7 replies to this topic

[Thudkaboom]

I have just recieved 10 packets of Mystical Fire purchased from www.satinafield.com .
It's a product designed to change the colour of wood fires.
The contents are Cupric Sulphate, Cupric Chloride and PVC all in powder form.
I am getting some beautiful blues and greens but would love to have some reds, violets, yellows etc etc.

Could anyone suggest some simple salts I could source and use to create my rainbow campfires?

I bought some Lithium Carbonate and Strontium Carbonate from Inoxia but they are very poor at releasing excited ions into the flames of a bonfire.
Sodium Chloride works to some extent for yellow but a better suggestion is welcome.
Does Calcium Carbonate work well for orange flickers?

Bearing in mind I will not be using any oxidizing agents to get my colours, just tossing them into a toasty campfire at festivals etc etc.

( I know not to cook food over such fires)

[seymour]

Boric acid is also a nice green. For the reds you might want to convert the carbonates to chlorides. If they still do not work, adding nitrates with a bit of a chlorine donor will work.

If your sodium chloride is not doing it, Sodium benzoate could be better, due to the fact that it will burn, quite efficiently dispersing the sodium ions. Oxalate might do the same. If you find that the sodium yellow is too golden, you could try adding some green mix (burns green, not firework greenmix) to it.

For purple you will have to mix copper and strontium with a chloine donor if you want to get a better colour than the weak lilac of Potassium.

[Mixologist]

The following website will tell you almost everything you need to know!!!

Ive been looking for an excuse to post it up for a while... thanks!

http://chemistry.abo...a/aa052703a.htm

[MDH]

Strontium chloride - not carbonate - is what you are supposed to use for red flames...

[Thudkaboom]

Strontium chloride - not carbonate - is what you are supposed to use for red flames...

I know this. Short of finding a supplier at reasonable prices and without the need for Carbonate - Chloride conversion process hassels, one must experiment with alternatives.

Great thanks to all who posted positive suggestions to my querie. It's helped a lot. May my rainbow campfires bring delight to many peeps.

PS. Does anyone know of any suppliers for Strontium Chloride and Lithium Chloride etc etc?

[mike_au]

Does anyone know of any suppliers for Strontium Chloride and Lithium Chloride etc etc?

I was in an aquarium shop yesterday and they had about 0.5kg jars of strontium chloride labelled as "Strontium Boost". Didn't check the price because I couldn't think of a use for it at the time.

[seymour]

Chloride conversion process hassels, one must experiment with alternatives.

There is next to nothing involved with converting the carbonate to the chloride!!!

You get some Hydrochloric acid (available at the hardware store).

You add water to the carbonate. It will not dissolve yet.

Add Hydrochloric acid until the carbonate has dissolved. Done.

To use, you can soak wood chips, pine cones ect in this solution, or dry it to get crystals which can be powered.

[Bonny]

The following website will tell you almost everything you need to know!!!

Ive been looking for an excuse to post it up for a while... thanks!

http://chemistry.abo...a/aa052703a.htm

I didn't have any luck with the red or white as listed on this site. When the red cones burned you would see a trace of red here and there but nothing exciting. The only ones I found worked for me were the copper based colours.