I made some M-80s and M-160s, when I would set one of it would make a loud POP and the tube is in one piece, so the only thing that happens is that the end plugs blast out. Now on July 4th most of my street were setting off different salutes, and sounded much louder, I thought to myself that those must be huge salutes, but when I went out to walk to dog the next morning all the set off salutes laying in the street all seemed somewhat been blown apart, and the same size salutes I were setting off, except mine where still in one piece. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

what type of powder are u using? BP? flash? if u used bp it wouldn'y be as loud as someone who used flash, becuase BP just pushes out the end plugs and does not shatter the container, u need to either use trong end plugs or get some better powder

Ah, yea sorry, I forgot those details.

I use 7/3 flash powder, both chems ordered from pyrotek, instructions used from UN, ordered the tubes and end plugs from UN. I'm not sure if I'm using strong enough glue, or maybe I'm using too little glue? Too little powder? I don't know.

Did you get a high mesh aluminum powder, and are you letting your endplugs completely dry. But if your flash was good you wouldnt even need end plugs to make a bang.

Are you filling those tubes at least 3/4 full? If not..that may be your problem. In my opinion, paper end caps suck huge dumps...I fill the tops over with hot glue melt. Strong as all hell...

Make sure that you drill the fuse hole in the middle of the tube, and seal the ends with sawdust/woodglue, or the endplugs and woodglue.

Are you using tubes and endplugs from UN is so then you are not putting enough glue or not letting them dry or your not mixing the flash well are you using a scale.

Yes to both those questions, and also, sometimes the m-80 doesn't even go off. I use a small fruit scale, which is electronic or triple beam, and goes by 10's of grams, I guess I'll buy an electronic scale also. With the static guard, when I dump both chemicals into a bag, are you supposed to spray the whole inside of the bag, even the chemicals?

EDIT : I guess what I really want to know is if my m-80s should blow apart, or should the endplugs blow out? Thanks.



[This message has been edited by Damon (edited 07-29-2003).]

First off let me say this your going to need a way better scale then you have

also you should only spray the outside with the static guard as if you spray it inside it will be prone to clumping

now that we have that out of the way make sure you mix the flash really really really well

once that is done put the desired amount of flash in the tubes i usally go about 3/4 the way full now for the end plugs i like using 1 of 3 things

HOT glue

Epoxy

Epoxy Putty

the last two can get costly but are good choices

make sure you have a good seal around the fuse hole also

when you lite one of these and you ave the right amount of flash it should blow the tubing apart no pop the end plugs out ...

my guess is your mixing your flash wrong some how and it is very weak assuming your using KClO4 as an oxydizer it should matter if your off by a little bit but for some reason you just got shitty flash

what exactly are you using ?

what mesh aluminum and type ?

and what oxydizer ??

if your using a nitrate thats your proplem right there ...

With good flash powder, plugs is harly ever a problem.

Last 4th of July, I set off an M-80 (1/2 ID, 1/16 wall, 1 1/2 inch long) and the paper end plugs were only 2 layers (craft paper)thick, and when it went off it was rattling the windows on houses over 100 feet away.

I really think its your measurements that are wrong. I use a homemade scale more accurate than just about any digital scale you can buy off ebay or UN, but scales accurate to 1 or .5 gram are plenty accurate.

You might also want to experiment with other plugs. I rarely use paper plugs unless they are with my homemade tubes. With bought tubes, I just push the plug in concave first a 1/8 inch deep into the tube, and fill the empty space with hot glue. They have never blown out, and hot glue hardens much faster than white glue dries, so you can use your salutes quicker.

I also just started making M-80's, and the first M-80 I made/flash powder I made worked perfectley. As for the end plugs, I used paper end plugs with hot glue, and they did not blow out.

I like to fill my Biffy UN tubes with 5 grams of flash, which makes a big BOOM!

How long are you mixing ur flash powder for anyway? And do you see any white specs in the flash powder after ur done mixing it? And are tehre any clumps in the flash (if there are it is the clumps from the KClO4, and it is just coated with Al).

Yeah that's why it's a good idea to sift your KClO4 before measuring it out for flash.

I use 7/3 Pottasium Perchlorate, and 600 mesh Aluminum Powder german dark. I'll buy an digital scale and make sure they are mixed properly, thanks guys.

quote:Originally posted by Damon:

I use 7/3 Pottasium Perchlorate, and 600 mesh Aluminum Powder german dark. I'll buy an digital scale and make sure they are mixed properly, thanks guys.

7/3 by weight ? or by volume ??

Will hot glue ignite flash powder?

The end plugs do not just pop out. The whole casing should be fragmented into pieces so small you shouldn't be able to find them.



Use a low temp glue gun, ive never had a problem with it.

Plug in your hot glue gun for about 30 minutes, and hold the tip on top of a small (1/8 teaspoong) pile of flash powder. If it doesnt ignite, then you should be fine. Even if it doesnt ignite, you should always use a low temp. hot glue gun.

By weight, I'm going to make a new batch tommorow. Another question I have is that when I make new flash powder should I just make the m-80s and let them sit for when I want to set one of, or make one right before I set it off?

Thanks again guys.

Personally, I make about 10 at a time and keep them lying around untill I use them.

I used a few last night, so I got about 7 just sitting in a draw in my basement.