Making your own smoke....

Ok, for lack of a better place to put this post....


Anyone had any experience and/or luck making your own smoke? I know it is just pretty much KNO3 (saltpeter) and C12H22O11 (Sugar) with some NaHCO3 (bicarbonate) mixed in to slow the burn. I just have not come up with the proper ratios yet or quantity yet to produce the best results (slow burn with about 40K cuft of smoke). So just looking for someone who has done it before so I do not need to reinvent the wheel!

Also, i was thinking of messing around with KClO3 to do it but I am not sure how stable that is and if I want to be running around in the woods with it!

No luck with the smoke here either... I have been looking on the pyrotechnics and fireworks websites forums though. and KClO3 should be safe.

Ghost wrote:No luck with the smoke here either... I have been looking on the pyrotechnics and fireworks websites forums though. and KClO3 should be safe.

KClO3 is just a lot more reactive than KNO3 (I have seen the gummy bear experiment). Plus KNO3 is much easier to come by and about 1/3 of the price. Hell, you can order KNO3 on Amazon now, LOL!!! Hardest thing to come by is good CHEAP tubes for them!

Just looking for tried and true recipes and results. Many things say a 5:3:1 ratio while others are a 3:2:1..

Yeah, on several of the firework and pyrotechnic forums, KClO3 is okayed, I personally have not experimented that much.

Just drive a couple hours to Shelton Fireworks right across the Alabama border and get some 5 minute smoke bombs for 3 bucks a piece.

has anyone on this forum tried this?
that video was awsome!
I wonder if they would be legal at airdog

Newnan Airsoft Player wrote:Just drive a couple hours to Shelton Fireworks right across the Alabama border and get some 5 minute smoke bombs for 3 bucks a piece.

Lets see...

80 miles each way (Because I would have to go to S.C. instead of Alabama) at 23 miles per gallon of gas = $23.65. 189 Smoke bombs at $3.24 each with tax = $612.36 (if you can not get a bulk discount). Grand total of $636.01 And that is assuming that you would get a yield of 189 bombs from making them yourself which you should be able to get 189 out of the 3:2:.25 method.

Or

25 lbs of KNO3 = $57.25. 15 lbs of sugar = $15.00. 2 boxes of baking soda = $2.00. 100 feet of waterproof wick = $5.50. Some colored dye = $10.00. and 190 tubes and 400 caps = $45.00. Grand total is $134.75. You should be able to get about 189 bombs out of that amount at a cost of $0.71 each. AND they should produce way more smoke than what I have seen out of the stuff from the fireworks stores. Or that is the hope at least!!!

Gunny1.5 wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPGG5xroyzM&feature=related

Ya Gunny. I have seen that, he is using a 3:2:.25 ratio there. I just have not heard of anyone doing it, in those ratios, in the real world. Looks like I might just have to do my own testing. Anyone got some empty toilet paper rolls they want to donate?!? LOL

RIP wrote:has anyone on this forum tried this?
that video was awsome!
I wonder if they would be legal at airdog

Not legal on the field.

KNO3 and sugar burns way to hot you can make it and put it in an aluminum can, light it and there will NOT be a can left. It catches everything around it on fire to. Biggest secret to making any kind of smoke is grinding all ingredients throughly (separately of course). The colored smoke looks awesome but you can't purchase the organic dye anywhere and it will stain clothes and anything around the smoke bomb.

B Boy wrote:KNO3 and sugar burns way to hot you can make it and put it in an aluminum can, light it and there will NOT be a can left. It catches everything around it on fire to. Biggest secret to making any kind of smoke is grinding all ingredients throughly (separately of course). The colored smoke looks awesome but you can't purchase the organic dye anywhere and it will stain clothes and anything around the smoke bomb.

So you have tried this B Boy? Have you ever tried the "legendary" method with wazx instead of Bicarbonate?

The hot burning might be due to the excess O2 allowed in from an open can. Hence the capped thick tubes. Yes, KNO3 + O2 = VERY HOT FIRE... But limit the O2 and you should limit the heat.

You can find some organic dyes online but, yes I was thinking about using a chemical reaction for color or none at all because I would have for anyone to come out of a game down wind glowing orange.

[/quote]


So you have tried this B Boy? Have you ever tried the "legendary" method with wazx instead of Bicarbonate?

The hot burning might be due to the excess O2 allowed in from an open can. Hence the capped thick tubes. Yes, KNO3 + O2 = VERY HOT FIRE... But limit the O2 and you should limit the heat.

You can find some organic dyes online but, yes I was thinking about using a chemical reaction for color or none at all because I would have for anyone to come out of a game down wind glowing orange. [/quote]

Yea I have made several different kind of smoke bombs. Never tried the wazx method. A lot of the organic dyes wouldn't work right for the color (it would be a faint faint color hardly noticeable at all) yet seemed to manage to get on everything around. I did find a place online you can order the entire kit to make smoke bombs. It ended up being like 3.50 each (if I remember right) and that was with the color but you had to spend around 100 bucks. If you want pm me I'll send you a link. but they still burned way to hot for any field.

plus the fact that the smoke from the "sugar smokes" is a real respiratory irritant even in an open area,much less than an enclosed space of any kind...and yeah,those things burn hot as hell...in just about any type of container...

we made some and they sucked.
we used them at zombie fest II and just chucked them in the fire barrels
thats about all they are good for.
plus salt peter is a funny thing to buy.you can get it on ebay-but you may get a visit from the men in black it makes smoke and bombs

i used the method in the video and the actually worked pretty well

I have made tons of smoke bombs using Potassium nitrate and sugar. Works awesome, but as others have said they burn really hot. We used to poor them into thick metal cans and they would burn the bottom out or get it red hot. You can also add baking soda to them and it will slow the burn down.

Be careful when making them, DO IT OUT SIDE.

Ok, I might start small then and test some mixtures with bicarbonate in them. See if I can control the heat before investing in greater supply. The smoke that you buy from the fireworks stores are pretty much the same thing. Some of the BIG ones are chlorates and sugar mixtures from what I can tell. All burn hot! I doubt you have really ever seen anyone on the airsoft field use cold smoke!