My homemade black powder

[rodman68]

Ok finally going to order my materials but had a question I found some what is called Greenhouse Potassium Nitrate. Is this the correct stuff and has anybody tried this?

[maillemaker]

Ok finally going to order my materials but had a question I found some what is called Greenhouse Potassium Nitrate. Is this the correct stuff and has anybody tried this?

Gotta give a link so people know exactly what you are talking about.

This?

https://mbferts.com/products/haifa-m...saltpeter-kno3

I can't find anything that lists purity. You want 99%+ purity. It is easily available so there is no reason to settle here.

99.8% minimum purity here:

https://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=10pn

Steve

[rodman68]

That first link is exactly were I found the greenhouse potassium nitrate. I found in the MSDS it can be anywhere between 94-100% pure, it did say can be used for pyrotechnics in that MSDS. So this wont be the correct stuff it will probably work though I would guess.

https://mbferts.com/products/haifa-m...saltpeter-kno3

I seen the dudadiesel, Seattle pottery has it will be cheaper there for larger amounts.

[ButchC]

Greenhouse is a descriptor for purity but not a hard number as far as I can tell. Due to the semi-closed system nature of potted plants it has to be higher purity than general Ag field grade so sodium and other ions the plants don't like don't build up. Hydroponic grade is going to be even higher purity since that's a closed system. But again, and to maillemaker's point, why try and determine whether Haifa's greenhouse grade is the same as the one your looking at and is 99% when you can go get 99% so labeled elsewhere. Believe me, I looked into Ag grade as the savings could be huge, but with purity being a little murky and the wrong blend having other nutrient packages added in, finding a technical grade supplier is the way to go in my opinion. Technical grade is for stump removal, pyrotechnics, large scale chemical reactions in industrial process, as opposed to scientific grades (Lab, Reagent, USP), which are cost prohibitive as their purity is held to stricter standards for analysis purposes or food/medicinal use at the higher levels. I'd argue Lab and Technical could be interchangeable for our purposes but Lab remains higher cost though the difference between those two grades eludes me.

[rodman68]

Ok thank you for the reply I will order me the technical grade.

[ButchC]

Good to know Indian Joe, my concern was always getting a bag and finding out it wasn't quite what I was after and having to figure out what to do with 55lbs. You're using Haifa greenhouse grade? I know I saw their technical label at the Elephant factory in the Mad Monk files and that they have a high quality chemical.

[rodman68]

Indian Joe,

I found this one from the same place they have a PDF showing the purity and it is 99.3% What you think on this one?
I couldn't find anything about the Haifa for purity except for an old Pyro site that said it was 98.8%.
I am wondering if the purity has something to do with a anti caking agent that it has in it? Maybe what you were screening out?


https://mbferts.com/collections/nitr...grade-krista-k

[rodman68]

Put two 50 pounds bags in cart came out to $104 checked on shipping costs that was $140 ouch, total of $244. That equals to $48 a 20 pound bag so due to shipping cost it is cheaper to go with the 20 pound bags for me.

Going to order me a couple 20 pounders.
Hopefully Montana charcoal gets back to me not heard anything yet.
Will order the sulfur from Duda.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

So, I had some trouble the other day with my flintlock and screened powder. I got a flash in the pan everytime, but it was very hard to get the main charge to light.

I got a good look inside the barrel and it tapers near the bottom. I'm not sure if this is a good design or not, but it looked like the powder wasn't flowing well all the way to the bottom. And there wasn't any powder flowing into the flash hole plug meaning the flash in the pan had a long ways to go to hit the main charge.

When I got home I opened up the hole to 1/16. Now I think I need to polish the powder with some graphite.

Anyone else have this problem?

[Vettepilot]

Hmmm... well, the flash that goes through the vent hole also comes roaring back out that hole when the main charge ignites. (Watch some high speed YouTube video of it some time.)

You might want to remote fire your modified rig a time or two to test it out.

Graphite will make the powder just a bit harder to ignite. You might want to test polishing the powder without graphite first.

Are you using 4fg in the pan??

Vettepilot

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Hmmm... well, the flash that goes through the vent hole also comes roaring back out that hole when the main charge ignites. (Watch some high speed YouTube video of it some time.)

