Sciencemadness Discussion Board

German dark Aluminum powder sale (possibly)

Camroc37 - 5-8-2015 at 16:59

I have never sold anything online to anyone, but I recently bought a ball mill and I am processing german dark (Blackhead) Aluminum powder. The charcoal is from briquettes with no additives such as mesquite. I have not tested any yet and cannot guarantee quality as of now. It should be able to be used in flash powders. Please respond if you may be interested. I am considering selling it for $10/Ib plus shipping fees; however, I cannot guarantee this price as it may go up OR down.
As I said, I just want to see what kind of demand there may be for it.
I may not include a return address if possible since I do youtube and all that. Be sure to get your own address correct. I will use paypal as well. Thanks!
(As a side note, German aluminum powder generally goes for $20/Ib. or $30/2 Ib.)

[Edited on 6-8-2015 by Camroc37]

Amos - 5-8-2015 at 17:09

How big is your ball mill? It's likely going to take several weeks, or in excess of a month, to even make a half pound with a standard rock tumbler-sized mill.

Camroc37 - 5-8-2015 at 17:12

It is not very big, but it is dual drum and I am using lead. It's been going for about 4 days now. At this rate it should be ready in 7-10 days.

szuko03 - 7-8-2015 at 06:40

I would make sure you can verify it is the same quality if you are going to sell it as such. I find it is often harder to process things to the same degree as a dedicated facility. So yes you will probably make a grade that has a use and that you and some people can buy from you but you gotta make sure its the quality you are selling it as before you sell it to people.

Varmint - 7-8-2015 at 07:50

I second szuko03's comment.

The number of "just like", "equivalent to", and "indistinguishable from" (German Dark) powders out there is ridiculous.

It might sound easy to "just grind up some aluminum", after all, "it just takes time". Well, the fact is, there is a lot more to it than that.

The Eckart 5413H genuine article is truly an engineering feat.

Also, the OP mentions using charcoal from briquettes? This is categorically the worst possible choice. Ever fire up some charcoal for the grill? Notice the white nodules that form spots on the outside before the briquettes get going? Those are included nitrates melting and surfacing, their purpose is to provide accelerated oxidation to kick-start the fire.

You absolutely DO NOT want nitrates in your milled aluminum. Neither do your unsuspecting customers.

If I were the OP, I'd drop this idea like a hot rock, and never give it a second thought unless I were able to tour Eckart's facilities and get their engineers to disclose exactly how they make theirs. I can personally guarantee it doesn't start with BRIQUETTES!

Camroc37 - 7-8-2015 at 19:26

Well jesus christ I guess that ends that. I did NOT say I will definitely start selling it, I was asking a question. I also did not say it would be high grade, I just said it would work. I have heard plenty of people using briquettes with success. I am not expecting labs to use this stuff, but if some person at home wanted to buy it for this or that. I also said I would have to test it to see if it would work for thermite and flash powders.
Sorry I'm not using Eckart's top-notch chemicals and procedures.

szuko03 - 8-8-2015 at 11:29

The issue is that people dont realize that there is an exact method to making these things and when you talk about pyrotechnics you are talking about creating a hazardous situation just by nature of the activity. I would not sell anything for pyrotechnics that I was not 100% sure would be the exact same thing chemically as the item it is replacing. What if your batch isnt as pure as it should be and as a result isnt as stable as it should be and it seriously injures someone, are you able to handle that resulting law suit? Especially if it can be determined that the quality of the item you sold was in question?

You can proceed if you want it just seems like a bad idea just because of the nature of activity your product would be used in. Also dont take wording too seriously I find that scientists can sound kind of mean when they are sure they are right its always good to find the info in the message and not get so caught up in the wording or emotion you may pick up on :)

[Edited on 8-8-2015 by szuko03]

Camroc37 - 8-8-2015 at 16:54

This is why I am suggesting, not selling. Maybe some day when I make a big ball mill I can sell Aluminum powder alone on the side. Also, I didn't think you could file a lawsuit on something like this. I made some thermite, so if I get burned by molten Iron can I file a suit against the peoples selling the used chemicals?

The Chemistry Shack - 9-8-2015 at 05:03

Quote: Originally posted by Camroc37  
This is why I am suggesting, not selling. Maybe some day when I make a big ball mill I can sell Aluminum powder alone on the side. Also, I didn't think you could file a lawsuit on something like this. I made some thermite, so if I get burned by molten Iron can I file a suit against the peoples selling the used chemicals?


Don't get defensive Camroc, these are experts who are just trying to help (ok, some people on the forum are a**holes, but no one in this thread has been offensive or condescending).

And szuko03 does have a point. True, you can'd sue someone for using a product for other than its intended use or for using a product unsafely. For example, if you drink a gallon of ammonia and get sick, you can't sue the makers of the ammonia.

But you CAN sue someone if they don't disclose all the information about their product. For example, if you buy a color TV from someone and find that it only plays in black and white---SUE THEM!!
The situation is even more dangerous when it comes to chemicals, especially pyrotechnics, and someone could definitely sue you if you don't disclose all of the contaminants in your mixture.

Just as a scenario, imagine someone selling "stabilized chloroform". When you find out that the chloroform hasn't been stabilized and your lab is full of phosgene, your dead corpse is fully obliged to sue them.