dangerousamateur Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Hi guys, it's often mentioned that too much alcohol destroys dextrine. Does that aplly for gum arabic too? And how much gum arabic and water do you use per gramm of meal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdmiralDonSnider Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 As far as I know gum arabic is a water soluble binder like dextrin. Both are inhibited in their binding properties when alcohol is present. I would start with something like 2% additional gum arabic powder to 100% of meal. Gum arabic is said to be a pretty strong binder, so less is needed than in the case of dextrin. The amount of solvent has to be adjusted according to the viscosity of the slurry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bcorso85 Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I've heard that adding this to b.p. makes it pretty damn powerful. Can anyone attest to this? I bought some for this purpose but haven't tried it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpyro101 Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I've heard that adding this to b.p. makes it pretty damn powerful. Can anyone attest to this? I bought some for this purpose but haven't tried it yet. it doesn't make the powder burn hotter, or more powerful. it's just a binder for granulating the mix, which will burn faster after being granulated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I've heard that adding this to b.p. makes it pretty damn powerful. Can anyone attest to this? I bought some for this purpose but haven't tried it yet. Nothing is going to make it more powerful, certain binders will have a lesser effect on slowing down the granulated powder. Using 2% gum arabic might not slow it down as much as 5% dextrin. That's why some people use the 2-3% red gum binding, it doesn't inhibit the burn as much. Then again if you have good, fast burning charcoal, it doesn't really matter what you bind with, the powder is still going to be plenty fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredhappy Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 (edited) dangerous amateur : I have never noticed any dextrin being destroyed by high amounts of alcohol. I generally roll my small cores with a 50/50 or 60/40 water alcohol mixture. These dry really fast and always are rock hard. Normally there is about 4% dextrine in colour formulaes and I have never encountered any problems with binding. Edited May 9, 2013 by fredhappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExplosiveCoek Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I second Fred's opinion. Even when I used only 14% water my tiger tail stars came out rock solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 Are you're dextrine experience also valid for gum arabic? I don't want to use dextrine because i read the match will be stiffer and more hygroscopic than with gum arabic. Besides:If i dont use up all the slurry, can i re-wet the stuff and use it some other time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredhappy Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 #dangerous amateur: A bit. I use gum arabic in combination with dextrine specifically for crossettes. I have never noticed any arabic gum being destroyed by alcohol. Both dextrine and gum arabic are not activated by alcohol, that's for sure.The alcohol merely acts as a way to speed up drying times. I think the whole dextrine-is-destroyed-by-alcohol hypothesis is down to confusing dextrine with sgrs. SGRS does give problems with its binding properties if too much alcohol is added when for instance rolling stars with SGRS...just my 2 cents, correct me if I am wrong. I am solely using dextrin for binding everything and like its properties a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerousamateur Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 My blackmatch is drying, hanging from a rocketstick... How do you store yours after it got crispy? And do you wet your string with nitrate before pulling it through the slurry?My slurry got thinner and thinner this way, the string seemed to transport much solution into the slurry, I had to put new BP and gum in there every now and then, it simply got to wet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oinikis Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 i simply add like 5% more KNO3 in BP when making blackmatch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 After it's totally dry, I typically store lengths of blackmatch in a capped paper or PVC tube. I don't pull match through a slurry. Unless you're using a number thin strands and bundling them together, it gives an inferior product. I typically form a coil of thicker string, and kneed the slurry into it which allows the BP to penetrate the strands. By the way, I don't know where you heard that dextrin gives stiffer match than gum arabic. Who ever said that must either have amazing dextrin, or garbage gum arabic. I use gum arabic for match that I want to be stiff as a board. If you really want to avoid hygroscopic match, I've been told that boiled laundry starch is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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