285 replies to this topic

[adamw]

I'm sure there are a lot easier ways of buying KNO3 in your native country rather than getting it shipped from the UK. There are numerous posts in this and other sections giving details of Australian suppliers.

[ka-BOOM]

ok, so i got out my yellow pages and rang every store listed under agricultural supplies, and i also rang all the nurseries in my area, and as far as i know there are no places online in australia to buy from. and i still can't find any potassium nitrate.
so would anyone be interested in maybe selling me some, i'm willing to pay a fair price( say $4-5/kilo plus shipping) and i'll take whatever you can spare.

thanks for your help.

Edited by ka-BOOM, 21 May 2006 - 03:00 AM.

[maximusg]

Ka-BOOM, have you also tried searching hydroponics stores, they usully stock many useful chems as nutrients and such.

Anyway... Do any Aussie pyros know of a good OTC source for dilute Nitric Acid? I was thinking about having ago at making some Nitrates from their corrosponding carbonates, Sr, Ba, Cu, And then having ago at making some Blesser Metallic Fueled Stars. etc... I am pretty sure HNO3 of 12% concentration would even be strong enough to achieve this.

Also Does anyone know of any book stores that stock some pyro books. I was Looking for The Best of AFN Series locally, but feel I will probably have to import it.

Cheers

[littlejohny]

Finding nitric acid in AUS is going to be very hard if not impossible. It might be easier to get some sulphuric acid and turn that to nitric but that?s still allot of work. Although I think Alany may have had some nitric acid some time I can't remember but I think I read it somewhere on his site. good luck to you anyway, did you manage to find a 2 inch mortor.

[maximusg]

I havn't found a mortar yet johnny. I might take you up on your offer if your're still willing! Do you have a quote for shipping yet?

A friend in NZ said that he got a few litres of Nitric from an agricultural supplier, I wish I was searching for it when i was in canberra and found my KNO3, that Ag supplier would have had it if any of them do.

[littlejohny]

A friend in NZ said that he got a few litres of Nitric from an agricultural supplier, I wish I was searching for it when i was in canberra and found my KNO3, that Ag supplier would have had it if any of them do.

What?s nitric acid used for on the agricultural side of things?

It may be easier for you to make a 2 inch mortar than pay the postage, Just find/make a 2 inch former go down to the newsagents or wherever and buy 3 sheets of cardboard the type used for school projects and carefully roll them around the former one by one I did this to get a good 1.5 inch tube within 20 minutes all layers were lightly glued with PVA. I was very impressed by the one I made but then to be depressed when I accidentally blew it to bits with 3.5 grams of very hot balsa bp, the tube was for testing purposes.

[jamesy]

Finding nitric acid in AUS is going to be very hard if not impossible. It might be easier to get some sulphuric acid and turn that to nitric but that’s still allot of work. Although I think Alany may have had some nitric acid some time I can't remember but I think I read it somewhere on his site. good luck to you anyway, did you manage to find a 2 inch mortor.

There is some basic information on pyrowiki regarding nitric acid that originated from Wouter Visser if you want to look. But in my opinion, it is a difficult and a dangerous chemical to manufacture. Even making strontium and barium nitrates with it is a dangerous exercise from what I have read. You can make lovely red, greens etc with potassium chlorate and carbonates. Mr Alan Yates has a really good recipe for his own red using the mentioned chemicals. Try making his granite star; it's a really cool lime green.

To be honest with you (and this is only my thoughts), although it would be great to make really bright reds/greens etc... in Aus we simply don't have the chemicals freely available to make them. Personally I get more enjoyment in making a firework that actually does what it's supposed to. For example, making shells burst symmetrically, making fountains that fire a plume really high, rockets the are really powerful that go fast and straight etc. To me, at this stage anyway, it's about mastering the art as opposed to making colours :-)

Have you tried spotlight for your tubes ?????

Edited by jamesy, 24 May 2006 - 10:52 AM.

[jamesy]

What?s nitric acid used for on the agricultural side of things?

It may be easier for you to make a 2 inch mortar than pay the postage, Just find/make a 2 inch former go down to the newsagents or wherever and buy 3 sheets of cardboard the type used for school projects and carefully roll them around the former one by one I did this to get a good 1.5 inch tube within 20 minutes all layers were lightly glued with PVA. I was very impressed by the one I made but then to be depressed when I accidentally blew it to bits with 3.5 grams of very hot balsa bp, the tube was for testing purposes.

Cool, can you make good BP out of balsa wood ?

I am seriously considering about getting my basic firearms licence. With it you can buy ANY type of commercial grade BP and ANY type of fuse. A friend of mine bought a 250 meter roll of 2mm green visco fuse for $25 bucks and 2 kg of commercial BP @ $16 per kilo. At least this way you can be assured you have good quality BP.

