Pumpkin bombs!

Ah the festivities, it wouldn't be a holiday without fireworks now would it? Every superhero needs a smoke screen, and that's exactly what we'll do! Before I go further, these are SMOKE bombs. Not the car bomb... pipe bomb... ect variety. The intent isn't to kill anyone or anything. Even better is the fact that these will only leave biodegradable remains! (pick them up anyways please)


And now the complimentary warning!

I am not responsible for your stupidity. period. We are using chemicals and playing with fire. Do not eat, huff, nor burn yourself on what we make. Stay 5 feet away at the least, and wear protection. This is designed to have no hard shrapnel, and if it explodes should throw chunks no further then 5 foot.

Once again, fire hazard. think before use.

all right, now that that's out of the way...

What do we need? continue on to the next step!

Step 1: Materials

-Knife
-spoon (optional, fingers are fine, this is for de-gutting)
-mini pumpkin (for a pumpkin that'll be good for a few days, plastic is fine, I used a REAL pumpkin though)

Smoke bomb materials

-KNO3 (potassium nitrate) avalible nearly everywhere as STUMP remover (see second picture) Online... ECT, Home depot's "grant's stump remover" is what I use.
-sugar (sucrose) if you don't have this...
-scale (gram scales are best unless making large batches)
-a pot (please, don't borrow mom's without her permission. Everything in the mix is water soluble and rinses out easily under hot water. Will not leave any poisonous remains, and shouldn't damage the pot a bit. If you clean the pot out by burning (my favorite) it had better be your pot, otherwise, it'll be ruined.)
-safety goggles (face shield so I don't loose eyebrows :D )
-gloves
-stir rod (I like paint sticks)
-Grease (cooking/spray on fine)
-plate or smooth slab to work on

Not Shown

-cork
-length of fuse (5" is sufficient)
-paper towels


Now, I know it sounds like a ton, BUT, you should have everything but the pumpkin and stump remover at home. Fuses from fireworks are fine, but, more never hurts! May need to buy a pot too if you can't borrow one.

Comments

[~BenDover~]

Where would I be able to get KNO3 in Toronto Ontario?

[Vomitron]

It's just saltpeter. Try a pharmacy or health food store.

[~BenDover~]

It says "USA Shipments Only, Cannot Be Exported" But thanks anyway.

[thecheatscalc]

you should be able to, did you check your hardware store for stump remover? Canada has lots of trees I think... ;) Remember, if it has a warning, "contains potassium Nitrate (or KNO3)" it's what you want.

[supersith22]

www.skylighter.com look under chemicals, don't know if they'd ship to canada but they have KNO3 by the pound. It's also in a very small crystal form that can be turned into a powder easily in a coffe grinder. Also if you need fuse or tubes skylighter is pretty overpriced; for that kind of thing i would go to www.pyrocreations.com these smoke bombs are really good in little m-80 tubes with a piece of fuse sticking out. I really love the way the smoke pans out of that pumpkin it is like the perfect shape. very nice

[boombam]

you could probably get it at a hardware store that sells garden care supplies. It should be labelled "stump remover" or "salt peter". Just make sure to read the ingredients so that they say potassium nitrate is the main ingredient. Also make sure it's in a solid form, NOT liquid.

[thecheatscalc]

Correct, it'll be a bottle full of granules, and make sure on the side it says: Caution, contains (one of these two) Kno3/Potassium nitrate. you'll know that it's Kno3 if that's what it says. Potassium nitrate is also a fertilizer (fertilizer bombs anyone?) but it's pretty hard to find in that form. Just check near the pesticides and you should find it. I can almost guarantee that it'll be labeled stump remover.

[~BenDover~]

Ok ill check out canadian tire. Im only 13, will I need a person over 18 to buy it?

[boombam]

probably not, but you never know in Canada, sorry mate. Some terrorists actually use specific fertilizers as thecheatscalc mentioned to blow up cars and buildings. Just thought i would share that fact

[thecheatscalc]

correct, it's a pity, but it's true. Getting Kno3 as fertilizer is pretty hard to do, governments track it pretty heaviily. Stump remover is relatively ungaurded though... I wasn't ID'd, or anything when I bought it. But, if you want to be safe, go to the self service check out (if the store has one) buy it there, and pay in cash. If it asks for someone over 18 to ID, just return it.

