Rockets, Rockets and Rocketry Oxidizers.

[brucevangeorge]

To all you chemists and rocket hobbyists:

Where would one be able to buy ammonium nitrate fertilizer? I heard on the news that the "terrorists" and general pnaksters use it for making bombs and ****. But I thought it was banned for that reason. Turns out its still in use.

However, since it is a nitrate... that means it can be used as a replacement for any other oxidizer... right? Like a replacement for the expensive potassium nitrate?

Anyway if any hobbyists or farmers know of where to get this stuff it would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to spend a fortune getting this off ebay. Or if anyone has any ideas for cheaper oxidizer replacements.. that would be great too.


Or if anyone has ideas of how to purify and concetrate it that would be great too. (fertilizers are usually very impure)

 

[brucevangeorge]

Damn.

Mods: could you please move this to the anything else section?

Thanks.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Ammonium Nitrate is the most common fertilizer used to deliver nitrogen to crops. You can order it from your local farm supply store. They might even have some at the local hardware store. And you really can blow some sh!t up with it; it is a favorite of the insurgency in Iraq.

You can make rockets out of much safer propellants than ammonium nitrate, like hydrogen peroxide.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question159.htm

This guy make a rocket bike from nitrous oxide and roofing asphalt:

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/f5dec714c2648010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Models/Rockets/

 

[brucevangeorge]

I am fully aware that it can be used to blow wh!t up. Mix some gasoline with it and you have a bomb.

However I did not know it was that unstable. I need consistent burn not an explosion. That is useless when making a propelled rocket. And hydrogen peroxide.. eh? That's pretty pricy though. I'll look into that.

 

[brucevangeorge]

Hmm. Seems that currently ammonium nitrate is mixed with a fire retardent that prevents its use in a bomb. So, turns out its crap for reactions.


Does anyone use Potassium Nitrate? I get the stuff from the drug store but its damn expensive. Anyone have a cheap bulk source? Household chemicals?