55 replies to this topic

[completebeginner]

the lift powder i am making is using charcoal briquettes i cant seem to find anything better . well i was wondering if it would be worth trying to make the lift powder for a roman candle out of that or if i should just keep looking for something else

[karlfoxman]

the lift powder i am making is using charcoal briquettes i cant seem to find anything better . well i was wondering if it would be worth trying to make the lift powder for a roman candle out of that or if i should just keep looking for something else

This is so easy to do...works well for lift, i use it to break shells and small splitting star inserts.

http://www.ukrocketr...pic=1114&st=105

[broadsword]

Dont bother trying to make lift out of bbq charcoal. It will not work! It wont be fast enough, you will need to find some willow charcoal! Or make your own.

[paul]

Briquettes work perfectly for lift in smaller shells up to 3".... But it does only work if you do it with the CIA method. Briquettes-BP ball milled is crap.

I used 25g of that stuff for my 3" shells very often. Gives an impressive bang and lifts the shells to an good height.

But remember: CIA is the method if you only have briquettes

[LadyKate]

Briquettes work perfectly for lift in smaller shells up to 3".... But it does only work if you do it with the CIA method. Briquettes-BP ball milled is crap.

But remember: CIA is the method if you only have briquettes

And from Broadsword: Dont bother trying to make lift out of bbq charcoal. It will not work! It wont be fast enough, you will need to find some willow charcoal! Or make your own.

While we are in danger of falling into the already discussed-to-death charcoal debate, I find it interesting that such widely varying results are reported. Perhaps there is the possibility of variations in briquette composition (some probably have more clay and impurities than others).

Having read about a zillion of these kinds of posts, it seems to be a consensus that wetting the Greenmix in some way during the creation of the powder does make it hotter. The type of charcoal makes a difference and ball milling does help in all cases. Perigrin and others recommend the CIA method combined with ball milling (something that I also had success with).

Aside from the technique for making BP (which seems to have as many variations as there are belly buttons), one should note that lift is affected by many other things. Not the least of which is the fit of the star/shell/whatever into the lift tube. I use my mild lift powder (not CIA but ball milled and screened) for star gun shots and if I pack things tightly, there is never a problem getting the star up in the air.

Edited by LadyKate, 15 August 2005 - 03:36 PM.

[completebeginner]

i got some lumpwood charcoal and made bp out of that cia method because i dont have a ball mill and it didn work the lift the star got a foot off of the ground. i was wondering if i should try to make polverone like the stuff use to launch shells

[paul]

A ballmill is essential in every case you want nearly good blackpowder. I mill my charcoal/sulfur mix for a few hours before I use it for CIA blackpowder...

[completebeginner]

i got a ball mill made some meal powder and granulated some of it should i use meal or the granulated stuff for a roman candle

[karlfoxman]

Use granulated the extra area on the grains will speed up the burn. Get 3g of powder in a pile outside and light it. Then try 3g of pulverone! Do this with thick gloves and goggles on just incase. And you MUST do this outside!!

[completebeginner]

so if i use poverone should i compress it with a dowel and hammer? or should i leave it loose

[Mumbles]

I don't know if you are talking about the burning of it outside, or for lift, so I shall answer for both.

testing - no

lifting - no. Use granulated stuff. While pulverone as a substance has a higher surface area, it is so fine it generally tends to act more like a solid piece. Compacting it will just make it worse. Granulated will be much better. It will burn faster which will make your stars actually lift. If you just use polverone, it will be more like a fountain, and the star will barely shoot out the neck of the tube. Granulated lift will actually lift the stars/comets to an acceptable height.

[karlfoxman]

Was i wrong then? I thought pulverone was granulated? Is pulverone just a certain mesh of BP? Sorry if this caused any confusion completebeginner.

[completebeginner]

polverone is granulated stuff the fine powder is meal
http://geocities.com...e_pulverone.htm

[sizzle]

I'm having trouble with my Roman Candle Lift Powder at the moment, I'm trying 6:3:1 powder which has been made with the CIA method and passed through a sieve to a grainy powder. I've tried exactly how has been shown on Dan William's page but the stars barely go 3 inches out of the tube before they hit the ground. What can I do? I need to make some Candles for Christmas Eve.

[Pretty green flames]

Why are you using 6:3:1. 15:3:2 is plenty fast for lift. Your other problem may be that your powder gets crushed into a solid mass wich will ofcourse burn more slowly. Roman candles generally need a fairly fast lift and string granules so the don't get crushed when you press in the delay.