65 replies to this topic

[cunning_plan]

fair enough il look into it. cheers again all

[spykke]

This thread has reinforced the concerns I have voiced elsewhere. A few thoughts:

Cunning plan - please listen to the advice given in this thread. Chlorates and perchlorates do need special care and attention. Anyone who handles compositions must be able to characterise them. It isn't sufficient to ask at this forum what the relative hazards are since each formulation will have it's own properties. Impact, friction, thermal stability and electrostatic sensitiveness are all important and need careful measurement. Thumping a pile with a hammer will at best tell you nothing and at worst injure you. If you must make pyro compositions try and keep your ambitions under control and stick to areas which you understand fully and you have fully quantified the risks and hazards.

Oh, by the way, sulphur/chlorate has a long history of accidents - the mixtures are chemically unstable. That is why they are specifically prohibited by law in the UK.

Edited by spykke, 22 March 2005 - 09:14 AM.

[cunning_plan]

with respect ive learnt quite a bit since my first post. as i have already stated now that was quite a while back and it was before i started reading much and using this forum. it just happened that when i decided to buy a few basic chems and have a play it was much easyer to get chlorate than nitrate. looking back i would go no where near that mixture again. the only book i had at the time also said the mix was ok so long as "handeled with care" and suggested desensitizing. after a few tests i decided this was most likely wrong thus this thread.

it is said a little knowledge is a dangerouse thing, i think i would agree with this, it is not a matter of keeping my ambitions under control, i simply did not fully understand the chemicals. (i have since started reading a real lot.)

[lavenatti]

Isn't weed killer typically sodium chlorate and not potassium chlorate? If so the only color star you'll be able to make will be yellow.

[Pretty green flames]

Isn't weed killer typically sodium chlorate and not potassium chlorate?  If so the only color star you'll be able to make will be yellow.

Tisk tisk tisk.......

You buy Sodium chlorate weed killer becouse it is very avaliable, you then convert it using a potassium salt such as KCl (potassium chloride) to yield Potassium chlorate

[adamw]

Or you stay completely away from it all together and wince at the thought of ever buying, let alone using some.