Make Cool Campfire Colors- Make Colored Flames for your Campfire!
Amaze Your Friends and Family with these cool campfire trick- You can create some really neat special effects with some common and not so common- household chemicals.
To add to fire- Use duct tape lay a piece of duct tape out- about a 3-4″ strip- put a few spoonful of ONE chemical of your choice on the tape and fold over- making sure edges are sealed. DO NOT MIX THESE CHEMICALS- EVER!!!!!
When ready to add to fire- just toss the whole packet in
Copper Chloride : makes a BLUE flame, Can be found at Fire Work chemical companies- my favourite is SkyLighter.com
Borax : Light yellow-Green Flame (but this at any supermarket in laundry section)
Copper Sulfate: makes a green flame in campfire. Buy in pool/spa chemical store or Fireplace store.
Lithium Chloride: bright pink/red flame . Can buy here http://secure.sciencecompany.com/Strontium-Chloride-100g-P15973C672.aspx
Salt Peter
potassium nitrate).For a violet-purple flame.
Epsom salt(Magnesium Sulfate}makes a bight white flame in campfires- buy pretty much anywhere.
Strontium Chloride: makes red flame in campfire. Stores specializing in fireworks chemicals.
also here : http://secure.sciencecompany.com/Strontium-Chloride-100g-P15973C672.aspx
Potassium Chloride: makes a deep purple flame in campfire. Sold as a water softener salt and starter fertilizer in most gardening sections..
Alum (thallium): a nice bright green flame in campfire. Used for pickling but can also buy cheap at drugstore- ask pharmacist.
Calcium Chloride : nice blue flame – is sold commercially as the product ” Damp-Rid” to get rid of moisture.
Table Salt (sodium chloride)- make an orange flame.
Boric Acid – deep red flame. Buy at any pharmacy.
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14 Responses to “Make Cool Campfire Colors- Make Colored Flames for your Campfire!”
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One has to wonder what health issues could be caused. At one time or another someone usually takes in some smoke while sitting around a campfire. These chemicals are most likely highly toxic??? The smoke alone from burning wood is not good for you; can’t imagine putting chemicals into a fire. I love campfires and sit around one almost every evening when camping, but would like to learn more on the smoke these chemicals produce. Any ideas??
In answer to your question Rick, you would look up the material safety data sheet on each specific chemical. On google you would type MSDS (CHEMICAL) it will tell you everything you need to know. But it is based of a larger scale then a small quantity, but is still good to look up.
okay so me and my friends are doing this as a science fair project. !!!! yayyyyyyyy.
Where can you get salt peter
wow like none of these things are like “household” except the tablesalt. that one worked though. plus also my mom said i couldnt burn tape cuz it smells bad. but i did anyways :O i always do xD okay bye byes.
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apparently you’re supposed to “Avoid permanganates, nitrates and chlorates. These produce harmful byproducts when burned.” according to the website they provide a link for, and Salt Peter (potassium nitrate) is a nitrate. Also the link it provides for lithium chloride takes you to strontium chloride.
We are definitely doing this for our science fair project!!!!!!!!!!!wooohhhhooooo we rock!!!!!
Daughter did this for science fair and placed 2nd. She made fire-starters out of dixie cups, wax, wood chips (sawdust or dry hay work also) and the chemicals. She made 4 for each chemical 3 for burning and 1 set for display and took photos of each one. She even used other things also (like flour, talc, chalk etc.) She also took photos while making the fire-starters and the fire (in the backyard firepit) Then she created a powerpoint file and ran it on her laptop during the fair.
USFireworks.biz sells a ready made kit of non hazardous chemicals ready to turn your campfire into funky colored flames!
Check it out here http://www.usfireworks.biz/items/dm819-campfireblue.htm
if you throw some copper wire in the flames, you get mostly green with a little bit of blue and purple. it lasts for hours and gets more blue toward the end. beautiful!
salt peter can be purchased at almost any hardware store as stump remover! it has some other stuff in it… but it’s less than 1-2% and has very little effect. (it works in gunpowder, so I know it still egnites well)
can you soak pine cones nd coat them with the chemicals..you say not to mix would one then layer them on the cones.or soak each cone in seperate chemicals..and what solution is best to soak the in water and/or alcholo, thanks my grandchildren and great go camping al lot and an old old scout that Iam loved sharing this with them.
The best thing to do is to take 3/4 inch copper tubing and put a piece of garden hose in it. (usually a 2 ft piece of copper tubing, and a 2ft piece of garden hose) toss it in the fire and watch it turn a beautiful green/blue/white. If you want to get creative, put 3 or 4 copper tubes in the center of the fire (vertically) before you even start it. That way you can reload the rubber garden hose in the tubes after they have burned out. The flame usually lasts for 10-15 min. It’s a great inexpensive way to have a great fire.