jm82792 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) I'm kinda restricted on where I can buy,somewhat pricey but for how much I'm buying it's fine.Will this suffice or be okay ?http://cgi.ebay.com/Potassium-Nitrate-Powd...=item27adbbd6632 pounds $12 shipped plus I'd buy this because of combined shipping since I don't want to mess around with my own charcoal although I've made some courser stuff for gerbs.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT I think it's decent enough,but if you think the KN03 is bad quality I'll hold off.I'm not doing anything special, gerbs, lances, some really miniature mines and that's about it Edited December 18, 2009 by jm82792 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarbelly Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Charcoal at 10 dollars a pound? That's pretty ridiculous, especially for just plain "hardwood", as it says on the page. At that price, I would make my own. Even where charcoal is available for less than a buck a pound, many people prefer to make it on their own anyways. As for the Potassium Nitrate, I'm willing to bet the quality is fine. The price is about the same as I used to get from buying tree stump remover at OSH. If you have a place to buy that, it may not be worth buying online given that the price is not too different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firetech Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 KNO3 is KNO3. Unless the seller is actually a fraud of some sort. You will definitely get a product that has a majority of KNO3 in it. I don't know what the purity rating is on KNO3 but I assume even the lower grades are at least 95%. MAKE YOUR OWN CHARCOAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm82792 Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) Okay I'll do my own charcoal,it's not that hard, the course stuff worked for streamers and I just need to grind more.....I just ordered 6 pounds of the 99% stuff for $21 shipped, different ad same seller,way more than i need but there is the 4th of July.Plus smoke bombs(I won't heat it up, I've read about what can go wrong)more fountains and stuff.....I can't find the stuff locally easily,plus it's a pound for $12 and it will come soon enough in the mail And for the sake of not making another thread.I want to make miniature mines and launch single stars.I'd use these comps http://www.apcforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1767 Anyways how do I press them ?Could I use PVC as the sleeve and a wooden dowel to ram them ?Can I wet with alcohol ?Should I prime them with meal? Thanks for the help,Josh Edited December 18, 2009 by jm82792 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunzway Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) And for the sake of not making another thread.I want to make miniature mines and launch single stars.I'd use these comps http://www.apcforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1767 Anyways how do I press them ?Could I use PVC as the sleeve and a wooden dowel to ram them ?Can I wet with alcohol ?Should I prime them with meal? Thanks for the help,Josh Well, there's a few ways to make stars. You can either cut, roll, pump or even press the composition into a tube (pillbox). Just from what you ask in the second question, I assume you will be pumping them. You suck up the composition with a star pump when it is in consistency like a soft dough, not as slurry as black match. Then you push it down to make terminate any air pockets or holes and then slid some composition out and cut it off to desired length. Doing that also compresses the composition and taking excess solvent out of it. A piece of PVC with a wooden dowel that fits in it works just fine. You use alcohol in the solution, the general rule is to not to add more than 25% of alcohol. I usually use 25% Alcohol / 75% Water. I would also prime with meal, it just ensures ignition and it's not too much of a hassle to do so. Here's a page that might be able to assist you:http://www.jackerypyro.com/stars.html EDIT: Forgot to mention, it would be wise to have a ball mill with those high charcoal content stars. You generally need to mill them longer than others or they won't work well and can pose as a possible fire risk. Edited December 18, 2009 by Gunzway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm82792 Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 I have a little bit of airfloat left,but I don't have a ball mill and won't be building it for this year.I can grind the charcoal like no tomorrow though. Thanks Gunzway for the help,it helps put all the pieces together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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