, are you sure you did everything exactly the same as the other batches. I add mineral oil to my BP rocket powder but use lacquer thinner to disperse it and it sort of granulates it also.You can use just the mineral oil but its not quite as nice and free flowing as when using the lacquer thinner.2% mineral oil and the lacquer thinner at 10 to 1 to the mineral oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 listen to oldspark, he's a mineral oil expert. Hell, he even drinks the stuff... http://lifeshifted.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/drink-the-kool-aid.jpg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 I just bought some mineral oil can I use it with alcohol to granulate if so is it still 10 to 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldspark Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 From Danny Creagan's site."Mineral Oil and BP. My new personal favorite is to use super hot BP with +3% mineral oil added. Mix the mineral oil with lacquer thinner and then mix that with the BP and dry for 24 hours. Typically, I use 10 parts lacquer thinner to 1 part mineral oil. The thinner is to make incorporating the mineral oil into the BP easier. The BP is not granulated or made to pulverone, rather it is used as it comes from the ball mill. The mineral oil keeps the dust down and the small grain is *very* easy to compact." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldspark Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I have no idea how the alcohol will work compared to the lacquer thinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 it says to mix the mineral oil with the lacquer thinner but how much do i mix i have 100 grams of comp how much laqour thinner do i mix with mineral oil for this amount ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ubehage Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I always had the same "problem", aboút 10% of my batches end up as dust when I granulate it. I am currently waiting for a ballmill, to make some hotter BP. And then I will try this method of granulating:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6gE8wkTPdE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 The only difference between this batch of delay mix i made and my other black powder i have made is i ball milled the first 3 batches of black powder for 4 hours then this batch of delay i ball milled for 20 minutes is this maybe why it doesnt granulate as well as the black powder i milled for longer ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldspark Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 it says to mix the mineral oil with the lacquer thinner but how much do i mix i have 100 grams of comp how much laqour thinner do i mix with mineral oil for this amount ?100 grams of powder so 2% mineral oil= 2 grams10 to one of solvent to oil=20 grams of solvent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldspark Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I love Paul's videos, he makes it look so easy making large batches. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldspark Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 The only difference between this batch of delay mix i made and my other black powder i have made is i ball milled the first 3 batches of black powder for 4 hours then this batch of delay i ball milled for 20 minutes is this maybe why it doesnt granulate as well as the black powder i milled for longer ?That could be it, cant explain why exactly but when changes are made in the procedure and it does not turn out the same I always question the difference in procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I love Paul's videos, he makes it look so easy making large batches.It is easy making large batches, if you have the space and tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Also my other batches were all 75 15 10 and milled for 4 hoursthis batch 60 30 10 and no 20 mins mill just to mix itanyway i ground it up again mixed it with 3% mineral oil and dryed it now there is no dust at all it almost seems wet still but it has been drying for 3 days so i know its dry much better but very soft no hard granuals at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 So use it, it's good to go now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insutama Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 That's the plan thanks everyone for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
point11 Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 Ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikingPyrotechnics Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 Ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts