A Better Binder?

[Soloserly]

Cleaning out a kitchen cabinet I found an old sealed container of the generic version of "Benefiber" and noticed that the only ingredient is "Wheat Dextrin."  I was curious if it worked anything like corn dextrin so I milled a cup of it down to a very fine powder and have been experimenting with it.  So far, it performs as well or better than SGRS or the corn dextrin commonly used in fireworks.  

Does anyone have any experience with wheat dextrin?  It's more expensive than corn dextrin but much more readily available (Costco, Walmart, etc.) and doesn't need to be baked down.  Like SGRS, It appears to be easily activated by hot or cold water and is VERY sticky outside if a composition.  I tested the flammability of it by mixing it 20/80 with KClO4 and it burned rapidly with a beautiful white flame with violet bands.  

I usually use SGRS as my go-to binder for BP because it produces hard durable grains, but it is stickier than other binders so it is harder to work with. I tried replacing half the SGRS with milled wheat dextrin and the resulting BP was as fast or faster than my usual BP - very fast.  The grains are not as hard as when I use SGRS-only, but still better than using corn dextrin and it was easier to work with while I was ricing it.

Now that I have a supply of this stuff, is it used in other compositions?  I'd rather not reinvent the wheel.

BTW  I noticed there is another brand of dietary fiber made entirely of "methyl cellulose."  Since CMC is Carboxy- Methyl Cellulose, I researched the difference between the two and found out that the the main difference is that CMC can be activated by hot or cold water, but MC can only use cold. I won't bother - CMC isn't hard to get - it's just interesting.  

[Richtee]

AKA “Wallpaper paste” I believe. Prolly works well.

[All10Fingers]

I seen I video with Ned G.  Using laundry starch. Although I don't recall what kind 

[ThunderEx]

15 minutes ago, All10Fingers said:

I seen I video with Ned G.  Using laundry starch. Although I don't recall what kind 

Argo Laundry Starch - That's corn starch.

[SharkWhisperer]

On 3/20/2024 at 6:13 AM, Soloserly said:

Cleaning out a kitchen cabinet I found an old sealed container of the generic version of "Benefiber" and noticed that the only ingredient is "Wheat Dextrin."  I was curious if it worked anything like corn dextrin so I milled a cup of it down to a very fine powder and have been experimenting with it.  So far, it performs as well or better than SGRS or the corn dextrin commonly used in fireworks.  

Does anyone have any experience with wheat dextrin?  It's more expensive than corn dextrin but much more readily available (Costco, Walmart, etc.) and doesn't need to be baked down.  Like SGRS, It appears to be easily activated by hot or cold water and is VERY sticky outside if a composition.  I tested the flammability of it by mixing it 20/80 with KClO4 and it burned rapidly with a beautiful white flame with violet bands.  

I usually use SGRS as my go-to binder for BP because it produces hard durable grains, but it is stickier than other binders so it is harder to work with. I tried replacing half the SGRS with milled wheat dextrin and the resulting BP was as fast or faster than my usual BP - very fast.  The grains are not as hard as when I use SGRS-only, but still better than using corn dextrin and it was easier to work with while I was ricing it.

Now that I have a supply of this stuff, is it used in other compositions?  I'd rather not reinvent the wheel.

BTW  I noticed there is another brand of dietary fiber made entirely of "methyl cellulose."  Since CMC is Carboxy- Methyl Cellulose, I researched the difference between the two and found out that the the main difference is that CMC can be activated by hot or cold water, but MC can only use cold. I won't bother - CMC isn't hard to get - it's just interesting.  

Cheezus, brother, you're striving for an answer to a question that doesn't exist.

Nobody in a century has said "I simply need a better binder!".

The flex of some binders hasn't made them stand out. The non-hygroscopicity of others hasn't made them stand out. Cheezus

[Soloserly]

On 3/22/2024 at 6:38 PM, SharkWhisperer said:

Cheezus, brother, you're striving for an answer to a question that doesn't exist.

Nobody in a century has said "I simply need a better binder!".

The flex of some binders hasn't made them stand out. The non-hygroscopicity of others hasn't made them stand out. Cheezus

I guess I should have titled it, "Is there any use for this stuff?" I'm not suggesting that it can or should replace tried-and-true binders, but since I now have some of this stuff, I was wondering If anyone else had found a good use for it.  

BTW, several binders have come into common use recently that weren't common before (at least in the U.S.).  I own dextrin, Starpol, SGRS, phenolic resin, NC lacquer, shellac, red gum, PVB, lactose, xanthan gum, CMC, gum arabic, etc. but I still think it's fun to experiment with different options. Comments like your "Cheezus brother" aren't helpful at all and do a good job of running off people looking for a friendly forum to share ideas.  

Thanks for putting me in my place, Brother.

[SharkWhisperer]

On 3/31/2024 at 12:10 AM, Soloserly said:

I guess I should have titled it, "Is there any use for this stuff?" I'm not suggesting that it can or should replace tried-and-true binders, but since I now have some of this stuff, I was wondering If anyone else had found a good use for it. 

K, you're right. Sorry to have dumped on your binder experimentation share. Carry on.

[TXpyro]

I just use Dextrin most of the time. That all I have.