I have bought rocket tooling from Firefox-Fx and made it with my home made BP and they perform really poorly. I have to go back to the basics and make the rocket by hand and make a smaller nozzle hole and deeper core. I can only put this down to the quality of my BP. It really makes me disappointed when i ball mill it for at least 6 hours, dampen it, granulate it and dry it in a heat box. I don't know if skylighter make rocket tooling for commercial grade BP but it sure does not work all that well with home made BP.

Anyone else have the some problem... It just seems easier to buy commercial BP (which I might add comes from a firework supplier) for $16 per kilo for fireworks that really require the performance of good BP. Sure home made BP has it's uses but.... i dunno.

[maximusg]

I Don't have any professionally made rocket tooling, but I dont think my powder would be too much slower than commercial. With willow charcoal, and Agricultural grade KNO3, 5 Hours milling with dampening and granulation makes BP that will power end-burning rockets easily. It is extremely fast. What charcoal are you currently using? I find the charcoal quality to have the greatest impact on BP performance. Oh and James do you have a source for KClO3, or are you refering to self-produced chlorate via a chlorate cell?

What’s nitric acid used for on the agricultural side of things?

It may be easier for you to make a 2 inch mortar than pay the postage, Just find/make a 2 inch former go down to the newsagents or wherever and buy 3 sheets of cardboard the type used for school projects and carefully roll them around the former one by one I did this to get a good 1.5 inch tube within 20 minutes all layers were lightly glued with PVA. I was very impressed by the one I made but then to be depressed when I accidentally blew it to bits with 3.5 grams of very hot balsa bp, the tube was for testing purposes.

That's a good idea actually johnny, for some reason it never occured to me to roll my own mortar. I haven't rolled my own tubes for a very long time and i guess it slipped my mind

Edited by maximusg, 24 May 2006 - 12:44 PM.

[littlejohny]

Cool, can you make good BP out of balsa wood ?

I am seriously considering about getting my basic firearms licence. With it you can buy ANY type of commercial grade BP and ANY type of fuse. A friend of mine bought a 250 meter roll of 2mm green visco fuse for $25 bucks and 2 kg of commercial BP @ $16 per kilo. At least this way you can be assured you have good quality BP.

I have bought rocket tooling from Firefox-Fx and made it with my home made BP and they perform really poorly. I have to go back to the basics and make the rocket by hand and make a smaller nozzle hole and deeper core. I can only put this down to the quality of my BP. It really makes me disappointed when i ball mill it for at least 6 hours, dampen it, granulate it and dry it in a heat box. I don't know if skylighter make rocket tooling for commercial grade BP but it sure does not work all that well with home made BP.

Anyone else have the some problem... It just seems easier to buy commercial BP (which I might add comes from a firework supplier) for $16 per kilo for fireworks that really require the performance of good BP. Sure home made BP has it's uses but.... i dunno.

Balsa wood is one of the best charcoals to use it can make BP that is twice as fast as commercial stuff! I think the most highest rated charcoals are hemp, balsa and paulownia in that order I have had good success with balsa. The trouble is it?s so damn expensive, I'm thinking of just using weeping willow for lift and only using the balsa BP for breaking small shells.

I think it would be better to master your own homemade BP before buying commercial stuff; you won't appreciate the finished device as much if you?re using commercial BP.

Is anyone Interested in sending my some fuse via AUS post,I hate spoulletes.

Edited by littlejohny, 24 May 2006 - 10:17 PM.

[Pepsi]

Ka-BOOM, have you also tried searching hydroponics stores, they usully stock many useful chems as nutrients and such.

Anyway... Do any Aussie pyros know of a good OTC source for dilute Nitric Acid? I was thinking about having ago at making some Nitrates from their corrosponding carbonates, Sr, Ba, Cu, And then having ago at making some Blesser Metallic Fueled Stars. etc... I am pretty sure HNO3 of 12% concentration would even be strong enough to achieve this.

Also Does anyone know of any book stores that stock some pyro books. I was Looking for The Best of AFN Series locally, but feel I will probably have to import it.

Cheers

I have found the best place for books is Amazon.com as there's always second han ones going, btw did you get your Hno3? I have some 70%. bit risky to ship though.
pepsi.

[seymour]

Here in New Zealand it is common practice to use 70% nitric to clean/steralise hydroponic systems. I got 20L (the minimum order!) of 70% for NZ$32 no questions asked! I had no problems adding the carbonates to the acid, though pouring the acid was tricky!

[Amleth]

Are any of the regulars here in the Sydney area? I could use some help with something.

[maximusg]

Depending on what it is, My Brother lives in North Ryde. He's coming home over the next few weeks.... What do you need?

[Mephistos Minion]

I have 10 kilos of -40 mesh Red Gum coming in soon. If anyone wants some (I am selling off 2 kilos) I will sell it for $8 per 500g Plus post to you. Max order is 500g so more than one person can get some, but if not enough people want it then you can buy more. PM me at APC for fastest replies, or here if you are really patient.