82 replies to this topic

[popyro]

hi, my first post.
does anyone know the purity (naclo3) of "Morgan's" weedkiller.
if there's a contaminent, what might it be and can it be removed by fractional crystallisation?
btw it's a better oxidiser than kclo3 because the na atom is much smaller than the k atom.
if you can keep it dry, you get more bangforyourbuck.
'pity about its hygroscopicity.

[Pyromaster2003]

ye, also pity thats is makes very sensitive compositions. its 52%pure, it says on the side. the fire retardent is sodium chloride. dont no how to make it 100% or near, but if you sieve the weedkiller it takes quite a bit of the sodium chloride out and leaves you with sodium chlorate(dont no how pure, but it makes H3 burn a LOT quicker than not sieving it.

[Edited on 24-4-2003 by Pyromaster2003]

[bernie]

Get my KNO3 in 50# bags. It's an
agricultural fertilizer and not absolutely pure but close enough. Not anything harmful and not in any quanity to even adjust a formula over. I would eat the stuff and not worry about. Not that I would suggest it. As a hobbyist it last a good long time for a guy like me.
Not to long ago I ran across about 25-30
pounds I had forgotten I even had.
I just couldn't resist:P

[robert johnson]

You have titled your thread KNO3 but refer to Sodium chlorate which has no place in fireworks and ask will it be better than KC10'3. The answer is no it will not be as good ,if you look at KC10'4[ potassium perchlorate] this should give more power and be more useful. However in practise the chlorate will give up the oxygen molecules more readily and thus be more useful depending on the aplication required.

[robert johnson]

Forgot to mention the Potassium Nitrate I get also comes in 25kg bags and is 99% pure .it is very cheap and also works wonders for mopping up any water spills on the floors, which are epoxy paint..

[bernie]

You fellows measure stuff funny over in the UK.

[Robbie414]

Bernie I agree, being from the UK I find it very awkward having to use units that are divisable by 1 ! It can sometimes be very confusing! :-))

[Richard H]

The *only* use this stuff has, is for synthesis of KClO3, and that's if your really desperate!

[phildunford]

Would love to know where Robert gets his 25KG bags from as I get it in 500g jars from chemical suppliers and they get a bit suspicious when you ask for them a dozen at a time!

[popyro]

thanks all,
i agree that naclo3 is more sensitive than kclo3, but it's a small increase and the only accident i've had was with kclo3+graphite powder. i should'nt smoke while mortaring+pestling.
i suppose i should electrolyse the weedkiller to oxidise the chloride to chlorate. i've only graphite electrodes so the perchlorate is out. anyone tried pbo2 electrodes for per/synth? any info would help. thanks again.

[bernie]

All this transmutating is greek to me. Sure am glad I can buy the stuff as is without having to go through the transmutilating process. Chemistry is REAL cool. I just don't get it. Please don't try and teach me. My tiny little brain will explode.
Doing pyro without KNO3 is like trying to bake a loaf of bread without flour. You can do a gazillion things with the stuff. KNO3 that is.
My wife puts it in my iced tea. She says its a good dietary supplement for all married men.

[adamw]

All he meant is that his thread title (KNO3) became a post about NaClO. As for 'mopping up', KCLO4 does a nice job of clearing up the Al powder residue from the measuring/mixing bowl/weighboat when making flash - i.e. weigh alu, put onto mixing paper, then weigh KCLO4 and 'swill round' to mop up the bits of alu.

[bernie]

Was just goofin'. Swill around? over here in the states "swill" is something your wife serves you for dinner when shes mad at you. It's gonna take me a while to get a hold on this UK lingo. I'm gonna make it a point to sit down in front of the TV and watch a few BBC import shows.
I know it's the same language but somehow it got all discombobulated when my forefathers sailed west. From Germany on the barnicle encrusted keel of ...........

[Edited on 28-4-2003 by bernie briden]

[adamw]

The Mayflower?

If it's the wrong answer, then thats because I got an F in Ship Studies / Americanoligy

[bernie]

I was going to say on the barnicle encruted keel of a 747 passanger jet but I did'nt want to give ya'll the wrong idea. Besides, the wife whacked me on the back of the head again and I lost my train of thought.
Now let's see...... what was I going to say. Oh yea, What in the devil is a MAYFLOWER? No, I don't know where I came from. My dad gets real mad when I ask. Mom just goes in the bedroom and cries. I quit asking.

Is there a TV show or other that we have in common? Doctor Who maybe. Red Dwarf? A little help here. No Harry Potter references please! JRR Tolken maybe.
Gandalf the wizard comes to mind when I try to think what the Head Honcho looks like. I seem to remember that wizard whipped up some pretty good fireworks.

[Edited on 29-4-2003 by bernie briden]