[Mathias Re'eh]

i'm almost 13 can i get stump remover?

[voltagedude]

yeah you can i went to lowes and bougt 3 bottles of spectricide stump remover.

[boombam]

i think so, if they say no, just simply leave the store, don't want to cause any trouble. to look less conspicous, try buying like a pack of gum, or other non-dangerous thing not related to pyro with the stump remover. good luck ;)

[minerug]

I'm 16 and i just go down to the local garden shop and buy some packs of Potassium Nitrate fertiliser

[the "wow shammy"]

so the smoke mixture can be used as rocket fuel?

[spenfisher12]

i like jamming m 80s in them i will stick to that

[CheshireKat]

hehe, nice touch with the Zelda boss music. :-p

[pyro=fire]

Could I just light the mix. Its actually moldable like C4

[pyro=fire]

And will it burn for sure or how do i stop it from burning it was a little un clear thanks!!!! :D

[pyro=fire]

soooo will it all start to turn orange at the same time? I also think this is the coolest instructable because its easy and AWESOME!! I Rated it 5.0

[codongolev]

think of all the random things you could make into smoke bombs... the first one I thought of was drilling out the eyes and mouth ob barbie dolls and filling them with this stuff.. that could traumatize a child for life!

[PyromaniacDaniel]

old computer with a fuse set to go off when given the Ctrl+Alt+Del command is given. make nice fancy program to give you the blue screen of death. even better make it blue smoke! Would do this in a safe manner of course.

[M4industries]

 Something similar was done in "Live Free or Die Hard"

Except it was a ton of C4.

=/

[codongolev]

or have a party in a woodsy area, buy a ton of giant smoke fountains, strap them to trees, and put them all to one fuse. then, in the middle of the party (preferably Halloween) light the giant fuse, filling the area with smoke. meanwhile, employ tons of people to run out when the smoke is thick enough and scare people.

[dla888]

I like the computer idea. Sounds like material for an instructable.

[flamethrower1010]

 great instructable i was just wondering if you can still get the stump remover in home depots in MA, i couldn't find it online and i don't want to waste an hour driving around and looking for a non existing product. also does anyone know where or what type of powdered dye can be used to change the color of this stuff? thanks 

[mr. clean]

i think u can add baking soda if u wanted to slow down the combustion

[matt09]

Is there a fire hazard when cooking the stuff in the pot?

[thecheatscalc]

simply put, yes. If you are not attentive to continue stirring, and part of the mixture gets to ignition point, it's going to make a LOT of smoke and a reasonable amount of fire.

[someniceguyon]

I've had the fire department come to my house for this exact same mixture lol. (made it outside with a fire, not safe but didn't care) They said that someone next door (didn't tell who) saw the smoke and called in.

[thecheatscalc]

oh, the BEST effect with this stuff is to actually light it in the pan! What you do is just smear it all over the pot's walls then ignite any one of the walls... (works best with about 1.5lb of mix)

you get the following...

and yes, that's my back yard. Boy that was fun...

[someniceguyon]

What about the inside walls of someones home that you hate with a passion? Im guessing a couple 5gal buckets worth will do nicely. =)

[pyroal]

dood that was shweet!!!!!!   I'm gonna try a smaller version and im gonna add diffrent color changing chemicals to make it red, blue, or green - then maybe the army will come J.K. ing

[morganw]

INSANELY AWESOME!

[KingCraig]

HOLY HELL THATS AWESOME
Im gunna use something along the lines of that at my local airsoft site =D

[electrican13]

thanks. i couldnt find potassium nitrate till your movie

[robocrazy155]

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was the single coolest thing I have ever seen!

[jman109]

HOLYCRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS 1 OF THE BEST I SEEN YET!

[Rob K]

There was one web site that had smoke bombs/signals. They were kind of pricey but one could do a 40,000 cubic feet for around $10 each. You would light them like a firework and they would go for around a minute.

[lebowski]

Doesn't the fire dept. show up in a few minutes?