dangerousamateur Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Our east european suppliers recently have 2 new types of aluminium powders, they call them "Pyro Dark" and "Super Dark". The latter is supposed the be comparable to German Dark, the first to Black000/ Indian Dark. Does anybody here have an opinion on their performance in flash, especially in small devices, where quick runaway is important? In general, have you ever compared the real Eckard German Dark with cheaper but still dark products? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Yes the difference between dark 000 and GB is near to non existing. Dark 000 is only a nuance weaker. Flake grade is very noticeable. For ammounts up to maybe 5 g i recommend the use of dark grades if you want to go loud or have aerial shots, for up to 20 g a blend 1 dark 2 flake al after that use flake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 whatever is cheaper... in the end, nobody will notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Schroedinger could you explain "Flake grade"? They are all flakes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braddsn Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Look for a number associated with the names.. 5413H is optimum. You should be able to find a number somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Flake grade is -325 mesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) Anything with the word "Super" in it, must be good... right? Prove me wrong... Edited July 29, 2015 by ddewees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maserface Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Shrod: Unless there is a brand of aluminum that is called "flake grade", I don't see how you came up with that. Flake refers to the particle shape generally, and it could be any particle size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Well the price is "super", that's for sure Any more opinions on my question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OblivionFall Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) You should work with KNO3:Al:S flash to start. Its a bit safer to work with as it takes a lot of confinement before it can really explode (so if it ignites while you're making it you probably won't lose your pincers.) Edited July 30, 2015 by OblivionFall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Oblivion that actually is not a good advice, kno3 flash has a lower ignition point and higher friction sensitivity then perc based chlorate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OblivionFall Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Oblivion that actually is not a good advice, kno3 flash has a lower ignition point and higher friction sensitivity then perc based chlorate.Fair enough but if perch flash ignites while he's building a salute, it will probably do much more damage than a nitrate flash salute of the same size.Once you get into 10g sizes of salutes the perchlorate flash powder can do damage without even having end plugs glued in, while the nitrate flash would probably make a big "thump" and give burns. I can agree that a higher friction sensitivity is bad. How about he uses TPA 7:3 Flash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 Any more opinions about "Pyro Dark" and "Super Dark" Stuff? I'm inclinded to buy the cheapest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Just buy the 000 and you are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 I'd like to bring this up once more, maybe somebody can post his experience.The new "Pyro Dark" and "Super Dark" sorts - how do they perform in practice? This is not a ridiculous question, when you think of small and maybe not so well confined rocket heads. 5413H is optimumThat is out of question, but the price is not optimum. Just buy the 000 and you are fine.It's no longer available. Thats the reason for this tread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 (edited) Dangerous where are you from?If you are us based you can also go with gd magnallium from august. In the eu i would take the pyro dark of pg. Edited April 15, 2016 by schroedinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Do they by any chance give a particle size? If they aren't Ekhardt then we don't know for sure how it compares. But I can give you my experience with aluminum. I have the 5413h 'German dark' and 809 'American dark' that is a bigger particle size (will have to look up claimed particle size) as well as plenty other. Indian, 10890, Star Molecule, 1 or 2 other unknown dark, paint grade bright flake, etc. But I have the most experience with the German and American. The 5413h is hot and lights easily in 70/30 from any flame source, black match, visco etc. In my experience the 809 lights just as easy and just as loud even in small quantities. The main difference I can tell is that the 809 isn't as energetic and will leave bigger chunks of the container/tube while the other shreds it more. This isn't a big deal to me as I'm just looking for sound. The German also seems to start making noise in smaller quantities when in an unconfined pile which again isn't a big deal as they make plenty of noise with any confinement. Some of the other dark, like the Star Molecule, Indian, and one of the unknown in particular seem equal to the 5413 if not a bit more reactive. The paint grade bright flake is harder to light and needs a decent amount to be reliable or some extra heat in probably sub 10g quantities. My opinion is that if you are just looking for sound and not maximum power to just get the cheapest dark you can find. I usually use the 809 because it is the cheapest and works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroedinger Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 (edited) Yes they give it, 6-7 microns. Incan assure you that it is good, i testet it today.What i really wonder about, is, they also have zinc 3-4 microns, is it maybe good for making turkquise flash? Edited April 16, 2016 by schroedinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 I would think that any metal in the 3-4 micron range will burn quickly/violently with a strong oxidizer like perc. It may not be as powerful as dark aluminum, but with strong confinement you should get a good boom and likely a bluish green color similar to what zinc spreader stars make. But you won't really know unless someone tries it. If it doesn't burn fast enough for some reason, a small percentage of magnesium can be added to increase burn rate and which shouldn't wash out any color too bad, or maybe using chlorate would help. I think part of the issue with colored salutes is that it burns so quick it is essentially done burning as the casing ruptures and a lot of the color is blocked from view by the casing and combustion products and the flash seen is reflected light that is denatured a bit and maybe even filtered some so higher or more intense frequencies make it thru the burst better. Or the flash is so quick that the human eye doesn't register the color very well. That is all just a WAG, but after seeing quite a few colored salutes, it seems something is happening to wash the color out a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Well, it's been some time since i asked this question. I tested Pyro Dark vs. Super Dark in the last year and could not find any difference.Size was 10g and confinement rather weak.Nothing to say against the cheapest stuff. Unfortunately I had no time to do more and smaller comparisons. Are there some more opinions out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Hmmm... I do this for a living, and don't know what "Super Dark" is. Can you state what/where/price-comparisons? Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeighborJ Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Yeah Lloyd I'm not surprised you've never heard of it, VERY rare, mined from the heart of a black hole. Hey I could have taken this superdark comment an entirely different direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braddsn Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Dangerousamateur: I still don't understand what you are fishing for here. There are many types of 'dark aluminum' that you can use for flash, and many flash formulas. When comparing all of the dark aluminums (e.g. Indian blackhead, 5413, 10890, etc) you are not going to notice any difference. I have used them all and they all work great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrotitanite Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Personally I both Pyro Dark-the Dark German, I recently used them both just to flash and mainly firecrackerswith the classic formula Kno3-5 Al-3 S-2.As for the explosive force would say excellent with both types of aluminum only changes the color of the flash with the German Dark and clearer, the rest is the same, but costs twice as Pyro Dark.I think the German dark is used by people who seek perfection in some colored composition, such as flash powder in difference.Flash KNO3 / to / s is for me the best high burn rate less paper and greater relative safety compared to formulas with perchlorates or mg / al. Pyro Dark- 26.00 kgGerman dark- 45.00 kgTo you the conclusions.Pyro Supplier: https://chemicalslab.jimdo.com/polveri-di-metallo/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 This is the stuff:http://nitroparis.com/producto/aluminio-pyro-dark/?lang=enhttp://nitroparis.com/producto/aluminio-super-dark/?lang=en I still don't understand what you are fishing for here Yes, im fishing indeed. Maybe i stirr up something useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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