warning! this pyrotechnic composition will score and burn any surface it combusts on, though the smoke is non toxic.
i take no responsibility in any damages caused by this by you, and i assume you will use this responsibly on your own properties.

hello, and welcome to my instructable on making a powerful smoke bomb, which is a variation on the old-school classic recipe consisting of just potassium nitrate/sugar 6/4

This new mix i discovered entirely by chance, can be arranged to either make massive amounts of smoke, which by weight in both my and others opinions is better than traditional mixes in producing more smoke quicker. but also has the amazing property to explode in a sense, and basically combust a 45g smoke bomb in less that a second producing a large burst of smoke similar to what you would expect from a Hollywood ninja smoke bomb,(almost), required it be set up differently to a normal smoke bomb.

long story short this recipe is far better than the traditional mix, and has many other variations to improve it further.

video coming soon

Step 1: Ingredients

To make this smoke bomb,you will need the following
* potassium nitrate, crushed, non granulated, (but not super finely powderd if you are going to measure by volume)
*raw/brown sugar, granulated, white and icing sugar will not work
*charcoal fine dust
*charcoal granulated uncrushed (preferably crystallic, direct from burnt log)
*metal pot
*metal spoon
*aluminium foil
*(optional) sulfur
* scale with 10g minimum weight

Step 2: Mix and Measure

after you have all your ingredients out in front of you measure out
30g potassium nitrate ( 6 leveled teaspoons)
13g granulated raw sugar,or brown sugar ( 4 leveled teaspoons
1g fine charcoal dust (1/2 leveled tablespoon)
1g granulated charcoal , sand consistency (1/2 leveled teaspoon)

now, these variations on the mix MUST be followed exactly.
its important you level your spoons , not compact them down, but scrape them. do not use big piles, as the consistencies of the nitrate and sugar are different, as there is twice as much potassium nitrate per cubic centimeter as there is sugar. if you don't follow that specific instruction you will end up with 40-60g of potassium nitrate instead.
anyway, if possible though measure out these measurements on a small scale, rather than volume.
these amounts are good to make one single good smoke bomb, to make a larger amount, simply add a proportionally equal amount.

lastly, to increase your burn time dramatically, add another gram of charcoal. this should work up until about 6-8 grams per 30grams potassium nitrate

Step 3: Mixing It Up

combine all the ingredients in a metal pot, any will do, though the smaller the better.
now , add 2 tablespoons of water and stir the mix until all of the mixture is wet.

once wet, place the pot on a stove, whether its gas or electric is irrelevant,( i have had equal results from both).

Step 4: Melting the Mixture

on your gas or electric stove, turn your heat / flame on high, until the mix begins to boil.
during which time you must stir the mix vigorously, to ensure it all dissolves, which it will, with only 2 tablespoons of water.

keep it boiling like this for as long as possible, or else the sugar will caramelize and turn the smoke bomb mix to the consistency of dense poo, which burns the same , but is trickier to completely dehydrate in the pot without setting it alight!

Step 5: Keep Mixing

once the mixture has begun to boil and thickened up to the consistency of honey, at which time it will turn all sudsy and boil the moment the thin film on top the liquid is broken, turn the heat down to low, and continue to stir vigorously, being sure to scrape any dry mix off the sides of the pot.

at this time, even though the mix is wet, it can combust, and will if it has something hot and glowing to vaporize off.

to use this in small diameter firearms, 7 grams of iron oxide now. and when done make into granules the size of sand (not powdery crushed) . it makes excellent charge-powder!

Step 6: Finnishing the Mix Off

once the mixture turns solid and crumbly, (which it will only do if charcoal is used), while still being soft and moist-like, due to the molten sugar, and not the water content

scrape the mixture out and place on a sheet of aluminium or tin foil.

next wrap the foil around the still soft mix , and compact it somehow by whatever means necessary, but not directly with your hands as there is a good chance you'll get some pretty bad sugar burns.

if possible, use a press of some sort, and compress the mix into a cylinder like shape, which is ideal for an unconfined smoke bomb.

at this stage the mix will be soft, and if it rubbed with a hard smooth surface (spoon), it will also turn smooth , and can be molded just like clay

sorry about the blurry image, but regardless you can still see that it is nice and crumbly

