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Backyard Ballistics This forum is dedicated to the safe teaching and responsible handling of high and low explosives. You will not find any information on how to make "bombs" or any such device(s) . Backyard ballistics will teach you the science and the art of pyrotechnics and how to manufacture and use explosives/pyrotechnics safely and responsibly. Backyard ballistics is also a haven for rocketry and pneumatic cannons. All information contained within this forum is for educational purposes ONLY. Totse does not accept responsiblity for any incident involving the use of the information contained within this forum.

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  #1   Add impreza to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-14, 14:26
impreza impreza is offline
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Default Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

Whenever I have made smoke mix I have used lab grade Potassium nitrate, is it possible to use agricultural grade? As I have found a good supplier that's rather cheap, will it work as well?

Thanks
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  #2   Add Thermal to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-14, 14:55
Thermal Thermal is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

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Originally Posted by impreza View Post
Whenever I have made smoke mix I have used lab grade Potassium nitrate, is it possible to use agricultural grade? As I have found a good supplier that's rather cheap, will it work as well?

Thanks
Most probably will work just fine. Depending on impurities... that wouldn't be to hard to purify anyways. Save the lab grade for better things (like nitrations)
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  #3   Add Mokothar to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-14, 19:49
Mokothar Mokothar is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

They're both the same quality really, the agricultural one simply isn't certified to be lab grade.
Lab grade being technical, going analytical grade or just reagens grade is a waste for both LE's and nitrations.
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  #4   Add Thermal to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-14, 21:29
Thermal Thermal is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

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Originally Posted by Mokothar View Post
They're both the same quality really, the agricultural one simply isn't certified to be lab grade.
Lab grade being technical, going analytical grade or just reagens grade is a waste for both LE's and nitrations.
I presume that you have never had bad experience working with industrial kno3 in nitration.... i did and shitty yields were the the least relevant problem. I would steer people away from dirty chemicals in any nitration/esterification reacion, even if it would work for most of them.
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  #5   Add Ozzy Bot to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-14, 22:37
Ozzy Bot Ozzy Bot is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

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Originally Posted by Thermal View Post
I presume that you have never had bad experience working with industrial kno3 in nitration.... i did and shitty yields were the the least relevant problem. I would steer people away from dirty chemicals in any nitration/esterification reacion, even if it would work for most of them.
Unless your talking about yields down to .01% you wont notice SHIT!
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  #6   Add warweed12 to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-14, 23:53
warweed12 warweed12 is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

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Originally Posted by Thermal View Post
I presume that you have never had bad experience working with industrial kno3 in nitration.... i did and shitty yields were the the least relevant problem. I would steer people away from dirty chemicals in any nitration/esterification reacion, even if it would work for most of them.
althought i would agree this topic pretains to smoke mix

and when it boild down to it .. impuritys really won't make a noticable differance
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Old 2008-08-22, 01:53
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

Ag. Grade always worked fine for me. The stuff I used was Scott's brand, came in 25 pound bags.
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  #8   Add Sentinel to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-22, 19:18
Sentinel Sentinel is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

KNO3 isn't worth using for nitrations anyways. AN is WAY better with H2SO4. I've always used stump remover KNO3 and it works fine for me. Smells a bit funky (someone told me once it was because it was made in a factory that makes other fertalizers; KNO3 is supposed to be odorless), but works just fine. I treat it like it's 100% when I'm mixing comps.
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  #9   Add impreza to your ignore list  
Old 2008-08-23, 11:49
impreza impreza is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

Experiments with a fertiliser, labelled as "30% Kn" and "Oxidiser" but with a form of small balls (approx 2mm diameter) crushed into powder didn't work.

I have recently found a weed killer labelled as an Oxidising Agent, it seems to be almost pure Sodium Chlorate. Dry mixes of this with Sugar are promising, but the smoke created doesnt' seem to be as thick as the smoke created with Potassium Nitrate. I will try and get the name of the weed killer, as it was really cheap for a 4KG tub.
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Old 2008-08-23, 21:23
Mokothar Mokothar is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

Chlorate weedkillers are generaly just 30% (top of my head)
But even at 30% you get some pretty decent smoke.

As for KNO3 ... you can always taste-test
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 #11 
Old 2008-08-27, 17:32
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

I always though agri grade KNO3 was more or less the same purity as lab grade and just wasn't certified to be sold as that. I wouldn't really use KNO3 for anything that requires a clean synth in pyro there and keep it for the LE comps.
 #12 
Old 2008-08-29, 02:27
Eldorhan Eldorhan is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

Who the hell makes nitrations/HNO3 with KNO3 in the first place ?

Ammonium nitrate is by far less messier.
 #13 
Old 2008-08-29, 18:18
Thermal Thermal is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

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Originally Posted by tordek battlehammer
I always though agri grade KNO3 was more or less the same purity as lab grade and just wasn't certified to be sold as that. I wouldn't really use KNO3 for anything that requires a clean synth in pyro there and keep it for the LE comps.


Athough that is true, I have ran into saltpeter fertilizer that were only 40-60% KNO3, rest was calcium fertilizer and ph buffers, what would happen if you dumped all that into sulfuric? i dont want to know... So I guess it depends on what you get, but if it says even >90% then im sure it would suffice for anything.

But I looked into it and your right about 100% agri KNO3 being only a certification short of lab grade.

Who the hell makes nitrations/HNO3 with KNO3 in the first place ?

Ammonium nitrate is by far less messier.

Absolutely true, but I aimed my comment at KNO3 since OP is asking if it's ok to use agri KNO3, which is surely allright for smokemix, but as far as nitrations go it depends on non-KNO3 ingrediens and the ratio of KNO3 to non-KNO3 contents. Everyone so far seems to be OK with KNO3 from agricultural supplier, so I can only assume that its just my state that has all the dirty n cut KNO3 :)
 #14 
Old 2008-09-03, 22:54
nuclearrabbit nuclearrabbit is offline
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Default Re: Agricultural vs Lab grade KNO3 (for smoke mix)

The deal with smoke mix is you want shitty OB. Dirty agricultural KNO3 would likely make more smoke for it's weight than the pure stuff.
The only time I could justify using NH4NO3 for a nitration was when I wanted really fast NC. KNO3 worked great for everything else I did.
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