Made my first batch of Black Powder

[Fly]

TTTC, a couple of suggestions - might be worth trying -

1) I run my tumbler/ball mill at 60 rpm - I've read other experienced BP makers recommend the same speed.

2) I also installed a pair of plastic riffles inside the rotating drum, at opposite sides of the drum - the lead balls and BP ingredients have to jump over these riffles twice per second. Increases the agitation/incorporation.



Does this mean that the "flame front" takes one second to traverse a 4-inch length of loose powder?

Ya as I was reading this thread again I caught that too.20 RPM is way to slow.60 to 65 rpm is the ideal RPM
for most small mills.Another thing I made two lift sticks in my drum.
Fly

[Texantothecore]

TTTC, a couple of suggestions - might be worth trying -

1) I run my tumbler/ball mill at 60 rpm - I've read other experienced BP makers recommend the same speed.

2) I also installed a pair of plastic riffles inside the rotating drum, at opposite sides of the drum - the lead balls and BP ingredients have to jump over these riffles twice per second. Increases the agitation/incorporation.



Does this mean that the "flame front" takes one second to traverse a 4-inch length of loose powder?

Ofitg,

Yes about one second to burn 4" of loose fluffy green meal.

[Texantothecore]

I will be going to a model b high speed mill at the earliest opportunity but I am stuck with 20 rpm for a while. We are going to be changing domiciles in late June and I will be able to run the ball 24 hours without any problems as the the new place has a garage. Currently I can get in only about 2 hours at a time if I'm lucky, mostly one hour runs as I have to stay with mill the entire time outside.

The thought has also occurred to me cut a slot in the base of my current mill and install a larger drive wheel to triple the speed of the barrel.

I am really looking forward to having a garage again.

[ofitg]

Ofitg,

Yes about one second to burn 4" of loose fluffy green meal.

A couple of years ago I tried to capture a video of an open-air burn test - my photography skills are limited, but here it is -

http://s949.photobucket.com/user/cra...e7e32.mp4.html

The line on the left (labeled "G") is Goex 3Fg. The line on the right (labeled "H") was homemade, using dusting sulfur (Do-It-Best Hardware stock # 722367). The lines were about 5 inches long.

When I actually tried shooting/chronographing with the "dusting sulfur" BP, its velocity was within 3% of the Goex 3Fg velocity (equal weights of each powder).

[AlaskanGuy]

Holy crapola oftig... You really need to get yourself one of them cheap long handled lighters.... I bet that scared the crapola outta ya when it poofed like that, lol..... You prolly jumped back so fast the speed test was over before you recovered...lol...

Might I also suggest a long THIN line of powder... About as thick a line as that match you were holding.. It should give you a better idea on speed that you can actually see...

Blessings, and protect them hands sir...

AG

[ofitg]

Thanks for your concern, but this wasn't my first burn test, so I was not surprised....

My main disappointment was with the camera - the auto-iris didn't react quickly enough to prevent being blinded by the flash, and then the auto-iris recovered too slowly after the flash had ended.

[AlaskanGuy]

If you use a longer thinner line, the camera will adjust easier as the flash will not be as bright, and will burn longer, allowing the camera to adjust... Also, pull the camera back a bit farther and use the zoom to bring it in close.. That will help the glare... Just my 2 cents....

Good luck..

[ofitg]

That sounds like it might work. I haven't even tried to photograph a burn test for the past couple of years.... the only reason I tried to photograph that one, was to illustrate using dusting sulfur in BP. In spite of the photography/over-exposure problem, it can still be seen that the "dusting sulfur" BP continued burning for a brief moment after the Goex had been consumed.