Detonating Wet AP

[green beret]

I was wondering how much of a shock would be required to detonate wet(but not soaking) AP. Would I be able to do it by using a very hot fuse like a sparkler. Any feedback is much apreciated

[blackadder]

If you can detonate it, I don't think that the AP will detonate very well, but anyway, some thermalite wire could do it.

[Mr Cool]

Many blasting explosives are made of aqueous solutions, suspensions and gels of explosives such as AN with sensitising agents. These obviously detonate, and AP is MUCH more sensitive than these, so it will detonate. However, you'll probably need a small detonator, not just a fuse.

[Anthony]

Damp AP is still sensitive to flame, but considerably less sensitive to shock.

[blackadder]

So Anthony, could I pack AP into a casing with a hammer when wet? I mean, like putting a dowel on top of the AP and smashing the dowel like hell.

[Stone]

That still sounds risky. Slowly increasing the pressure would be much safer.

[Mick]

yes you can detonate wet AP with fuse or a firewire - but it won't detonate all of the AP and you will be left with a heap of wet AP in your casing.

i suppose you could pack it into your casing with a piece of dowel, - i found that you can absolutly smash the shit out of wet AP with a hammer, and it won't go off.
But still, i'd rather you packing it down then me. =)

theres no need to pack it down anyway - theres no real noticeable advantage in doing.
and if you were gunna try to set it off wet, whatever little advantage you got from packing it down with a piece of dowel you would lose because it was wet.

and if you pack it down wet, and then expect it to dry in the casing - it won't, it takes fuck AGES! for it to dry out, and in this time the AP slowly disapears and it also seems to lose its sensetivity in this time.

so yeah, just put in the casing normaly.

[Anthony]

If you need to compress the AP to make blasting caps then wet it with alcohol (so that it will dry in your lifetime) then *press* it in. You body weight on a 1/4" dowel is a lot of pressure - plenty for the job.

I'd see wetting the AP as an extra precaution, not an reason to use more or unreasonable force.

[green beret]

Thanks all http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smile.gif But one more question, say I dry the AP and then dampen or wet it with methylated spirit or other alcohol and put it in its container (plastic screw top about 12cm high and 6cm wide) with the lid off, how long will it take to dry enough to be detonated by visco? Please note I will be drying it, or letting the alcohol evaporate at about 1am so there will be no sunlight around to help. I am doing it at 1am because of the fucking cops. Thanks.
PS What is thermalite?

[This message has been edited by green beret (edited February 25, 2001).]

[blackadder]

Thermalite is a very hot burning fuse and it can be used to light "hard to ignite" compostions.

The thermalite mixture is composed of:

potassium perchlorate............ 37 parts
potassium chlorate............... 30 parts
charcoal, air float.............. 10 parts
magnesium, 200-325 mesh.......... 15 parts
red iron oxide, ferric............ 5 parts
aluminum, -325 mesh, flake........ 3 parts
sodium bicarbonate(additional).... 1 part

it's basically the compostion above bound with NC lacquer and put on a wire.

[Anthony]

Can't really be sure how long it would take to dry, maybe a day, maybe a longer, the stuff trapped in the centre would take a while. Putting it somewhere warm and dry like the airing cupboard would help.

[fulcrum]

What if the AP was dry would a fuse detonate it then ?


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[Anthony]

Do you know what a Primary Explosive is???

[kingspaz]

sorry if this is off topic but 'green beret' is another member who seems to have vanished.
i think he could have been busted judging by his last post.

[This message has been edited by kingspaz (edited June 26, 2001).]

[BrAiNFeVeR]

Why would anyone get busted for that ??

[Fingerless]

Yes!

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by fulcrum:
What if the AP was dry would a fuse detonate it then ?


</font>

[BrAiNFeVeR]

Errh, I think that was pretty clear before you answered that !!
Now, thanks to you, this thread is back in my list !! Look at dates before you post a reply !!

PS: If you are fingerless as your nick implies, how do you type this msg ?? voice recognition ??


