Re: bombs made in the kitchen

Sounds like the cia methaod for making BP sorta.   I initially thought at
first that the coffee grounds would simply be used in place of 80, 60, 20
mesh charcoal for long lasting "sparks"..


"Dave Williams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "Piccolo Pete" wrote in message
> > Do coffee grounds make nice sparks?
>
> I dug this out of my archives.  I did this a couple of years ago with good
> success.
>
> Making Nitrated coffee ground charcoal
>
>
>
>   Nitrated Coffee charcoal can be used in pyrotechnic compounds to give
nice
> vibrant orange sparks to fountains and rocket motors.  It is made from
used
> coffee grounds that have been impregnated with potassium nitrate.
>
>
>
> The basic ingredients are used coffee grounds and potassium nitrate
(however
> you will need additional supplies for making the charcoal)..  These
> instructions are for making small amounts and I will detail how I made a
50
> gram batch (amounts can be scaled for larger batches).  I have used the
> charcoal in rocket motors to produce sparks and was quite impressed with
the
> results.
>
>
>
> Ingredients needed:
>
> *100 grams of used, dried coffee grounds (you choose which "grind" you
> prefer.  fine grounds will yield fine charcoal, course grounds will yield
> course charcoal)
>
> * 10 grams potassium nitrate
>
> * 100 ML *HOT* water
>
> * 50 ML Alcohol (needs to be very cold.  Place in freezer 1 hour before
> using)
>
> * Ice water
>
>
>
> Tools needed:
>
> * small sauce pan
>
> * old metal spoon
>
> * bowl large enough for sauce pan to fit into (for an ice bath)
>
> * plastic wrap
>
> * coffee filters (2)
>
> * paint can charcoal cooker or suitable substitute
>
>
>
>
>
> Step 1:
>
>
>
>   The first step is to turn the coffee grounds into charcoal.  Put the
100g
> of grounds into the cooker and cook.  When the grounds are done cooking
you
> should have approx. 30g of coffee charcoal.  This will vary depending on
the
> water content of the grounds when you started.  The drier your grounds
when
> you start, the higher the yield of charcoal.
>
>    The charcoal will come out of the cooker looking like FFFg black
powder.
> Let the charcoal cool while you proceed with the next steps.
>
>
>
> Step 2:
>
>
>
>  Pepare your ice bath.   Put enough ice water into the bowl to form a good
> ice bath for your sauce pan.
>
>
>
> Step 3:
>
>
>
> Prepare your KNO3 solution.  In the small sauce pan dissolve the 10g of
KNO3
> in the 100ML of  hot water.  Place this solution on the stove and bring to
a
> low boil, stirring constantly.  Gently add the 30g of charcoal from step
1.
> This should form a sort of slurry.  Keep stirring constantly.  You now
want
> to slowly reduce the amount of water in slurry by gently heating.  Keep
> stirring constantly and heating until most of the water is absorbed or
> boiled off.  A small amount of water left in the slurry is fine.
>
>
>
> NOTE:
>
>    KNO3 goes into solution much better at a higher temp.  Because the KNO3
> is in solution, the charcoal absorbs the KNO3 as it absorbs the water.  As
> you reduce the water the KNO3 is bound with the charcoal.   The trick is
to
> get the KNO3 to stay bound with the charcoal as the slurry cools.  This is
> accomplished with rapid cooling.  If you were to cool the mixture slowly
the
> KNO3 would have time to migrate out of the charcoal and it would
crystalize
> on the surface of the charcoal. Rapid cooling cause the KNO3 to crystalize
> inside the charcoal and it can be considered bound to the charcoal.
>
>
>
> Step 4:
>
>
>
>    Cool the slurry.  Rapid cooling of the slurry is important.  Remove the
> reduced slurry from the heat and immediately place the pan into the ice
> bath.  immediately add the COLD alcohol an stir. (remember to use proper
> ventilation).  keep stirring until the slurry is completely cooled.
>
>
>
> Step 5:
>
>
>
> Remove excess moisture.  Place the cooled slurry mix onto the coffee
filters
> and bring up the edges of the filter up to form a ball.  Squeeze the ball
> between your hands to squeeze excess moisture out.
>
>
>
> Step 6:
>
>
>
> Dry your charcoal.  Place your charcoal onto the plastic wrap and spead in
a
> thin layer to allow the alcohol and water to evaporate out.  (I place mine
> on top of my dehumidifier).  The charcoal should dry within 24 hours or
so.
> This should yield about 50g of finished product.
>
>
>
> NOTES:
>
>
>
> When I dry my charcoal I usually get a small amount of KNO3 that appears
on
> the plastic wrap as the charcoal dries. This does not indicate a problem
as
> far as I can tell.  If there are crystals of KNO3 on *all* of the charcoal
I
> would suspect that something did not go as planned.
>
>
>