Step 7: Moulding

once you have compacted the mix and achieved the closest thing to a single mass of smoke mix ( so that it is not just lots of broken pieces), mould it into your desired shape,
though, certain shapes will have very different effects, such as

flat, patty shape , if ignited from the center and covered in maybe 1-2 layers of foil will completely combust in under a second giving you the closest thing to a ninja style contact exploding smoke bomb . not recommended in windy conditions, works best indoors

round, grenade shape (as in video) , will produce a large amount of smoke over a short period of time, though is recommended for windy conditions as it will make a large cloud of smoke

thin tube shape, this is for if you choose to pack the smoke bomb into a small paper fireworks tube
, it will burn considerably longer and make quite a large amount of smoke, and is suitable to use in multiple areas (use more than one smoke bomb) to quickly produce a smoke screen.

Step 8: Notes on Smoke Mix

some important notes on this smoke bomb mix

its important that you use granulated charcoal as well as dusted charcoal , however, if you choose to speed up the burn rate by using more charcoal, do not add extra granulated charcoal, just add more powdered charcoal, this is because the granulated charcoal is here so the potassium does not react with the steam made by vaporized sugar to produce hot glowing molten blobs of what i believe is potassium oxide or carbonate, by giving the potassium a solid to burn off, in the same way candle wax burns off string. adding more granulated charcoal will make guaranteed complete ignition uncertain, so no matter what, always use 1g granulated to 30g nitrate, treat granulated charcoal and powdered charcoal as two completely different substances.
having said that, its only the powdered charcoal that speeds up combustion.

also

the following compounds may be added to the mix in amounts less that 5% of the overal weight of the smoke bomb to increase performance

* aluminium/zinc powder
* red iron (|||) oxide ( will guarantee combustion even if the mix is damp and soggy)
* sulfur powder (will make initial combustion easier and wont affect the odor of the smoke much)
* organic dye ( must be added in equal portions to the amount of potassium nitrate if a saturated color is required)
* paraffin wax ( will act as a binding agent and an inhibitor, but should be used only if in confinement, and in smoke bombs weighing more than 45g.

notes on using iron oxide
if using iron oxide its best to add 10% by weight at least to the mix,
iron oxide is recommended if you are using hygroscopic chemicals like sodium/calcium chlorate/perchlorate and nitrate, as the iron oxide will increase the combustion temperature substantially, thus allowing even a wet mix to burn like a dry one this means its moisture proof, not water proof, it wont readily burn underwater, though , keep in mind that the addition of iron oxide will technically class this mix as a low explosive rather than incendiary(so don't use more than 800g if you are going to confine it)
, and so by law you can get in trouble if caught using in a public place, whereas you wont if the mix does not have it, as it wont have any explosive potential unless used in ridiculous amounts.
also

to water proof a smoke bomb made from this mix(for combustion under water), simply stick a sparkler fuse or already waterproof viscus fuse into your dry solid smoke bomb, then submerge in molten wax to make a wax coating
alternatively, coat the mixture including the fuse in nitrocellulose lacquer (do not try to use the lacquer as a binding agent in the smoke bomb itself or it will make all smoke released noxious and dangerous)
and this will keep water out, to make nitrocellulose laquor just dissolve a few pingpong balls in gasoline or acetone, polysyrene may also be used in this manor

keep in mind that you will need a layer of water proof sealant about 1-3mm at least for it to have any effect. and if you want your smoke bomb to remain underwater (as most rise to the top as smoke is made), place a lead weight or iron weight in the middle of the smoke mix to keep it down.

final note

these smoke bombs will absorb moisture from the air and the potassium nitrate and sugar will easily retain that moisture, so be sure to do the following if you live in an area with high humidity

* do not store smoke mix in aluminium foil as it allows the mix to easily build up moisture
* store the mixture in solid patties or balls, wrapped in paper towels
* keep mix in an airtight non metal container
* keep mix in the presence of a desiccator (material that absorbs water from the air) if being stored in an airtight container
* coat mixtures with some kind of water proof substance like wax , if being kept in areas where it will come in contact with humid air.

thank-you for reading my instructable
please post any variations you think may increase the potency of this mix in the comments

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