25 replies to this topic

[Creepin_pyro]

While there are huge numbers of pyrotechnic formula available on the net, I've noticed a distinct lack of formula for lances, coloured fire, bengal matches and the like. Many of the coloured fire formulas I've seen use chemicals not used widely today. I've started trying to make good coloured fire, and so far have managed a good blue, using the following recipie:

Ammonium Perchlorate 70 parts
black Copper Oxide 30 parts
Red gum 15 parts

A tiny test lance, dry, and relatively loose in the tube.

Notice that after a short period of vivid blue, the case starts to burn away, causing the colour to wash out and look far less saturated. Is there some sort of paper that will help to reduce this washing out? Is there any point trying to use a thick case that doesn't burn down?

Anyone care to share any success with lance-like devices, and the compositions contained within?

[phildunford]

I made some pretty good red lances a while ago. The cases were a couple of turns of A4 copier paper. The formula was Strontium Nitrate based, but I've not got it to hand at the moment.

The general opinion in the literature seems to be to make a case that burns away easyly. Also avoid comps that leave ash, as it obscures the flame.

I made a 'traffic light' a while ago which was quite good (formula from Lancaster).

go to my website

Thegreenman

and select projects then coloured lights to see some details.

[pyrotrev]

If you want to keep your colour pure for a long burn you need a paper with very low ash content, especially it should be free of sodium and calcium compounds. Most "white" papers have all kinds of mineral stuff added to make them look whiter and are not much cop. Try some thin brown "wrapping" paper or if you're really keen, filter paper from one of the chemical suppliers, this is almost pure cellulose. BTW where did you get your NH4 ClO4 from??? not easy to source!

[Arthur Brown]

Saw some marine distress flares used for lancework recently. they have steel bodies and keep their colour to the end

[F?bio]

Hello, i'm sorry to post on a so older thread but it's better then opening a new one, when this theme have already been talked.

Before continuing i'm going to introduce myself.
First of all, sorry for my english, if i'm saying something that it doesn't make sense to u guys.
Second, my name is F?bio, I'm from Portugal and I'm new to pyro, i've just done the simple smokes KNo3/sugar, i get potassium nitrate very easy, sulfur too...and charcoal only have the one i use on barbecue.
however my father works with wood floors, and i can get white pine to make my own charcoal.
I also have some stuff i got on my old school...since the educational program has changed and they were not needing the most of the chemicals.
I have:
Magnesium Oxide 500g
Amonium Nitrate 250g
Lead Nitrate 500g
Potassium Chromate 100g
Strontium Chloride Hexahydrate 100g
Sodium Borate 1kg
Copper Oxide 100g

But, my main goal actually is to do a nice red coloured light.
I've searched for formulas...but they have always lots of stuff i can't easily get, and also have potassium perclorate, that i can only order from online stores, and it is very very expensive.

Because of that i'm asking to you , that are the experts on the matter, if there is a formula that i can easily do with acessible stuff.

Obrigado desde j? !

F?bio

[sizzle]

Hello F?bio and welcome to the forums.

The PFP database (http://members.shaw.ca/gryphon223/PFP) has some coloured compositions that may be of use to you. If i'm making coloured flares/lights I normally take some Blesser Red #1 powder and lightly press it into a tube and add a fuse, this gives a nice bright red flare that usually lasts about twenty to thirty seconds depending on the tube size you use.

Another method you could use is to create Red Flash powder, this is made with Strontium Nitrate and fine Magnesium powder. However, flash compositions are very dangerous and tricky to work with, I myself have never touched flash ever since my first attempt with it (which never worked as I found I had the wrong Aluminium) and won't be doing so untill I get better safety equipment and plenty of fuse.

Hope this helps.

[Frozentech]

While there are huge numbers of pyrotechnic formula available on the net, I've noticed a distinct lack of formula for lances, coloured fire, bengal matches and the like. Many of the coloured fire formulas I've seen use chemicals not used widely today. I've started trying to make good coloured fire, and so far have managed a good blue, using the following recipie:

Ammonium Perchlorate 70 parts
black Copper Oxide 30 parts
Red gum 15 parts

A tiny test lance, dry, and relatively loose in the tube.

Notice that after a short period of vivid blue, the case starts to burn away, causing the colour to wash out and look far less saturated. Is there some sort of paper that will help to reduce this washing out? Is there any point trying to use a thick case that doesn't burn down?

Anyone care to share any success with lance-like devices, and the compositions contained within?

I wasn' t able to view your photo, but...

You do not want a thick tube with lances, about 4 turns of plain paper as used in a printer will do.

Washing out of blue is a common thing. Blue emissions exist only at lower temperatures, so probably your composition began to burn too hot.

Try that same mix, with Strontium Carbonate and you should get a decent red. I'd avoid Strontium Nitrate as it will form hygroscopic Ammonium Nitrate in that mix.

I'll look up a few lance comps that I have used and post them for you later.

[koobee]

Hello, i'm sorry to post on a so older thread but it's better then opening a new one, when this theme have already been talked.

