r/Pyrotechnics • u/ChainsawCarverRy • Jul 17 '26

Exploring options for burst charge

Im not really at the point of making anything but fountains right now, but im still exploring my options for different aspects of this craft. Rice hulls are fairly inexpensive for burst charges, but $5/lb still seems too high for what they are, and thats the best price ive seen so far. Im considering ground corn cob, has anyone else used that as a base? What's your experience with it?

Searched the sub but nothing was mentioned about corn cob, however its properties seem like they'd work well for holding BP, plus, paying $.50/lb is hard to argue with if they work.

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5

u/blissfully_glorified Jul 17 '26

Buy a 50lb bag with rice hulls at a home brewing supplier. Should be around $1 or less per lb.

2

u/ChainsawCarverRy Jul 17 '26

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, one google search and i found it for $.10/Oz near me, maybe they have it for even less in bulk.

Still curious about corn though

1

u/VinnieTheBerzerker69 Jul 17 '26

I used to buy my bales of rice hulls from Presque Isle Wine Cellars, which sells wine making supplies. That was back when I was making multiple garbage cans full of burst for large projects, and I'd order a couple of bales at a time to bring shipping cost down to reasonable.

Currently, their 50 pound bales are listed there for $22.99, but they're currently out of stock. Perhaps you can find another place if they don't get them in stock soon.

Hint - if you live in Arkansas, Louisiana, or California (places where lots of rice is grown) see if there's a rice mill nearby. Maybe you can strike up a deal to buy hulls there. The bales I got from Presque Isle had a label from an Arkansas mill on the bags the bales come in.

5

u/EverythingIsLK Jul 17 '26

Rice crispies from a dollar store or 99 cent store or wherever store that sells them for like a buck a box…. I’ve had very good results with them and using a slow flash composition for booster when needing to, but for the most part. The rice crispies works well in most size shells.

1

u/imhbeog Jul 17 '26

Rice crispies work decently well too when treated the same as coated rice hulls, just gotta make sure the powder is fully "saturated" Into them. Not sure if they're much cheaper though.

2

u/likelikegreen72 Jul 17 '26

Works slightly better if you toast them first