sunburst sparkler seminar

8/8/2019 Sunburst Sparkler Seminar

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SUNBURST SPARKLER SEMINARby Laverne E. Niksch

This publica/ion contains descriptions and depiction o fAdult Sparklers. The inj'ormlltioncontained herein is based on the aulhor's experiences using specific tools under specificconditions no/necessarily described in this article. Readers are cautioned that they must/ormtheir own opinion as to the application o[any in/oTntillion contained hereilLThe author assumes no responsibility/or the use or misuse of his in/ormation.

What is a Sunburst Sparkler Effect?This effect is created when hot molten white dross or slag falls or shoots out from the sparkJerand explodes on the way to the ground. The effect looks like a waterfall with an attitude.History of this effect.I started out making titanium sparklers using the following formula:

Potassium Perchlorate 40Titanium spo nge 100 me sh 20Aluminum medium flitter 4Dextrin 16This is a great sparkler. It bums hot and bright. The sponge Titanium produces branchingsparks. The Aluminum produces molten dross or slag drops. It took about four dips to make a114" thick sparkler and about three days between dips to dry. The Dextrin swelled when wet,shrunk when dry and tended to warp the sparkler. This was a good effect but took a lot of effonto make.My second attempt started with a mod ified Spirit ofAmerica sparkler fonnuJa from TheWiilJrd's PyrOiechnic Formulary:

Potassium Perchlorate 40Titanium sponge 100 mesh 40Dextrin 18GuarGum 2

This mix also made an excellent sparkler. The bwn was fast , hot and bright with lots ofbranching sparks. Guar Gum thickened the mix so that not so much dripped otfwhile drying.Now two dips made a good 114" thick sparkler. There were no molten dross drops from thissparkler.My third attempt used the same Spirit ofAmerica fonnula with the addition of four partsAluminum medium flitter. Now 1 had a super sparlder with bright molten dross drops.The most expensive ingredient was the 100 mesh sponge Titanium. 1 figured if I could use 100

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me sh spherical Titanium J could cut my Titanium cost in half or Jes s.My new fonnula was: , -Potass ium Perchlorate 40Titanium spherical 100 mesh 40Aluminum medium flitter 4Dextrin 18GuarGum 2

Sparklers made from this mix did not bum very well but did produce exploding dross. This wasa very neat effect.The final formula using Potassium Perchlorate follows. I used halfTitanium sponge and halfTitanium spherical:

Potass ium Perchlorate 40Titanium spherical 100 mesh 20Titanium sponge 100 mesh 20Aluminum medium flitter 4Dextrin 18Guar Gum 2

This sparkler had it all. The bum was clean, even, hot and bright with branching sparks at thebum and exploding dross drops. It took at least two dips and about three days to dry betweendips. I made these sparklers for two years. I used them as waterfall effects. Because of themolten dross, these were adult sparklers, as the molten drops could bum feet or dry grass (anddid).In 2001, I wanted to improve th is sparkler fonnula. I wanted a better binder. One that did notshrink like Dextrin and Guar Gum, warp the sparkler and dried much quicker. I didn' t wantmuch, eh? In The WiZard's Pyrotechnic Formulary, there were many fonnulas using Poly VinylAcetate (PVA) as the binder. This binder was stated as being water based, providing protectionfor metals and non shrinking.1 did a web search and found a very interesting Archeological hit. Poly Vinyl Acetate was usedto repair broken artifacts and the product EImers Glue All was a Poly Vinyl Acetate emulsion. Iwent out and bought some Eimers Glue All and made a sparkler without the Dextrin and GuarGum. I needed to dilute the Eimers Glue All with an equal amount ofdistilled water. ThesparkJer bum effect was comparable to that using Dextrin and Guar Gum.Most of the sparkler fonnulas in The WiZard 's Pyrotechnic Formulary that used Poly VinylAcetate used Ammonium Perchlorate as the oxidizer. So, I tried out the following formula:

Ammonium Perchlorate 25Titanium sponge ]00 mesh 10Titanium spherical J00 mesh J0Aluminum medium flitter 3

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The bum rate on this sparkler was very fast, too fast to be useful. The molten dross did explode.I decided to leave out the Titanium sponge and repeated the fannula.

Ammonium Perchlorate 25Titanium spherical 100 mesh 10Aluminum medium flitter 3This sparkler burned very well. Bum rate for a 10" sparkler was about 30 seconds. There weremany small exploding molten dross drops. This was the effect I was looking for. The drossdrops were propelled of f the front of the sparkler and exploded two to six feet from the sparkler.I also tried 20-60 mesh spherical Titanium and 60- I00 mesh spherical Titanium. The 60- I00mesh spherical Titanium produced the best effect. This is the size of the spherical Titanium thatI now use in this sparkler.

