White Smoke Questions

[R7T]

Hello, I would like to make white smoke and have some questions about it.

 

What would be a good comp for this?

I was going to just start with 60:40 Potassium Nitrate/Sugar

 

Would this comp make a good thick white smoke?

 

I have read that you can use table sugar but I am looking at skylighter and seeing Sorbitol and not regular Sugar though.

How much of a difference will this make, better or worse?

Edited October 25, 2020 by R7T

[SeaMonkey]

High Performance Smoke Devices-1

 

High Performance Smoke Devices-2

 

 

Sorbitol instead of Sugar

[WSM]

Hello, I would like to make white smoke and have some questions about it.

What would be a good comp for this?

I was going to just start with 60:40 Potassium Nitrate/Sugar

Would this comp make a good thick white smoke?

I have read that you can use table sugar but I am looking at skylighter and seeing Sorbitol and not regular Sugar though.

How much of a difference will this make, better or worse?

 

 

The best white smoke mix I've used (dating back to the 1980's) uses ingredients normally not recommended to be combined, but this mixture seems to be an exception to the common rule, and I'll explain why.

 

White Smoke, parts by weight

 

3 potassium chlorate

2 ammonium chloride (sal ammoniac)

1 sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

1 lactose (milk sugar)

 

Sift the ingredients together in a stainless steel or polymer sieve (avoid brass or aluminum).

 

Used as either a dry powder or combined with a binder to form pellets or cakes.

 

If wishing to bind it to form large solid pellets, add 0.5 parts of colophony (pine) rosin (AKA Vinsol resin) and bind with anhydrous alcohol or acetone, form and then dry thoroughly. Only light pressing is used or needed to form the pellets and drying hardens them enough to withstand handling.

 

Safety: DO NOT ADD WATER!

 

I know, I know, conventional wisdom says to NEVER mix chlorate with an ammonium compound. This mixture is and has been used safely for many decades (to produce a low toxicity smoke for testing ventilation systems, for example), and my only explanation for this is that water is strictly avoided, and the use of baking soda (NaHCO₃) prevents any problems by phlegmatizing and buffering the mixture.

 

This mixture tends to smolder (when properly made, it never flames) at a low enough temperature that it doesn't ignite paper, only scorches it. It also forms a porous ash which allows the vaporized ammonium chloride to easily escape, quickly yielding a thick white smoke as it cools enough to condense. Some have used this mixture as a base for color smoke by adding compatible dyes to the mixture. I feel it makes the colors lighter in color than mixtures without the white smoke base.

 

If you try this mixture, you'll find the thick white smoke produced superior to the smoke of nitrate/sugar mixtures. It also stores well if kept in a fiber container in a cool dark (and secure) place.

 

WSM

Edited October 25, 2020 by WSM

[davidh]

Do you have an authoritative source backing up your statement about not adding water???

[SeaMonkey]

There was an Electrical Cell from long ago, I wish I could remember the name of it,

that used an Electrolyte mix of Sodium Chlorate and Ammonium Chloride.

 

Wnen dissolved in water the chemicals partially transpose to create a mix of

Ammonium Chlorate and Sodium Chloride. This was a desirable feature of the

cells as the Ammonium Chlorate thus formed served as a Depolarizing Agent to

increase the ability of the Cell to produce electrical current for long periods

of time.

 

The Ammonium Chlorate in pyro mixes is a potential hazard.

 

As a smoke chemical Ammonium Chloride, also known as Sal Ammoniac, is very

safe and non-toxic.

Edited October 26, 2020 by SeaMonkey

[Mumbles]

I still wouldn't do it personally. The above mix has the benefit of not using ammonium perchlorate, which is actually the biggest problem when using potassium chlorate. Potassium perchlorate, being so insoluble, drives the reaction to favor ammonium chlorate heavily. In this case, potassium chlorate is by far the least soluble component of the potential reaction, so it helps to prevent the formation of ammonium chlorate. However, ammonium chloride is acidic, which does raise the potential sensitivity of the mix, though there is bicarb to balance it back out.

 

The formula has been around for many years, and I know several people who have used it with success. It still gives me the shivers though.

 

The KNO3/sucrose mix is probably the place to start. It's a decent formula and gives a decent effect. I would start with just mixing it, and not melting it together, as this is where the dangerous part comes in. It sometimes has some issues with the smoke device giving off a flame instead of smoke, but that's fixable.

[Richtee]

High Performance Smoke Devices-1

 

High Performance Smoke Devices-2

 

For shits and grins I made a couple of these. I was impressed. The vanilla scented candle I used was nice too