6 replies to this topic

[Blackheart45]

Hey everybody, I was just experimenting with a smoke formula I stumbled across with pretty promising results (ammonium chloride 50 parts, Potassium chlorate 35 parts, Sugar 15 Parts) But I'm curious to see how it would perform when pressed. While I'm told that the chloride/chlorate combination is relatively stable, I'm not sure if it would stand up to my 12 ton hydraulic press. Could anyone enlighten me to the possibility of catastrophic results from this? I appreciate it

[digger]

Yep ammonium chloride smokes work (maybe change the sugar to lactose for a less hygroscopic composition). Why not just change 5% of the sugar/lactose to red gum and bind with IPA. No need to press it then and it will be much quicker to construct.

[pyrotrev]

Yep ammonium chloride smokes work (maybe change the sugar to lactose for a less hygroscopic composition). Why not just change 5% of the sugar/lactose to red gum and bind with IPA. No need to press it then and it will be much quicker to construct.

That's an interesting idea Gareth, does it work well?

[digger]

That's an interesting idea Gareth, does it work well?

Yep cracking smokes, however I don't use quite those proportions. I prefer a quicker smoke so I go along the lines of:-

KCLO3 30%
Lactose 20%
Red Gum 5%
Ammonium Chloride 40%
Dye of choice 5% (just to dirty it up a bit and create a better screen)

I ram them damp with a core all the way through the comp, about 70g in a 1.25" tube. No special arrangement is needed for the tubes other that the fuse running all the way through the core. These put down a dense smoke screen in about 10 seconds unlike allot of the commercial items that burn for ages and allow all the smoke to blow away.

The smoke is not too noxious, but maybe Rosin based ones would be better from that standpoint.

[Mumbles]

Does no one see a problem with mixing of chlorate and ammonium with these compositions? What do you think makes them crackle? Chlorides are also known to make chlorates more sensitive.

[digger]

Does no one see a problem with mixing of chlorate and ammonium with these compositions? What do you think makes them crackle? Chlorides are also known to make chlorates more sensitive.

No crackling from the smokes that I have made.

I believe that these two don't undergo the double decomposition to the dreaded ammonium chlorate (I am happy to be proved wrong though), due to the lower solubility of potassium chlorate. Ammonium chloride is not soluble in pure IPA, hence there is no carrier for the reaction to take place either. Only dry ingredients are used for the mix. It is a pretty oxidiser poor mix.

I have tried sensitivity tests on this composition after a day a week and a month and have not managed to get it to have any reaction.

It has to be said that similar compositions are well documented.

Edited by digger, 21 July 2009 - 12:46 PM.

[seymour]

Shimizu's tests backed this up, as have other reputable figures in pyro literature.

Mumbles, I was sure I'd even seen you point out the Ammonium chloride exception to the Ammonium-chlorates incompatability!

Still, I'd be paranoid about purity.

With impure NH4Cl I'd rather not mix it with KClO3, let alone press it!

Edited by seymour, 22 July 2009 - 06:19 AM.