Sparkler SubstrateThe conventional sparkler is made by dipping a wire or stick in a slurry mix and hanging it upuntil dry. An alternate method fills a paper straw using funnel and wire. I wanted a substratethat would be consumed while burning. I considered string, aluminum wire and a paper drinkingstraw. I chose a s i x ~ p l y cotton string. I use a 10" long length of string glued to a 4" skewer stickas a handle. The string is consumed and aids in keeping the sparkler burning. .

Making the MixI use Ammonium Perchlorate that is screened to 40 mesh. A finer mesh does not improve thebum rate or quality of the effect. I use a granular Ammonium Perchlorate and screen it to 40mesh using a stainless screen and a wooden pestle.The Aluminum mediwn flitter is a mixed coated flake that I obtained from Firefox. The oldproduct number was CI02. A fine mesh dark Aluminum will not produce the same effect.The 60- 100 mesh spherical Titanium was obtained from Iowa Pyro for $6.00/lb. and screened tothis mesh size. A coarser mesh size spherical Tianium produces too few exploding drops ofdross. A finer mesh spherical Titanium produces a good visual effect but smaller explodingdrops of dross.I mix no more than a double batch in grams using the following formula:

Ammonium Perchlorate 25Titanium spherical 60- 100 mesh 10Aluminum medium flitter 3I weigh up and put the three ingredients in a smaJl Rubbermaid food container with a lid andshake for about ten seconds. Wear a quality dust mask. I then screen the mix using a 3" Echostainless strainer. Do not use a pestle of any sort in the strainer. If your Ammonium Perchloratehas already been screened to 40 mesh, it will all pass through the 3" Echo strainer with out

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trouble. Now put the mix in the food container, put the lid on and set this aside.Preparing the Sparkler Stick and String

One batch of38 grams will make about eight sparklers. Prepare ten sticks and striniS for eachbatch ofmix. Start small and only make one batch at a time.

I buy 10" wooden skewer sticks at the grocery store in quantity of 100 for ahout $2.00. Cut thesewith a metal scissors into two 4" lengths. I throwaway tbe 2" pointed end. So, cut five skewersticks into ten 4" sticks.The string that I use is a non waxed six+ply cotton string that comes on an industrial size cone(ahout 10" tall). Any multiple ply non wax coated cotton string will work. Cut ten 10" lengthsof string.1 sl:cure the string to the skewer stick using full strength Eimers Glue Al l and a !/z" x I" strip ofshoe box tissue paper. Cut out ten W' xl" strips of tissue paper. Coat W' of the stick end withglue. Stick a string on the glue. Using your fingers, wrap the tissue paper around the stick andstring. Use a damp towel to wipe excess glue from your fingers. Set down to dry for tenminutes before using.

preparine the Glue MixWhat you need is a clear squeeze container like an empty squeeze plastic ketchup bottle with alid. You do not want a spray type hottle like a Windex bottle. The glue will plug this type ofsprayer.You should start out using a 50150 mixture ofEimers Glue All and distilled water. Shake untilthe glue and water are well mixed and cap the bottle.

HanJ:im: up the Dipped SparklersPlan for this job before you make the sparklers. I use 1/4" dowel rods four feet long that arehanging horizontal from a shelf I use a6" single ply cotton string with a ~ l i p knot to mount thestring to the dowel rod. J make a second slip knot at the bottom of the string to hold thesparkler. I insert the skewer stick in about 1" and draw up the slip knot This method workswell for me. Put a newspaper underneath these rods to catch any drips. There will be drips!

MakinK the Wet MixYou do not want a large container to dip your string in. You want a plastic container about 2" indiameter. I use the HOPE containers ITOm Pillsbury caramel and orange breakfast rolls. I alsouse small Rubbermaid containers with lids so you can keep the mix for another usage.J put about two tablespoons of the dry sparkler fonnula mix in the container. I squirt in a smallabout of glue/water mix (about one teaspoon) and stir. I squirt in smaller amounts of the gluelwater mix and stir with a small spoon until I get a slurry that is the consistency ofoauneal or a

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little thinner.Hold the prepared skewer stick and dip the string in the mix . Stir with a spoon. Lift out and putback in the mi x again and stir again . Hang up the stick . Plan for a little dripping. If the mixgets too dry, add a little water and stir. If you add more dry sparkler formula mix, add moreglue/water mix.

Dryim: TimeNormal drying time is about two da ys in a dry, no sunlight room . I let my sparklers dry hangingfrom the dowel rods for eight hours and then put them on an aluminum cookie tray to dry in thesun for four hours. Th is dries your sparkler to 90% or more.

i l W t i n ~ your SparklerThese sparklers are hard to light. I do not recommend using a match or lighter. They bum hotand eject molten dross. You can bum your hand very easily ifyou try using a match. J use atorch . This gives you a little distance. You can safely light one sparkler with another. Thesunbursts are ejected from the end. They do not normally com e off the side.J coat all my sparkler tips with a hot igniter and dust the ends in Goex 3FG or 4FG. See the nextsection for how I did this.