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"Mess with me, and you'll end up with a .44 under your chin and your brains on the ceiling"

[Anthony]

Chope stick gripped in the anus probably...

[Disturbed]

I bet that one would be great at parties!

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kein mitleid fur die mehrheit

[green beret]

No kingspaz I havent vanished, just been away for a while

[kingspaz]

glad your ok green beret. its just with this hobby there are alot of risks compared to other hobbies...but they pay off when you hear that boom!!

[green beret]

Damn right kingspaz.

[Monkeyman666]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by green beret:
I was wondering how much of a shock would be required to detonate wet(but not soaking) AP. Would I be able to do it by using a very hot fuse like a sparkler. Any feedback is much apreciated</font>

Why not just let it dry? You bet your mother's maxi pad you could set it off with a sparkler even when damp, its a primary explosive.

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Monkeyman

[This message has been edited by Monkeyman666 (edited September 02, 2001).]

[Stone]

I'm back too, no one missed me though :D

[NoltaiR]

Well I guess there are a few of us who have ventured away (including myself).. just always too busy. Not much has changed since the last time I visited.. although I should mention that I like Mr Cool's fireball (looks like a hydrocarbon fuel... most likely gasoline?) By the way that old site that I used to work on before I got taken over by school, work, and the girlfriend will resume work in summer (you know the emcatalogue.cjb.net).

Anyways just thought I would stop by to say hello, and for those of you interested I have picked up a new hobby, trebuchets, that I have a site for... <a href="http://www.geocities.com/roynolte" target="_blank">www.geocities.com/roynolte</a>

And I guess while I am posting in this topic I should ask, why the hell would you even want to detonate wet AP.... or rather wet anything? Unless your functioning at temperatures above 6000-7000 degrees farenheit, water and fire are enemies!!! The only exception to this rule is when utilizing water in chemical reactions that produce enough heat to ignite.

[Anthony]

What about water-based slurry/emulsion explosive mixes? :)

[Microtek]

Or if you needed a large charge for something and all you knew how to make was peroxides....

[Bryan]

Originally posted by Microtek
Or if you needed a large charge for something and all you knew how to make was peroxides....

If you want to transport it, why not make MEKP it's much more stable, and fairly esy to make

Bryan

[Microtek]

Well to make MEKP I would need some methylethylketone which I probably wouldn't be able to make if I didn't know how to make NG or even NC. MEK is not readily available here.

[Efraim_barkbit]

back to topic:
a couple of days ago I made a small firecracker with about 3 g AP, wich was a little bit wet.
it made much less sound than usual, and when i looked, only half of the AP had exploded, leaving the rest sitting in what was left of the container.
I find that quite strange, because I thougt that if some of it exploded, then it would be the same as if I were using a detonator, but it might not have been a full detonation even if one had been used.
I dont really have the experience to tell... (but I will soon:D )

[Anthony]

It may not have made the deflageration to detonation transition.

[Efraim_barkbit]

yeah, that could be an explanation. in fact, it made a small fireball, wich I dont see so often

[Nevermore]

i loaded some .38 case with wet ap and used a broken little lamp on a bit of smokeless powder as igniter..Well, one of the cracker did detonate quite good and loud, completely destroying the case to the point i found only the bottom almost underground. One of the other case didn't detonate, just made a puff, and left half of the Ap still there...instead by putting mainly wet Ap but not soaking wet, then a small cardboard and dry Ap, it detonates pretty good even if not so much loud like completely dry Ap. I was making some experiment with dry and wet ap, for sure wet ap is far less sensitive to shock, but even dry Ap is not so much sensitive, i usually need a rather good hammer hit to detonate a small Ap quantity (as much as a led), istead about friction sensitivity i was not able to try it, since by rubbing it hard between two plain piece of wood doesn't have any effect...anyway by looking with the microscope the cristals look like getting bigger over time when dry, i started with powdered ap and in a couple of days i found the Ap was much less but bigger cristals as big as sugar...