Mix a small amount of potassium with the sugar and place it on a noncombustible surface. The one essential combination that will get you more of what you want from your business by wickman, gino, winters, mark c. The result is a slurry of solid oxidizer particles suspended in liquid sucrose medium. Sorbitol and other sugar alcohols as the fuel with kno3. Jun 03, 2017 the best and the safest combination for a liquid rocket engine is kerosene and liquid oxygenrp1lox.
Sep, 2010 ive seen lots of videos of people launching small to large rockets, usually made of pvc, and they use potassium nitrate kno3 as the fuel. May, 2017 we tried to make kno3 sugar rocket fuel and while i was making it about 1,5 kg 33 pounds caught on fire and almost burned my house down. Rocket propellant manufactured from old newspaper hackaday. Although the sucrose based propellant is, in many ways, an excellent amateur propellant, there are a number of drawbacks when using sucrose as the fuelbinder, as described on the knsu web page. It was supposedly fairly linear to 3000psi or more, hopefully. Sucrose, or table sugar, was the first sugar to be used. Potassium nitrate is used as a meat preserver in making sausage, and as a medicine as well.
Sep 28, 2010 42 thoughts on homemade solid propellant rocket. Is rcandy kno3 illegal to make in the uk uk explosives. Sep 25, 2012 4 tbsp kno3, 4 tbsp sugar, 8 tbsp water and 1 tsp honey. Do i have do worry about the mixture going off when compacting. I am relatively new to rocketmaking as a hobby and was wondering if there was any way of preparing rocket fuel for small miniature rockets without the use of potassium nitrate. Of course the rate of burning will depend on several factors as outlined by nakka probably chief of which will be grainsize of your mixed powders i assume your kno3 and sucrose were in powder form. The propellant works ok in test motors, most likely it will work in flight tests as well. Nonetheless, you may wish to recrystallize it if the quality of it is insufficient. Kno3 is an oxidizer and the sugar sucrose acts as the fuel. I know you have to use powdered sugar in there somewhere. Sugar syrup can be made on a camp stove, so this method could be used in the field. I just put the sucrose and kno3 mixed together in the frying pan, and heated the mix until it was caramelized. Pdf burning rate measurement of knsu propellant obtained.
Modern formulations most commonly use sorbitol for its. The fuel they use is relatively safe, simple and inexpensive to make. Potassium nitrate sugar as substitute for black powder. What is the best and safe rocket fuel and oxidizer for an. Doing molar mass calcs, i found the molar ratio to be 9 mol kno3 to 4 mol sucrose.
I found that the standard formula for knsb rocket propellant is 65 parts potassium nitrate to 35 parts sorbitol. Bates type grains without the need to melt propellant components. Can fertilizer grade potassium nitrate be used for making. Months ago after i saw some youtube videos on rocketry i decided to just jump right in and try making a rcandy mixture, but i realize now that what i did was probably pretty dangerous. Mark has seen firsthand how their joining forces has played a big part in taking their company to the next level.
The potassium nitrate kno3 sucrose c12h22o11 propellant, known as knsu, is traditionally used in rocket studies by amateur groups. Like kn, a shortened designation su will often be used on rocketry web sites like those related to homemade rocket engines motors or homemade rocket fuel or propellant. Others have reported difficulty in getting granular sugar to melt adequately in a pan, i have had no such problem as i have made stock simple syrup in a 2. Proposal for the inclusion of kno3 sugar propellants in.
You can also see sugarfueled rockets at highpower rocketry events where large models are launched thousands of feet into the sky. Im just starting out in rocketetry as a hobby, but i just wanted a few things cleared up first. This kind of propellant gives reasonably good performance in smallscale rocket motors, burns very fast, and is widely used by amateur experimenters worldwide. The first propellant, designated tf1 was drymixed kn sucrose moistened with water and pressed into the motor tube. One of the most efficient nitratebased propellants is a mixture of potassium nitrate and sugar, commonly referred to as rocket candy.
You will find your biggest challenge and the greatest performance increase can. Many hobby stores sell model rocketry supplies, but i think making your own rocket engine from scratch is a more meaningful and exciting experience. Hi guys sorry to ask this question, you probably get it a lot. We tried to make kno3 sugar rocket fuel and while i was making it about 1,5 kg 33 pounds caught on fire and almost burned my house down.
To get get potassium nitrate kno3 go to lowes and buy green light stump remover or spectracide stump remover. The best and the safest combination for a liquid rocket engine is kerosene and liquid oxygenrp1lox. A sugar rocket is a simple home project that uses potassium nitrate kno3 and powdered sugar as fuel. The potassium nitrate, which has a much higher melting point, remains as solid particles that partly dissolve in the sucrose. We are making a model rocket out of aluminum that is 1 inch wide and about a foot tall. Of course the rate of burning will depend on several factors as outlined by nakka probably chief of which will be grainsize of your mixed powders i assume your kno3 and sucrose. The common joke on here is that it was a pipe bomb i guess it does from the picture i used in the video haha. Thus i dont have to worry a lot about handling it or dropping bits in the yard. Jun 05, 2009 i just got out of school for the year and i want to start a hobby. Ive seen lots of videos of people launching small to large rockets, usually made of pvc, and they use potassium nitrate kno3 as the fuel. I would like to start a project for the construction of rockets as a project for high school. Before we begin, it is important to understand that this discovery has at its core a philosophical belief.