Hot Igniter MixThe se sparkJers contain the oxidizer Ammonium Perchlorate and conventional pyro wisdomsays, "You do not use a nitrate prime on top of an Ammonium Perchlorate star. You will fonnan Ammonium Nitrate barrier and the star will not light." EImers Glue All forms a protectivebarrier around the sparkler. The nitrate prime doe s no t compromise the ignition of the sparkler.I use the following hot igniter mi x fonnula:

Potassium Nitrate 37 .2Charcoal airflow 11.4Sulfur 11.4Aluminum German black 5.7Silicon 11.4I mi x trus into Nitrocellulose to mak e a thick sluny.If you are going to put a hot igniter mix on your sparkler, you need to prepare your sparkler.Here is how I do it. I cut out ten pieces of 3/4" x I '12" Krafi paper. I glue these onto the sparklerusing straight EImers Glue All so that about 1/4" of the paper cup extends past the sparkler.1 put about 1/4 teaspoon of Goex 3FG or 4FG on my paper-


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have made a small wood stand with drilled holes to take the skewer sticks. Use properventilation when using Nitrocellulose.Why use Kraft paper on the sparkler tips? I like to chain many sparklers together using stickymatch. Sticky match sticks very well to Kraft paper. Sticky match sticks poorly to a oakedsparkler.

Ouestions and Answerso. What jftbe sparkler doeso't burn well?A. Try burning some sparkler powder outside. Ifit doesn't bum well, then one of youringredients may be bad.A. Did you use a substitute for EImers Glue Aln Not all white glues are the same.A. Is the sparkler dry? Under non ideal conditions (or iftbe sparkler is more than 1/4" thick) itmay take three to four days to dl)'.

A. Is the sparkJer 114" thick? You may need a thicker mix.Q. I eet moiten drops of dross but no Sunburst explosions. Wby?A. Are you using spherical Titanium? Sponge or flake Titanium will not produce the sunbursteffect0 , 1 do not i:et molten drops ofdross. Why?A. Are you using the correct kind of Aluminum? You need a coated flake Aluminum of varyingstze. CI02 Aluminum from Fire/ox works very well.

Other Sparkler FormulasThe following formulas have been tested using Eimers Glue All as a binder. The effectsproduced are all great. If you are not comfortable working with Potassium or Barium Chlorate,do not try to make the Ruby Red or Emerald Green Fire Sticks.Gold Steel Sparkler Sky Blue Fire StickAmmonium Perchlorate 25 Ammonium Perchlorate 25Steel sparkler powder 10 Copper Carbonate 5Aluminum medium fliner 3 Copper benzoate 3Aluminum medium flitter 2Ruby Red Fire StjckPotassium Chlorate 25 Emerald Green Fire StickStrontium Carbonate 5 Barium Chlorate 24Aluminum medium flitter 3 Barium Carbonate 2CharcoaJ ai r float I Aluminum medium flitter 3

Charcoal air float 1

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Briehl While SparklerPotassium Perchlorate 10Aluminum dark 10Notes & Warnines;Do not dry any chlorate tire stick in the sun. The sun can dangerously sensitize any chloratedevice. Don 'I lake the chance.Can I use nitrates? I have never got any Potassium Nitrate sparkJer effect to work. with EimersGlue Al l. It doesn ' t liquefy very well and takes forever to dry. Strontium Nitrate does not workwell either. A small amount of Strontium Nitrate used with Strontium Carbonate does notimprove your red color and takes much longer to dry. Barium Nitrate can be used. It doesn ' tproduce a very green effect with Aluminum and Potass ium Perchlorate or AmmoniumPerchlorate.Can I use Parlon or PVC as a chlorine donor to get bener color? Neither Parlon nor PVC insmall amounts has improved perchlorate colors for me . Larger amounts make a fluffy too lightsparkler.Can I use Magnesium or Magnalium in my sparklers? I have not tested Magnesium in thesesparklers. 100 and 200 me sh Magnalium can increase your flame temperature, your bum rateand improve your color.Are aoy toxic gases produced while burning these sparklers? Per Shidlovsldy in PrinciplesofPyrotechnics: "Free Chiorilll! and Hydrogen Chloride arefonm!d by the combustion ofcompositions containing Ammonium Perchlorate." Avoid prolonged breathing of the smoke.This smoke will irritate the eyes, nose, throat aDd lungs. Burning or testing of the sparklenand the powder mix should be done outside.

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sunburst sparkler seminar

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