Is Blue aluminium worth the extra money

[dangerousamateur]

Please dont start a flame war, but this is about big bangs.

 

Blue aluminium costs me little less than the original german dark, but 1,5x the price of cheapo dark aluminium.

 

What is your opinion on certain statements made about this stuff about creating more energetic mixtures than even german dark?

 

Does it really make a "bigger bang"?

 

 

 

I want to use it for salute rockets and bottom shots, and I want the best stuff there is.

 

 

This is not about safety.

 

 

 

Yes, there are some old treads, but they are very old and do not yield much information to answer my question.

[memo]

I use blue aluminum, because it is a bit safer, gives a good bang also.

 

memo

[dagabu]

It seems to have a deeper note to the report but it is hard to light and there have been a lot of duds because of the special methods needed to make it work reliably.

 

You really have to try them side by side for an honest opinion.

[dangerousamateur]

 

You really have to try them side by side for an honest opinion.

 

My hope was that someone in the large pyro community has already done this

I dont want to spend the money for some trial and error thing...

 

It has more fuel value and less oxide, so likely it is more energetic. In theory.

 

 

Has it a deeper tone because it is loader or because it burns slower, like nitrate flash would?

 

 

Is there more information about this on Fireworking or passfire?

I wonder if I should join there...

[mikeee]

 

My hope was that someone in the large pyro community has already done this

I dont want to spend the money for some trial and error thing...

 

It has more fuel value and less oxide, so likely it is more energetic. In theory.

 

 

Has it a deeper tone because it is loader or because it burns slower, like nitrate flash would?

 

 

Is there more information about this on Fireworking or passfire?

I wonder if I should join there...

The Kosankes did some studies on this grade of aluminum a few years back.

[dagabu]

I got #5 of it in LaPorte and used it in rocket salutes, the instruction from the guy I bought it from was to use a foot of bare quick match inside the salute to get it to pop. My salutes were on top of rockets and there was NO room for that kind of QM. Instead i had to use a small bag of flash (70:30) inside the blue to get it to pop.

 

Almost all the rest (1.5#) went into a ground salute to get rid of it. Blech!

[dangerousamateur]

Thank you guys, so I better invest in indian dark

[mikeee]

The blue aluminum is used for large bottom shots as a safety factor (not blowing up your mortar) from a shock initiated cato of the flash.

The proper method in making it work is good containment of larger amounts and it will ignite.

Smaller amounts of blue aluminum also require a good amount of fire or a booster to get it to report.

You still need good containment for small amounts to report for the intended effect.

 

If you want to make a header report for a 1# rocket use regular black flake aluminum, if you want to make a 6" bottom shot then the

blue aluminum would provide a level of safety for the large amount of blue aluminum in the shell not destroying your mortar and hurting

someone within close proximity of the shell/mortar. There are other compounds that can be used for the same purpose and some of these

require additional ignition methods for the same level of safety.

[Mumbles]

I'm sorry Mikeee, but I have many objections to that post. I have never once heard of a "shock initiated cato" of any form of reasonable flash. It just doesn't happen. Not to 70:30. Not to 70:30 containing sulfur. Not to flash powders containing bright flake, or atomized aluminum (which is what blue aluminum is).

 

Every flowerpot or shell failure of this sort is related to gas leaks or poor manufacturing practices. Blue aluminum will blow up just as much as any other aluminum. It's still confined enough to explode just like any other flash. A microscopic gas leak will not save you, your shell, or your mortar just by switching materials. Even if the bottomshot casing is entirely obliterated by the lift, which is an issue in and of itself, the flash is still being confined by a solid mortar and a heavy shell above it.

 

The one redeeming factor might be the poor ignition of blue aluminum flash may allow it to exit the mortar first, assuming the whole shell isn't collapsed or destroyed first.

 

I hope it goes without saying, but being in the close proximity of shells containing bottom shots is a poor idea to begin with, and they should always be buried. This helps confine any mortar explosions. It's not perfect, but it's still the best available practices and will go a long way toward keeping everyone safe.

[marks265]

if you are happy with Indian Blackhead then you may want to try my bright aluminum that I am selling. Myself and others have used it and are happy with the results. People have used it for rifle targets to 4" salutes that I know of so far.

 

yea I'm going to put a plug in here because even myself would never usually consider bright Aluminum.

 

 

Mark

[Sparx88]

It's recommended to use p.chlorate due to its sluggish nature.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Huh?