black powder rocket anyone??

Meaningful discussion outside of the potato gun realm. Projects, theories, current events. Non-productive discussion will be locked.
User avatar
Fnord
First Sergeant 2
First Sergeant 2
Posts: 2239
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:20 pm
Location: Pripyat
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:49 am

eh.. figures. If its entertaining and dangerous its against the law :)
Dont you have to have a license to legally pack rocket engines yourself? I think someone told me you do a long time ago, but I never found out if it was true or not.
User avatar
Solo
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:45 am

Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:41 pm

Ok, in case anyone is wondering, Fe203 is indeed a catalyst. You are right that it doesn't decompose, but it doesn't have to to be a catalyst. It would only have to decompose if you wanted it to be an oxidizer, which is what happens with thermite. It works admirably as burn rate catalyst, it can increase burn rate 50% or more at high pressure for KN03/sugar!

KN03/sugar is a lot safer for large motors, but for ease of manufacturing at small scale, bp is better. You can pack powdered KNO3/sugar into paper casings if you want, but it's weaker than bp that way. Although, the ISP of the sugar fuel is indeed 120 or so compared to 80-ish for black powder.

Ammonium nitrate is crap. It sucks as a fuel, and it's too hard to convert it into potassium or sodium nitrate to be worth the bother. Other than the internet, I think the best place to look is for stump remover at a big chain hardware store/ home improvement center.
SpudBlaster15
First Sergeant 3
First Sergeant 3
Seychelles
Posts: 2400
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:12 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:09 pm

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras nec placerat erat. Vivamus dapibus egestas nunc, at eleifend neque. Suspendisse potenti. Sed dictum lacus eu nisl pretium vehicula. Ut faucibus hendrerit nisi. Integer ultricies orci eu ultrices malesuada. Fusce id mauris risus. Suspendisse finibus ligula et nisl rutrum efficitur. Vestibulum posuere erat pellentesque ornare venenatis. Integer commodo fermentum tortor in pharetra. Proin scelerisque consectetur posuere. Vestibulum molestie augue ac nibh feugiat scelerisque. Sed aliquet a nunc in mattis.
Last edited by SpudBlaster15 on Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Solo
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:45 am

Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:31 pm

Well, kudos on the conversion process! I'd like to hear how you do it. I've tried making sodium nitrate using NH3NO4 and KOH, but since all the compounds involved were very water-soluble, I could seperate them. How do you dry the KNO3 when you are done?

Actually, iron oxide is pretty much universally acknowledged as a burnrate catalyst. Try these links; the guys who run these are some of the top sugar rocket builders on the internet:
Scott Fintel:
http://www.thefintels.com/aer/st98.htm
Richard Nakka:
http://members.aol.com/nonillion/burnrate.html
James Yawn:
http://www.jamesyawn.com/fe2o3/index.html
SpudBlaster15
First Sergeant 3
First Sergeant 3
Seychelles
Posts: 2400
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:12 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:00 pm

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras nec placerat erat. Vivamus dapibus egestas nunc, at eleifend neque. Suspendisse potenti. Sed dictum lacus eu nisl pretium vehicula. Ut faucibus hendrerit nisi. Integer ultricies orci eu ultrices malesuada. Fusce id mauris risus. Suspendisse finibus ligula et nisl rutrum efficitur. Vestibulum posuere erat pellentesque ornare venenatis. Integer commodo fermentum tortor in pharetra. Proin scelerisque consectetur posuere. Vestibulum molestie augue ac nibh feugiat scelerisque. Sed aliquet a nunc in mattis.
Last edited by SpudBlaster15 on Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
BC Pneumatics
Sergeant
Sergeant
Posts: 1053
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 6:55 pm
Location: Fresno, CA
Contact:

Donating Members

Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:05 pm

NH4NO3 is fairly hard for some to get as well, for fear of terrorism :(
User avatar
Solo
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:45 am

Sat Apr 14, 2007 5:27 pm

@Spudblaster: I don't know why you don't get any changes. Where do you get your iron oxide? Do you melt your sugar propelant, or pack it as a dry powder? I don't think that should effect it, but it might.

Ok, so you're using a precipitation method instead using KOH and letting the ammonia boil off. Makes sense. Do you know what percentage yeild you get?

@BC: I live in a farming area, and I can pick up 50lbs sacks of the stuff for pretty cheap. Not very good quality, and of course it's hydrated.
User avatar
BC Pneumatics
Sergeant
Sergeant
Posts: 1053
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 6:55 pm
Location: Fresno, CA
Contact:

Donating Members

Sat Apr 14, 2007 5:55 pm

Yeah, living in Ca has very few advantages, but access to fertilizers is one of them.
sandman
Corporal 2
Corporal 2
Posts: 672
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:59 pm

Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:08 pm

_Fnord wrote:eh.. figures. If its entertaining and dangerous its against the law :)
Dont you have to have a license to legally pack rocket engines yourself? I think someone told me you do a long time ago, but I never found out if it was true or not.
size G motors and under you are aloud to pack if you do not have a license
SpudBlaster15
First Sergeant 3
First Sergeant 3
Seychelles
Posts: 2400
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:12 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Sat Apr 14, 2007 11:16 pm

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras nec placerat erat. Vivamus dapibus egestas nunc, at eleifend neque. Suspendisse potenti. Sed dictum lacus eu nisl pretium vehicula. Ut faucibus hendrerit nisi. Integer ultricies orci eu ultrices malesuada. Fusce id mauris risus. Suspendisse finibus ligula et nisl rutrum efficitur. Vestibulum posuere erat pellentesque ornare venenatis. Integer commodo fermentum tortor in pharetra. Proin scelerisque consectetur posuere. Vestibulum molestie augue ac nibh feugiat scelerisque. Sed aliquet a nunc in mattis.
Post Reply