70 replies to this topic

[Andrew]

This shouldn't really be listed on Ebay 

Or posted in the mail.

[Rhodri]

The original mail containing the URL has been edited.

Please do not add links to dangerous pre-cursors.

[Yugen-biki]

I have bought some aluminium powder from ebay.

View this

I am hopefully going to use this in a fountain to produce some white sparks but after reading this thread I was getting worried that the compisitions I'm intending to make are going to be a bit dangerous. Is it possible for near begginers to use aluminium safely in fountains (i have made a few blackpowder fountains with extra charcoal for more sparks)

If it is okay to use does anybody know any tried and tested compisitions? (I am going to search as well but the more ideas the better) thankyou.

I'm not sure if it will work in a fountain to give white sparks that will last for very long. Usually a flake Al of a quite coarse mesh is used to give silver sparks to fountains. At least in firefly compositions and alike. But the aluminium looks like it should be very good in a twinkle compositon. So you have not thrown away your money. As for flash, the mesh is a bit coarse.
By the way. You can allways use it to make a very beautiful white, and dense tailed, comet with potassium perchlorate!

[StarScream]

I'm Confused

I've noticed a lot of formulas that call for "Fine Flake" aluminum. Kind of vague... as bright flake & dark pyro both are fine flake aluminums. I know that dark pyro is used primarily in flash, so I assume the formulas refer to bright flake? Are there other fine flake powders that I'm not aware of? Did I miss a meeting or something?

[karlfoxman]

It depends what the fromula is for, is it a star of some kind. If so what type of star if its a streamer star most likely you will want flake aluminium of different sizes. The bigger particles will burn longer and fine ones will last burn shorter. If you want a very bushy but short tail you need to use smaller particles. If its a long dense tail you want a wide range of mesh sizes. Also colour stars using flake aluminium will require fine flake, this is so the particles are burnt up very close to the serface of the star. This way you obtain no tail, or a very very short one.

[StarScream]

Hi karlfoxman

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

Shimizu Silver Wave No.1

Potassium Perchlorate 50
Aluminum Flake 50


Hall Strobe Stars

Barium Nitrate 26
Magnesium 17
Aluminum, Fine Flake 6
Sulfur 51


Aluminum Torch

Potassium Perchlorate 13
Fine Aluminum Powder 6
Flake Aluminum 5
Dextrin 1


Brilliant Core

Barium Nitrate 66
Aluminum, Fine Flake 27
Soluble Glutinous Rice Starch 6
Boric Acid 1


I'm just wondering if Bright Flake is generally what one would use in formulas like these? I mean you wouldn't use atomized or dark pyro in any of these would you? Forgive me... I'm still relatively new at pyro, and would hate to use the wrong one and cause an accident or something.

[Plays with Fire]

What would the best way to test if a chemical was aluminum? It is dull gray in color, and maybe about 130 mesh (non-educated guess).

Hopelessly yours,
Plays with Fire

[pyromaniac303]

What would the best way to test if a chemical was aluminum? It is dull gray in color, and maybe about 130 mesh (non-educated guess).

Hopelessly yours,
Plays with Fire

Well I know this may not be the best method but if you get some similar sized/shaped aluminium and magnesium powder to the unknown one that you have, and add the same weight to the same volume of water, if you have magnesium you should see much more violent bubbles than aluminium, if it is magnalium though it would be hard to tell, and if it was coated to stop it reacting with things that would also affect it.

NOTE: If you do this, be careful and only use small amounts due to the flammable hydrogen gas produced.

Another way is you could melt a bit and work out the density compared to regular aluminium. (in powdered form the gaps in between particles obscure the true volume), but do not forget that if the alloys are different you may get a different weight. Aluminium weighs slightly more than magnesium.

Also you could sprinkle some through a flame and if it does not give out white sparks then the chances are it is neither magnesium or aluminium, could be something like steel.

Where was it from anyway? Thats probably the best clue to what it is.

Edited by pyromaniac303, 07 August 2006 - 12:26 PM.

[Plays with Fire]

it is from an older friend who got it in a chem set, and lost the number code sheet (each chemical has a numbered label on it). He thinks its aluminum...

[Mumbles]

Add a small sample to NaOH soln. At least this will discriminate Mg from Al. Aluminum will react, dissolving and giving off H2. Mg will just sit there. Thats probably about the best way I could think of. If it's iron or steel, it will be magnetic. Or nickel for that matter. Those are about the only common metals I can think of that would be in a kit like that.