flamingape Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 sorry.if.i.type.like.this.my.space.bar.is.broken. I.am.in.need.of.help,I.have.CuCl2/PVC/KCLO4/AL/KNO3/S/C/Kbenz/CuBenz/and.reagents. I.need.good.ratios.for.a.blue.formulae..I.have.tried.the.first.three.with.some.success.but.it.seems.a.little.under.oxidised.and.i.was.wondering.if.i.could.replace.the.kclo4.with.KNO3.to.save..the.rest.of.the.perchlorate.for.experimentation.and.lift.charges. it.made.an.awesome.electric.blue.in.nearly.1:1:1,ratios Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50AE Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 KNO3 won't work for blue, it will oxidize the fuels with a hotter temperature, also the color will be orange.I don't understand, you want to use your KClO4 for a lift charge ? This is a greater waste.Good blues must burn with low temperatures, so KClO3, KClO4 and NH4KClO4 are the choices of oxidizers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flying fish Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) Yeah, those oxidizers sound a little backwards to me. KNO3 is used to make BP which when properly prepared, is really the best lift charge you can use. By contrast, you do need a perchlorate or chlorate oxidizer to make those colors work. There was a formula floating around for Ammonium perc/ Cu benz which is supposedly pretty good...and yeah, it was more on the side of the oxidizer (the one from skylighter newsletter lists NH4KCLO4: 82 and Cu Benz: 18). Perhaps you could adjust the stoichiomestry (or just experiment with ratios) for Kperc and see if you get success. Edited June 17, 2009 by flying fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I would go with something like 70 Potassium Perchlorate, 20 Copper Benzoate, 10 PVC, plus binder of choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Conventional BP makes the most suitable lift, Get it right and there is good reliable performance to be had. My blue is 60 KPerc, 20 Hexamine, 10 copper II Oxide, and 10 Saran/PVC, binder is Acetone(which dissolves the chlorine donor to a thick gluey mass - sticks to everything, be careful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flying fish Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 How's that blue for you? I've been trying every copper oxide blue formula that I could find on the net, and none seemed to work that great. But...I haven't tried your formula yet . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Really? CuO formulas are my favorite. Shimizu B70 Potassium Perchlorate 63.8 Parlon 13.8 Copper(II) Oxide, black 12.9 Red Gum 9.5 Dextrin 4 Tare: Total: 104 Pyro Science Blue: Potassium Perchlorate 66.1Copper Oxide 13.4Parlon 10.7Red Gum 9.8Dextrin 5 Total 105 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flying fish Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I've tried some very similar to those two. I thought they looked a bit washed out. Granted...I was burning them on the ground which may have been my issue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Oh yeah, they absolutely need to be in the air to really get a feel. All of my stars look washed out up close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TYRONEEZEKIEL Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Ive noticed that most of my blues are washed out up close, so I always trash the batches. Stupid move on my part. I should have tested them! Also, What would be the best way to speed blues up without increasing temp too much? They seem to burn a tad bit too slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Yeah, cooler flames, burn slower. You can try adding some hexamine, and using saran instead of parlon. Just remember, a faster burning star has to expell the same amount of energy in a shorter time. IE hotter. A few percent (5% or less), can really brighten it up without affecting the color too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 At our last meetup, that blue (post 5 ) came second to an AmPerc blue, in a competition. I originally found it as an AmPerc comp, but subbed KPerc because AmPerc is very hard to get here. Hexamine is a good fuel for blues because it's all gas combustion products take heat away from the star's burn site so taking the temperature down! AmPerc and Hexamine looks great as part of a blue comp as the cool flame has a large flame size so it looks bigger and bluer for the same size star! The formula I quote also works fine with +5% of Red Gum or Dextrin using Methylated Spirit or Water respectively as binding system. (Methylated Spirit is the UK standard for denatured Ethanol (also contains Methanol etc) For satisfying fun I prefer the straight Acetone method 200g of comp becomes 200g of cut stars in 20 minutes ready to fire. However it is cheaper to use +5 Dextrin and water and wait days for it to harden through! DON'T use the acetone mix with star pumps or plates unless you have enough acetone to wash uo in! Otherwise the comp sticks semipermanently to the tooling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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