Currently I am using KNO3+Sugar+Paraffin.
This works great, but paraffin is rather expensive. Any thoughts on other substitutes?
If you leave the paraffin out, you still get smoke, just not as much and it burns really quick.
Wondering if I could do something like coat the insider of the tube with a coating of some sort (laquer, wax, paint, etc.) then use some other form of fuel that would have a similar effect. Slow down the burn and produce lots of smoke.
Any thoughts? I am certainly not a chemist, but my understanding is paraffin is an oil byproduct in solid form. Does it need to be. Could I use something like baby oil to wet the dry ingredients to form more of a paste, then use 50/50 KNO3+Sugar as a higher heat source to start the burn added just before setting it off so it doesn't get "wet"?
I have no problem with using paraffin for making a bunch of smaller smoke devices, but say I wanted to make a really big one (think 1 gallon paint can, maybe larger). Paraffin would not be cost effective in this case.
Not something I want to do all the time, just maybe every so often at a party or something to make some crazy smoke.
Thanks,
B