7 replies to this topic

[Burtgummer]

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to these forums, member-wise, and I love it. So many experienced pyrotechnicians!

Anyways, I've been making a few homemade shells each year for the 4th of July. This year I plan to make several more, in a more professional approach. I've been making Black Powder quite a bit to get my experience with it, and I think I've finaly achieved a nice burn rate.

Last year, I filled the lift cups as far as they could go with my BP. I then pasted them on the shells with more then the regular amount of craft paper. This created more of an explosion than a gentle push when the lift charge ignited. I dont have any videos of that BP unfortunately, but 3 out of the 4 shells got in the air and exploded (softly, as the break charge was mealpowder).

Anyways, my last 2 batches of BP seem to have a fast enough burn for lift powder. However, I dont have any real lift powder to compare it to, so I am not sure.

I have posted my youtube channel with 3 videos of different batches and granulations. The ingredients were all found at The Home Depot, so that gives you an idea of the purities. The KNO3 was from Grants stump remover, which I am told is pure KNO3. The sulfur is 90% pure, and the charcoal is 100% pure.

http://www.youtube.c...r/pyrotechnic44

So, the quesiton is: Is this black powder sufficient for lift? Will 4 grams be enough to lift a 32 gram shell?

Thanks!

[KarlosH]

You mus try this, in mortar under the shell. Not theory, but practice. You can make etc. wood simulation shell for tests. Many heme-made fun-producers make BP and thinking, that quick burn(puff) means succes, but for practice firing shells is their BP good for nothing. Quick burn means nothing, thoug is so nice, and producer-beginner have some fun.
Good luck.

[Bonny]

Do some more research on the forum here and elsewhere, there is a ton of info on BP making. I'm not sure what size you have granulated your powder to, but that will make a big difference. Once you find a size that works you need to make the same size all the time to maintain consistency.
I use -10+20 mesh for lifting 1" shells and in mines etc... for 3" shells (currently my largest size) I am using -4+10 mesh. It is much coarser so it will give the shell a more gentle push from the mortar.

[Burtgummer]

Trust me, I've done quite a bit of browsing on these forums. I havent been able to find any links to videos where I can compare my hopefull lift charge to another. I'd love to try an inert shell, but where I live it isnt possible. I'm just curious if it 'looks' fast enough on those videos I have on my youtube channel. Each videos tests 1.5 grams of black powder. When I tested the finer granules which passed through my 10 mesh screen, it gave a slight "whoompf" when I ignited it, and it was unconfined.

I've browsed all over you tube to see if other people have posted videos of their lift charge and also their shells. I guess I need peace of mind really haha. To shoot these off we have to drive 5 hours to a shooting site, so I suppose that is where my nervousness comes from.

[Bonny]

Trust me, I've done quite a bit of browsing on these forums. I havent been able to find any links to videos where I can compare my hopefull lift charge to another. I'd love to try an inert shell, but where I live it isnt possible. I'm just curious if it 'looks' fast enough on those videos I have on my youtube channel. Each videos tests 1.5 grams of black powder. When I tested the finer granules which passed through my 10 mesh screen, it gave a slight "whoompf" when I ignited it, and it was unconfined.

I've browsed all over you tube to see if other people have posted videos of their lift charge and also their shells. I guess I need peace of mind really haha. To shoot these off we have to drive 5 hours to a shooting site, so I suppose that is where my nervousness comes from.

You'll pretty much have to test fire something to see how well it performs. Keep what passed through the 10 mesh, but stays on a 20mesh if you have or 30 I guess, the rest is too fine for lift. I'm not sure what shell size you plan on trying, but go with about 1/10th of the shell weight to start. Remember the shell should fall freely to the bottom of the mortar, but not be really sloppy.

[MDH]

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to these forums, member-wise, and I love it. So many experienced pyrotechnicians!

Anyways, I've been making a few homemade shells each year for the 4th of July. This year I plan to make several more, in a more professional approach. I've been making Black Powder quite a bit to get my experience with it, and I think I've finaly achieved a nice burn rate.

Last year, I filled the lift cups as far as they could go with my BP. I then pasted them on the shells with more then the regular amount of craft paper. This created more of an explosion than a gentle push when the lift charge ignited. I dont have any videos of that BP unfortunately, but 3 out of the 4 shells got in the air and exploded (softly, as the break charge was mealpowder).

Anyways, my last 2 batches of BP seem to have a fast enough burn for lift powder. However, I dont have any real lift powder to compare it to, so I am not sure.

I have posted my youtube channel with 3 videos of different batches and granulations. The ingredients were all found at The Home Depot, so that gives you an idea of the purities. The KNO3 was from Grants stump remover, which I am told is pure KNO3. The sulfur is 90% pure, and the charcoal is 100% pure.

http://www.youtube.c...r/pyrotechnic44

So, the quesiton is: Is this black powder sufficient for lift? Will 4 grams be enough to lift a 32 gram shell?

Thanks!

At the apparent speed of your black powder, I would recommend five or six grams for a thirty two gram shell. In Canada, they use only a few grams - much less than four - to launch shells, but I have ignited small amounts of this powder before and it is usually very strong.

[Mumbles]

It is slightly difficult to say due to the slightly choppy video. From what I have seen though in the videos, it appears that it will be acceptable for lifting shells. As others have said, the only true test is a live fire, whether it be with a dummy shell or the real thing. 4-6g should probably be alright. It depends a lot on the fit of the mortar. The smaller shells will require more lift generally in my experience. 1/10th as bonny suggested is normally a good starting point, but a little extra probably won't destroy your shells or anything.

[Burtgummer]

Thanks for all of your input! I know I used 4 grams in one shell, and 5 in another, and 6 in another, so that will be something to look forward to. My aplogies for the choppy video, its on a video phone, and youtube doesnt like the mp4 format. In quicktime on my computer, it looks perfect. This is where youtube proves to be a problem I guess. The lift charges take about 5 frames to burn, which is a definite improvement on my lift powder I used last year, which took more than twice as long to burn.

Thanks again!