You might want to remote fire your modified rig a time or two to test it out.

Graphite will make the powder just a bit harder to ignite. You might want to test polishing the powder without graphite first.

Are you using 4fg in the pan??

Vettepilot

My tried some of my 4F but it didn't seem to make a difference. I had to take the lock off and the flash hole liner then stuff some powder in there to make it work. After a few times it got really old. I'll try tumbling my corned powder to see if it will flow better.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

you likely will have this problem on a regular basis with screened powder (in your caplock too)

Easy fix = slap it on the cheek about six times to settle the powder soon as you drop the load down - open hand just above the lock with the rifle held vertical .

I have been doing this since a CVA stood me up at my first major match 30 years ago (shooting FFg in a 45 at the time and the powder channel was a tad small)

Screened, ungraphited powder works great but it dont run like bought stuff, need to take more care in loading, filling measures, and settling the load down in the powder channel - its easy - just need to develop the habit of doing it.

1/16" flash hole is ok - wouldnt want it any bigger but ok .

I noticed this powder likes to lock up even coming out of my powder measure. I tried bashing the buttplate down a few times on my shoe to get it in there. Maybe it needs more slapping as you say. If I could buy a pound of Goex I would just to see if it helps. All I have commercially is Pyrodex RS.

In my inline CVA I was using a Blackhorn breechplug, which has a funnel shape to it. I'm going to try using the flat one that came with it, usually made to work with pellets but I think the powder will have an easier time in there and I'll be able to clean it easier in the field. If not I'll have to make a cone shaped jag.

[Trapper-Jack]

So, I had some trouble the other day with my flintlock and screened powder. I got a flash in the pan everytime, but it was very hard to get the main charge to light.

I got a good look inside the barrel and it tapers near the bottom. I'm not sure if this is a good design or not, but it looked like the powder wasn't flowing well all the way to the bottom. And there wasn't any powder flowing into the flash hole plug meaning the flash in the pan had a long ways to go to hit the main charge.

When I got home I opened up the hole to 1/16. Now I think I need to polish the powder with some graphite.

Anyone else have this problem?

My Lyman has a threaded bolster into the barrel. The center of the bolster that is connected to the flash channel is drilled at about (and I'm guessing) about .45 inch and this is in a .50. Long story short, I wasn't getting all the way to the bottom with my 50 caliber jag. After a while it was so cruded up that it wouldn't hardly fire. Now when I clean the barrel, I will put a brush on the cleaning rod and force it to the bottom and brush out that recess good. I haven't had a problem since.

[Trapper-Jack]

I ordered 20 pounds of potassium nitrate from MBFerts on Saturday. Yesterday I got a text from them that the web site calculated the shipping as overnight shipping. They said they couldn't get it in an envelope to overnight it and would be shipping it USPS in a flat rate box and they would be refunding me the excess shipping cost. I got an email today that they shipped it. Super fast compared to a lot of companies that take up to a month to process your order.

[rodman68]

Mine shipped on Monday also they were pretty fast now I need to get me some charcoal. I have not heard back from Montana Charcoal yet not sure how long it will take to hear from them. But it looks like Red Alder could be a good local supply for me so I might go ahead and make my own.

[Trapper-Jack]

I made my charcoal from some cedar pet bedding. I used a gallon paint can over a turkey fryer burner. I cooked it until the smoke coming out of the vent hole in the lid wouldn't support a flame. After cooled I ran it through a hand meat grinder and then through a blender. It is like flour now. We'll see how it ends up.

[LynC2]

Exactly how I make mine. The pet cedar works well.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

My local big box store had some cedar pet bedding on clearance. A huge bag for 7.99. I'm going to see how it compares to my willow.

The nice thing about the bedding is it should be much easier to pack into a pot. Much less cutting and chopping.

[Trapper-Jack]

I started out with a full paint can and ended up with about a half can of charcoal chips after it was done.

[LAGS]

I haven't used it yet to make charcoal.
But I have a Wood Chipper for my garden.
I am going to try chipping some Debarked branches and make some charcoal just to kind of speed up the cooking time.
I figure the smaller chips should cook faster and you can pack more chips in a smaller charcoal cooker.