Smoke bombs may look like they have serious chemicals in them, but you can actually make them with common ingredients you have around the house. It is possible to build an efficient smoke bomb using: sugar, a cold pack (the ones often used in first aid kits) and some aluminum foil. Are you ready to get started?
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Using Sugar
Step 1. Put your materials together
A basic smoke bomb, which produces a dense gray smoke with a purple flame, can be made with the use of only two components: granulated white sugar and potassium nitrate, an ingredient found in cold packs. Mixing these two simple components together produces a slow burning, long lasting smoke bomb.
- If you don't have sugar in granular form, you can use powdered sugar although the smoke bomb construction process will be a little different.
- If you don't have a cold pack, look for another source of potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre). It is often sold in the fertilizer industry in hardware and / or garden supply stores. You can also buy it online or create it yourself if you are feeling ambitious.
- You will also need a medium-sized pot, aluminum foil, a mold, and a piece of waxed twine (optional).
Step 2. Make a mold for your smoke bomb
It is possible to shape the foil to become a container of any kind for your smoke bomb. The shape of the container affects how the compound burns. If you wish, it is possible to create more than one smoke bomb in order to compare the different shapes and establish in which of your models the best combustion takes place. Here are some mold ideas to use:
- Cut the top of a milk carton and use the bottom half as a mold if you want it to take on a cubic shape. Line the cardboard with aluminum foil or aluminum foil.
- Line a bowl with a layer of aluminum. Any type of bowl works, whether it's flat or deep.
- Make small smoke bombs by lining votive candles or cemetery tealights with aluminum foil.
- Try to build them in a tubular shape, perhaps by coating the inside of the cardboard cylinders with aluminum at the end of the toilet paper rolls, make sure you have completely covered the inside of the wrapper.
- You can also try to compose it in the shape of a funnel, covering the latter with aluminum foil.
- Use your imagination and transform any type of container that may arouse your interest into a smoke bomb with an artistic form.
Step 3. Measure the doses of sugar and potassium nitrate
If you plan to make a large smoke bomb (one that is easy to ignite and burns for a long time), the most important thing to keep in mind is the ratio of the ingredients. You will need three parts of potassium nitrate and two parts of sugar. Use a cup to avoid making a mistake, use one or one and a half for the potassium nitrate and one for the sugar, this will allow you to create a decent sized smoke bomb.
- Overdoing the amount of sugar will make your smoke bomb burn very slow and difficult to ignite.
- Exaggerating with the amount of potassium nitrate, on the other hand, will make the combustion of your smoke bomb quick and its ignition will be immediate.
Step 4. Place the ingredients in a saucepan and cover it with the lid
Be prepared to blend the two ingredients so that the sugar caramelizes along with the potassium nitrate. Remember to simmer the ingredients. It is essential that these two components dissolve slowly to work them correctly.
- When cooking the two ingredients, use a wooden spoon to mix them. You will be able to observe how the sugar begins to dissolve. If the agglomeration starts to smoke and you perceive a strange odor, immediately reduce the heat.
- Continue to cook the agglomerate of the two ingredients until the sugar has completely dissolved, mix gently.
- Stop stirring when the sugar has dissolved. Allow the mixture to cook until the sugar has completely caramelized and has taken on a bronze color. When this happens, remove the pot from the heat.
Step 5. Pour the mixture into the mold of your choice, but be careful:
melted sugar is extremely hot! Fill the mold almost entirely. If you would like your smoke bomb to have an ignition wick, let the mixture sit inside the mold for a minute, then add a piece of waxed twine in the center so it stands upright. Let the smoke bomb cool completely inside the mold.
Step 6. Remove your smoke bomb from the mold
After about a couple of hours, the mixture will certainly have solidified, it's time to take it out of the mold you used, then turn the mold upside down and let the solidified mixture come out of the aluminum-coated container. Get rid of the aluminum foil around the smoke bomb.
Step 7. Turn on your smoke bomb
Do this in an open space cleared of things that can catch fire. A backyard or other outdoor location is much more suitable than any enclosed space. Place it on the ground and use a match or lighter to light it. If you have equipped your smoke bomb with a fuse, you can obviously use the one for lighting. Otherwise, just ignite the smoke bomb directly, the combustion should start immediately!
- If your smoke bomb does not ignite, you have probably exaggerated the amount of sugar compared to that of potassium nitrate. Too much sugar makes it difficult to ignite, try again trying to add the right quantities.
- If your smoke bomb ignites and burns in an instant, you probably overdid the amount of potassium nitrate while cooking the mixture. Try the preparation again by adding more sugar.
Method 2 of 2: Using Powdered Sugar
Step 1. Put your materials together
You will need the same basic components to create this type of smoke bomb, although you will have to use them differently this time. Get the following:
- Powdered sugar
- Potassium Nitrate (Saltpetre)
- A coffee or spice grinder (alternatively you can use a mortar)
- A container with a handle on the top
- A piece of waxed twine
Step 2. Determine which container is best to use
To build a smoke bomb using powdered sugar, you will need a container that stands upright by itself and is therefore solid. The powder will be poured directly into the container. Here are some ideas:
- A small bottle or can of a soft drink
- Cardboard cylinder obtained at the end of a roll of toilet paper (cover one end to have a bottom)
- A container of cylindrical chips
- A ping-pong ball
- The shell of an egg deprived of its contents (this is more difficult, but certainly impressive)
Step 3. Chop the potassium nitrate
In order to make sure that the measurements are as accurate as possible, the potassium nitrate needs to be ground before mixing it with the icing sugar. For every half cup, grind the potassium nitrate with a coffee grinder (which you no longer use) or with a pestle. Continue until you have ground about one and a half cups of powdered saltpeter.
Step 4. Mix the powders
The quantities to be mixed are one (or one and a half) cups of saltpeter and one cup of sugar. To make sure they are completely blended, you can put them together in the coffee grinder or mortar to best join them, otherwise pour them into a container with a cap and once closed, shake it until the two components are completely mixed.
Step 5. Pour the mixture into the container
Carefully fill the container with the mixture. The more compound you have produced, the longer the duration and the effect of your smoke bomb will be greater. Attach the fuse to the top of the powder when the container is full.
Step 6. Turn on your smoke bomb
Turn on the fuse and watch it burn until the dust starts to smoke.
Advice
- The more potassium nitrate you have, the more material you will be able to extract to build smoke bombs.
- The more the container you use is elongated, the longer the effect of the smoke bomb will be.
Warnings
- If you don't wear adequate protection you risk causing damage to your skin.
- Watch out! Remember that potassium nitrate and sugar mixed together are flammable.