Before continuing i'm going to introduce myself.
First of all, sorry for my english, if i'm saying something that it doesn't make sense to u guys.
Second, my name is F?bio, I'm from Portugal and I'm new to pyro, i've just done the simple smokes KNo3/sugar, i get potassium nitrate very easy, sulfur too...and charcoal only have the one i use on barbecue.
however my father works with wood floors, and i can get white pine to make my own charcoal.
I also have some stuff i got on my old school...since the educational program has changed and they were not needing the most of the chemicals.
I have:
Magnesium Oxide 500g
Amonium Nitrate 250g
Lead Nitrate 500g
Potassium Chromate 100g
Strontium Chloride Hexahydrate 100g
Sodium Borate 1kg
Copper Oxide 100g

But, my main goal actually is to do a nice red coloured light.
I've searched for formulas...but they have always lots of stuff i can't easily get, and also have potassium perclorate, that i can only order from online stores, and it is very very expensive.

Because of that i'm asking to you , that are the experts on the matter, if there is a formula that i can easily do with acessible stuff.

Obrigado desde j? !

F?bio

As a note on the potassium perchlorate, very very expensive? Where are you buying it and does it say reagent grade anywhere near it? Reagent grade is an all to pure and expensive grade, most us pyros aren't that rich or picky . If you need a good source for chemicals, try skylighter.com. I don't know why no one else said this before, but you can use all kinds of star comps as lance comps or simple colored flames for fountains and the like. Thats what I always use. I am not too sure that I know any formulas for a red light using any of those chemicals.
P.S. Careful with the lead nitrate..

[fishy1]

As a note on the potassium perchlorate, very very expensive? Where are you buying it and does it say reagent grade anywhere near it? Reagent grade is an all to pure and expensive grade, most us pyros aren't that rich or picky . If you need a good source for chemicals, try skylighter.com. I don't know why no one else said this before, but you can use all kinds of star comps as lance comps or simple colored flames for fountains and the like. Thats what I always use. I am not too sure that I know any formulas for a red light using any of those chemicals.
P.S. Careful with the lead nitrate..

skylighter doesn't ship most of it's chems to europe.

[sizzle]

skylighter doesn't ship most of it's chems to europe.

They do however ship a few, and they still ship a lot of hard-to-find chemicals that some people in europe do not have access to through any other means.

[koobee]

Forgive me I forgot that most of the members on this forum are not from America.

[F?bio]

the only place i've seen it was on kno3.com and it's 20.75? for 500g, i think it is a little bit expensive, i would order at least 1kg and that's 61.5? +-

Skylighter doesn't ship outside USA most of the chemicals.

besides potassium perchlorate, the rest i can buy at inoxia wich seems to have good prices, but i'm just checking what i need to buy to don't make the mistake of buying stuff i don't need.

Thanks for the replys

PS: I'm also thiking if i can buy some stuff in england, i'm going there on march...lisbon -> london -> liverpool to watch my S.L.BENFICA agains liverpool ! Maybe i can bring some chems for good prices.

[adamw]

Fabio.. maybe you should try looking in your neighbour country, Spain. There are a lot of firework factories there and you may be able to buy the chemicals from them.

[BrightStar]

This thread clearly needs some illumination, so here are a few experiments!

I have been trying to find out whether expensive magnesium is really needed for strontium nitrate based flare compositions.

My basic forumula was as follows:

Strontium Nitrate: 50%
Potassium Perchlorate: 10%
Metal fuel: 20%
Parlon: 15%
Dextrin: 5%

The first 10g lance (6mm * 50mm) shown on the left used inexpensive 400-mesh atomised aluminium as the metal fuel. The second, on the right, used 50% aluminum and 50% 10-micron magnalium (very expensive in the UK).



Video here (3gp mobile format, opens in Quicktime):

Strontium nitrate flare test

The results were fairly conclusive (and so bright that they lit up the whole street) - 400-mesh aluminium alone will not burn hot or bright enough with strontium nitrate based compositions without a secondary fuel. You will almost certainly need some magnesium or magnalium in the mix.

It is worth noting that these formulations were very difficult to ignite due to the lack of charcoal or sulfur . BP prime, chlorate fuse etc failed and only a hot magnalium / perchlorate prime worked in the end. As a result, they are only suitable for research purposes...

Edited by BrightStar, 13 August 2006 - 04:59 PM.

[BrightStar]

One more from Davis, for a late night pyro-fix...

Potassium perchlorate: 7
Aluminium (mixed flake and powder): 5
Sulfur: 2

I substituted 400-mesh atomised aluminium, 20g comp in a 22mm * 50mm * 1mm tube, BP primed. It looked like this, with a 20s burn time.



Video here (3gp mobile format):

Davis white flare test

It burns completely differently to the sulfurless compositions in my previous post, crackling and spitting with lots of smoke and much easier to ignite. It could be used for a Bengal lights type of display effect or aerial flare but the smoke prevents hand-flare use. I might try substituting red gum for the sulfur and see where that takes me...

EDIT: Mumbles on the apcforum points out that perchlorate/sulfur mixes are friction sensitive (though not as much as chlorate/sulfur) so beware if pressing this stuff into a tube.

EDIT2: Tried this again, screening through 40-mesh and binding with a little 5% NC laquer. It burnt just as bright, but this time quietly, without the crackle and pop...

Edited by BrightStar, 12 June 2007 - 06:59 PM.