633 replies to this topic

[Phoenix]

Yes. I don't know if the purple stuff is the bad flavouring or a seperate dye, but either way it makes it more recognisable and helps stop people mistaking it for water (or turpentine).

[adamw]

It also makes it taste nasty so people dont use it as a cheap way of getting drunk.

[lord_dranack]

Methlyated spirit is about 95% ethanol with no more than 4% methanol added to denature it.
I have some very old methylated spirits that is colourless, but the mineralised spirits you can buy now is purple.

Given the uses of methylated spirit around the home, ie. as a cleaning solvent, I think it is acceptable to use a 25% solution of it as a solvent for stars, as long as all the normal precautions are taken.

It can damage the optic nerves (through formaldehyde?) but this tends to happen to people exposed to large amounts of methanol, or those who ingest it (it takes as little 15ml to go blind).

I have never seen methylated spirit that said dangerous to the enviroment on it, possibly you are thinking of white spirit?
Safety is all about reducing risk to acceptible levels, and I believe that the risk from methanol poising is quite small compared to other chemicals we use (provided we take adequate precautions which in this case would be use a sutable respirator like you should anyway), but it is definatly something to be aware of.

[BigG]

You are possible right - I might been thinking about white spirit.

Well - if it's 95% ethanol and 4% methanol then it sounds okay to me.... I like isopropyl alcohol better ? does not have any strange side effects?. Using Methlyated spirit around the house leaves me with a headache.

I think it is shocking that they don?t sell ethanol in this country. To think there are people stupid enough to drink it?. Is it like that in other European countries as well? I know you can buy it in the Czech Republic ? and I?m fairly sure you can buy it in Germany?.

[Stuart]

People probably are stupid enough to drink it. Recently, the age limit for buying Meths has increased from 16 (think it was that) to 18. Probably a bunch of stupid kids drinking it thinking they are cheating the law out of its tax.

[lord_dranack]

I know at one point you had to sign the poisons register when buying meths in Scotland. From the lab suppliers I use, which are quite cheap generaly, LR 99% ethanol is ?60 per liter, while methylated spirit is ?3!

[richard2]

Im fairly sure that this has not been the case for at least the last 20 years in scotland. I know we are considered alkies however I have bought meths around 5 years ago with no questions asked and my father asures me he did the same some years ago. It is however becoming alot harder to find than it used to be.

[lord_dranack]

I was just going on what my dad said, based on his old camping trips 30 years ago!

[broadsword]

I was going to make some of Shimizu's 'Falls' Stars but i just had a few questions,
Has anyone ever made any? If so how did they perform? Because there is a lack of fuel in the mix? the comp. is as follows:

KN03 .............. 41
Sulphur ........... 4
Aluminium ....... 49
Dextrin ............ 6

[Flashy]

I was going to make some of Shimizu's 'Falls' Stars but i just had a few questions,
Has anyone ever made any? If so how did they perform? Because there is a lack of fuel in the mix? the comp. is as follows:

KN03 .............. 41
Sulphur ........... 4
Aluminium ....... 49
Dextrin ............ 6

One thing I do know about this comp is that when it is in powder form it is very hard to ignite. When 5g is placed on a test surface it is impossible to light with blackmatch. however if a very small amount (0.5g) of slow burning nitrate based flash (50 kno3,30 sulphur, 20 alu powder) is placed in a hollow within the pile of powder and the blackmatch applied to the flash, the flash takes easily then the rest of the comp takes fire and burns what seems like ten times faster than the nitrate flash.

Edited by Flashy, 30 January 2005 - 10:14 PM.

[broadsword]

If I cut them then spinkled some BP over the wet stars then they should light, yes?

Edited by broadsword, 30 January 2005 - 10:31 PM.

[Flashy]

I never got round to trying these stars in a device as they were just too hard to ignite. in my experience BP just burnt off without igniting the stars. when i did ignite the stars as a test they glowed with a very bright light for some time, maybe around 10 seconds.

Edited by Flashy, 30 January 2005 - 10:50 PM.

[alany]

You need to use a mixture of fine and more coarse Aluminium flake if you want a good effect. They need to be moving through the air to work as flitter stars, but that particular composition is designed as a golden falls lance, 1/2" or larger thin-walled paper tubes charged with it and hung upside-down.

For stars you'll need to step prime them, usually 2:1 comp:BP followed by a greenmix layer, and perhaps even a meal layer if you want rapid engulfing. I use KClO4-organic colour composition, or a metal rich driver composition with a final meal prime to get them going, but it is more expensive and requires KClO4.

[aapua]

I was going to make some of Shimizu's 'Falls' Stars but i just had a few questions,
Has anyone ever made any? If so how did they perform? Because there is a lack of fuel in the mix? the comp. is as follows:

KN03 .............. 41
Sulphur ........... 4
Aluminium ....... 49
Dextrin ............ 6

Replace a little.
Al...............45
C dust........4
Effect would be the same, but the stars ignite more easily.