Gravitys rainbow by thomas pynchon, rocket boys by homer hickam, ignition an informal history of liquid rocket propellants b. Characteristics of potassium nitrate based solid rocket. But for backyard rocket scientists like markus bindhammer, theyre more suitable as an ingredient for rocket propellant. In this project, well build on the work of rocket pioneer jack parsons see make volume, darkside rocketeer, for more about this. Pdf burning rate measurement of knsu propellant obtained by. In the 60s i saw a graph that purported to be the pressure burning rate relationship of kno3 sugar. Rocket propellants for experimental rockets are mostly made with sucrose or sugar alcohol as a fuel and containing an oxidizer like potassium nitrate and additives like red iron oxide. Potassium nitrate is used as a meat preserver in making sausage, and. Rocket candy, or rcandy, is a type of rocket propellant for model rockets made with sugar as a fuel, and containing an oxidizer. Does that create different products from the equation you came up with, or just much messier products.
A nitrate is a strong oxidizing agent because it is a source of oxygen. The propellant is a mixture of a fuel and an oxidizer. The propellant can be divided into three groups of components. When you melt them together very cautiously, in a double boiler, kno3 and sugar makes a fairly lowspecificimpulse rocket fuel. Ask homework, exam, lab, and other undergraduatelevel questions at chemicalforums otherwise it will be deleted discussions on illicit drug synthesis, bomb making, and other illegal activities are not allowed and will lead to a ban. Sep 10, 20 cook up a solidfuel rocket engine and let it fly. Kno3 how to make sugar rocket fuel goes wrong youtube.
In the past, sucrose was most commonly used as fuel. Popular rockets books meet your next favorite book. Potassium nitrate is one of several nitrogencontaining compounds collectively referred to as saltpeter or saltpetre. Knsucrose richard nakkas experimental rocketry site. Candy propellants, using only the commonly and readilyavailable ingredients potassium nitrate saltpeter, kno3 and sugar sucrose are easy to make, inexpensive, and relatively safe. Using the scale, measure 14 grams of potassium nitrate or saltpeter kno3 and 7 grams of sugar. Put on your safety glasses and leave them on for the rest of the project. It is one of the major constituents of gunpowder black powder. We would build our own motors using all kinds of fueltypes usually nh4clo4 or kno3 for oxidizers and testfire them in a diy thrustometer. A sugar rocket is a simple home project that uses potassium nitrate kno 3 and powdered sugar as fuel.
Potassium nitrate is one of several nitrogencontaining compounds collectively referred to as saltpeter or saltpetre major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks. The fuel in these rocket motors is powdered sugar or sucrose and the oxidizer is the potassium nitrate. When the water is boiled off, these initial percentages will end up with 65% kno3 17. This makes enough propellant for a single 2long rocket motor. Old newspapers come in handy for many different uses around the house, from birdcage liners to shipping cushioning and even a little fish cooking. Its not very hard to do and there are many guides on how th. While its easy to make a sugar rocket, its also very dangerous, so use caution throughout your project. What is the safest laboratory procedure to make solid. I have made simple thirty second water rockets but this is not doing it anymore.
How to make sugar rockets with potassium nitrate and. The experimenter is exposed to hot propellant for a brief period while the kno3 is stirredin. In a old pot you dont plan on using anymore mix 150g of kno3 with. Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks. The fuel on these web sites will often be referred to as knsu rocket fuel or propellant. How to make a rocket using potassium nitrate, or kno3, as the. The rockets presented in this book are of the simplest and use a solid fuel propellant. The required temperature that the mixture must attain is just above the melting point of sucrose 186c or 367f. Performance tests of knsu, whose composition is 65 wt% kno3. What is a good rocket design and a good recipe for rocket fuel. A few years ago i experimented with several possible catalysts, in an attempt to obtain smoother and faster burnrates in kno3 erythritol propellent.
First you will need to obtain the ingredients for the rocket fuel listed here. Modern formulations most commonly use sorbitol for its ease of production. A good book that discussed this was the art of living dangerously. Sugar rockets are simple to make and do not require expensive tooling. The primary is polyvinyl acetate, basically just white wood glue, which also acts as the binder. Tamir hasan potassium nitrate based rocket propulsion. Well rocket candy was a well known rocket fuel in the united states when model rocketry was in its birth. Potassium nitrate is widely used as fertilizer and a food preservative, it is low cost and available in large quantities. My first attemt at a rocket motor posted by aerospacetiger on 7617 at 11. In general, a 60 70% by weight oxidiser kno3 proportion is the ideal say 6g kno3 with 4g sucrose. A good example of this is adding potassium nitrate to table sugar. With this in mind, several years ago early 1998 i began to search for an alternative to using sucrose. Proposal for the inclusion of kno3 sugar propellants in pdf.
The only one you may find difficult is potassium nitrate. This is part of the reaction that occurs in july 4th sparklers. The glue is combined with the potassium chlorate, then spread onto the newspaper sheets. Kerosenerp1 is not poisonous like other propellants such as mmh or methane. All instructions for creating rocket fuel from kno3 and sucrose call for the ingredients to be mixed in a ratio of 3. Making your own model rocket fuel propellant grains at home out of sugar and potassium nitrate is illegal in the uk.
Homemade rocket fuel without kno3 applied chemistry. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In the 60s i saw a graph that purported to be the pressure burning rate relationship of kno3sugar. For this rocket fuel, the old newspaper is actually the secondary fuel. Dextrose is a better choice as it has a little lower melting point. How to make a rocket using potassium nitrate, or kno3, as.
The sucrose is another word for sugar, which is obtained from straight sugar cane and karo syrup. By solid fuel i mean that the propellant in the rocket engines is in a solid state such as a powder. The correct lettering for potassium nitrate is kno3. Yes, so long as it is just potassium nitrate, and not intentionally mixed with other constituents. What is the safest laboratory procedure to make solid rocket fuel, using potassium nitrate and sugar. With this in mind, several years ago early 1998 i began to search for an alternative to using sucrose as the rocket fuel.