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Thread: KNO3 + Aluminum powder [homemade Blackpowder substitute]?

  1. #21
    Boolit Mold
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    oh yeah i forgot if i was gonna make something with kno3 and alum i sure wouldnt want it lit by my face .stick to the original bp ingredients and you will succeed maybe not right away but you will.Oh and save the alum for something cool like making stars or comets

  2. #22
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Kennyz, that's a fairly good overview - I have made BP using the "Chinese" precipitate method - only the bare minimum of water, no alcohol, and the water is evaporated out of the sludge (instead of being squeezed out)- therefore no KNO3 is lost. It worked OK for the type of charcoal I can make with local wood, and I never had any need to compress/puck/granulate the stuff.

    However, we don't know AJG's situation - there's no guarantee he can obtain KNO3, or willow - and even if he can master the art of producing "commercial equivalent" BP, it would make a very anemic load in the 9mm case.
    "Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto."

    - Thomas Jefferson


  3. #23
    Boolit Mold
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    oh yeah i almost forgot when you light your bp on a piece of paper to test it should poof with no debris left on the paper.by all means do not use anything besides kno3 sulfur and charcoal in your bp EVER that is your warning.pot chlorate is very potent and unstable and very incompatable with many things.oh and save the alum for making cool stuff like stars and comets

  4. #24
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    People around the world have been using match-heads (KClO3 compound) as an expedient propellant since before we were born....

    But I do agree with kennyz on the aluminum.
    "Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto."

    - Thomas Jefferson


  5. #25
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by ofitg View Post
    People around the world have been using match-heads (KClO3 compound) as an expedient propellant since before we were born....

    But I do agree with kennyz on the aluminum.
    yes,but match heads have potassium chlorate and antimony sulfide in them.the two together are heat,shock and friction senstive.not agood choice for the recoil in guns

  6. #26
    Boolit Buddy bpatterson84's Avatar
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    I would continue to try to experiment with actual BP production, lots of good info out there. KNO3 and AL....dont do it, pressures are going to be scary. KNO3 and Sucrose? Works fine and is very stable with pressure, but very low impulse, I used to make rocket motors with it. Also remember, it's very hygroscopic, so mix, load, and use that day.....or it might turn to mud

  7. #27
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Kennyz, have you tried it?
    "Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto."

    - Thomas Jefferson


  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bpatterson84 View Post
    I would continue to try to experiment with actual BP production, lots of good info out there. KNO3 and AL....dont do it, pressures are going to be scary. KNO3 and Sucrose? Works fine and is very stable with pressure, but very low impulse, I used to make rocket motors with it. Also remember, it's very hygroscopic, so mix, load, and use that day.....or it might turn to mud
    Sannadex was noted to be hygroscopic. But the shooters in South Africa gave it good reviews.

    EDIT - found some more info on Sannadex -

    http://www.whitesmoke.co.za/powwow/v...0a4ba2a0e335f4

    Reported to be 63% KNO3, 35% Sugar (sucrose or dextrose), and 2% Iron Oxide.

    The factory milled the dry ingredients to 150-250 microns in size, then incorporated them by heating to 130-150 degrees Celcius for some unspecified period of time.
    Last edited by ofitg; 08-02-2016 at 10:00 PM.
    "Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto."

    - Thomas Jefferson


  9. #29
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by bpatterson84 View Post
    I would continue to try to experiment with actual BP production, lots of good info out there. KNO3 and AL....dont do it, pressures are going to be scary. KNO3 and Sucrose? Works fine and is very stable with pressure, but very low impulse, I used to make rocket motors with it. Also remember, it's very hygroscopic, so mix, load, and use that day.....or it might turn to mud
    I've made and used several pounds of KNO3/Sugar powder and it isn't all that hygroscopic. After making it in 2.5 lbs batches it was good for several months and chronied the same. I also only made it in the summer and just let it air dry.

    As far as power, it showed in a Dutch Beumont to be 15-25 fps slower than the listed BP military loads and using few grains of powder(lower density and non-balloon head cases).

    Also, the impulse that is used for calculating a rocket fuel isn't directly related to

  10. #30
    Boolit Master
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    I have also made potassium nitrate/sugar propellant and found it to work ok. More difficult to ignite than BP. I did not add iron oxide; doing so is supposed to make it easier to ignite. Slightly less powerful than homebrew BP, and requires a reasonably heavy projectile to make it work. It didn't work with just a wad.
    Doesn't seem very hygroscopic at all.

    IMO, OP should concentrate on making better black powder. Make his own charcoal and experiment with different woods. Perhaps make a better ball mill and/or milling media too; not knowing what he currently uses.

    I would like to see what careful addition of aluminum powder to decent black powder will do in something like a NAA cap and ball revolver or a 9mm cartridge. But someone who is not yet able to make workable BP should not even think of experimenting with metal powders yet, IMHO.

  11. #31
    Boolit Master
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    . I am not One To advise to anyone On things That they do. . Generally The end Result In Playing with these Thing are Twofold. Killing Yourself or worst . Burning Your Place Down. Maybe Both
    . Just remember that famous Saying " Stupid Is as Stupid Does".
    NRA Endowment Member
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    New York, the Empire State Where Empires were Won and Lost

  12. #32
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    I'm thinking way back and I seem to remember rocket motors with that formula. . . .

    Come to think of it we never found that last one we launched.

    Considering the possibilities we were not about to go asking around either.
    Amendments
    The Second there to protect the First!

  13. #33
    Boolit Master
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    A lot of the one time posters on do it yourself forums have fails because el presidente is way smarter than they are.What they think is KNO3 is actually reduced with carbonate and filler,what they think is sulfur is also 15% inert filler.Its a bit disconcerting how most of them delete all their posts and disappear?.....I also note when i buy bulk metal powders,the docket says "non reactive grade".

  14. #34
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    If you read that improvised manual, you can make your own KNO3 from barnyard etc. dirt; If you can't get that where you live then you're in a truly BAD way. It's hard work, sure; Easier to buy the chemicals from a ceramics place or buy stump remover that's made from KNO3, sure. Or buy from a fireworks place. But KNO3 is never unobtanium, you can ALWAYS get it, that's just 1500s chemistry, dirty and messy but it works...

  15. #35
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    rancher1913's Avatar
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    I followed the sticky in muzzle loading on making black powder and my first batch tests better than goex and on par with swiss, the die that fly sells for compressing the meal really does the trick. If I can read the sticky and make good powder, anybody can.

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