Colored Fire
And Other Stuff I Added On
“Light a man a fire and you warm him for a day.
Light a man on fire and you warm him for the rest of his life “
How the Hell should I know who said this?
Fuck, do I have to cite my works again? Copied illegally by Matthew Harding from various
websites that probably don’t give a damn.
Before you start: Always consult an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) before mixing or
exposing yourself to any chemicals. No matter what, avoid contact with skin, eyes, any
orifices, whatever... and DO NOT INGEST! DO NOT attempt to fire breathe with ANY
chemicals unless you seriously know what you're doing. For people who are interested in
colored fire breathing, I do possess some knowledge regarding what chemicals can be safely
used, but message me on an individual basis for that. No such information will be released to
those without plenty of fire breathing experience As an over all rule, I like to say: DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO FIRE BREATHE WITH ANY CHEMICALS. Be smart about your health -
you've only got one life.
Things you should know:
1) Your Wicks Will be Ruined.
Not only are some of the chemicals corrosive to metal, the higher burning temperature of
the methylated spirits means the kevlar will degrade quicker too. If you can, it's advisable
to have a normal fire wick/poi/staff and a colored flame one - even going so far as a
different wick for each different colour. Some of the chemicals can leave a manky(?) residue
which builds up on the wicks after a while - not only looking (and often smelling)
unpleasant, but severely reducing the wicks' burn-time.
2) Toxic: Hazardous to Health.
Some of the chemicals (including just Meths!) are pretty nasty - both in their "natural" state
and the vapors they produce whilst burning. It's advisable to not regularly use any of these
(try and limit yourself to 2 burns a night) even go as far as wearing a pollution mask. Wear
some rubber gloves whilst handling them, and wash your hands before touching your eye
or any other sensitive area of your body. No one likes a chemical burn.
AGAIN, DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER DOING FIRE BREATHING WITH ANY OF THESE
CHEMICALS!
3) It’s Hot.
May seem obvious, but it's always good to be aware. Whilst you may feel happy doing bare-
skin wraps with kero/paraffin, it's not really advisable to do it with these mixes. Not only
does the Meths burn hotter than both kero and Coleman's/White Gas, the chemicals will
also be burning and could do nasty things to your lovely arms. Wear nice loose fitting
natural fiber tops and trousers. No one likes a spinner in a shell-suit
4) Your Poi not burning as bright or as long.
There's no real safe way to get around it. Some chemicals dampen the flame, and others
burn extremely hot, causing the fuel to burn faster.
5 The colors may be dim at first.
If you've ever used the wicks you're using now with a paraffin fuel, it will be dimmer until
the paraffin is all gone. Also, the more you burn a certain color, the more vivid it will
become, due to residues left on the wicks.
6) This doesn't mean you're smarter or cooler then every other person who likes to do
things with fire.
Fuels: I have found that oil-based fuels do not work for colored fire. It should be common
knowledge that using gasoline/petrol is suicide, so don't even think about doing that. The
only fuel I would ever use for coloring my fire is Methylated Spirits (Meths)/Denatured
Alcohol. Denatured Alcohol and Meths are the same thing. DO NOT use Methyl Ethyl Ketone.
It is EXTREMELY toxic!
Chemicals for Color:
This is a list compiled from many websites, personal experience, and word of mouth. I have
included a few safety warnings for those that I know, but JUST BECAUSE I didn't include a
safety warning does not mean it is safe, or that there isn't a characteristic about it that you
should be wary of. Like I said before, always consult your MSDS. I have also included some
tips about flame size and color intensity/brightness.
Colors:
Green - Boric Acid (Somewhat dim, and smaller flame)
Green - Copper Sulfate
Green - Copper Carbonate
Green - Copper Acetate (Very deep)
Purple - Potassium Nitrate (aka Saltpeter. Burns hot but is quite dim.)
Purple - Potassium Chloride (More of a Lilac color)
Purple - Potassium Sulfate*
Purple - Potassium Acetate* (Very dim. Most people say it's not worth it)
Purple - Indium Compounds (Not mentioned often, so research before using)
Purple - Mixture of Blue and Red Compounds**
Blue - Copper Chloride (In some cases it has burnt a green/turquoise color)
Red - Lithium Chloride (More of a Magenta color)
Red - Strontium Chloride
White - Magnesium Chloride
Orange - Calcium Chloride (Tangerine colored)
Yellow - Sodium Chloride (Banana colored)
Sparkles:
White - Magnesium
White - Titanium
Yellow - Steel
Commonly referred to; these ones may be a bit safer, but don’t take my word on it.
*While using Potassium compounds, make sure that there is no lithium or sodium
anywhere near, or you wont get any color.
**I have heard that this is the absolute best way to get a purple color, but you absolutely
MUST consult MSDS and all sorts of other things before attempting to mix chemicals, as
some combinations may be very toxic or unstable.
Chemicals you should NOT use, and why:
Copper Arsenic Compounds - Arsenic is DANGEROUSLY TOXIC
How Much of the Chemical Should I Put in?
Most people put as much in as will dissolve. This does work, of course, but for those who
are a little more conservative about it, here are a few numbers.
In 1 liter of fuel, for good color:
Lithium Chloride - 15g
Lithium Acitate - 25g
Boric Acid - 22.5g
These are the only ones that I have heard of being measured.
Where Can I Get These Chemicals?
Almost all chemicals used in coloring fire can be found through pottery stores. They use
these chemicals for colored glazes. Lithium Chloride can be tough to get a hold of, unless
you're bipolar (then you're probably taking it daily). Boric Acid is very easy to find, as it is
used as "Roach Powder", and somehow used to treat yeast infections. Otherwise, just go to
chemical stores online. Google it. You'll find them somewhere.
Example: How to Make Green Fuel
You’ll Need:
- A gallon of denatured alcohol or methanol alcohol
- One of those small containers of epsom salts
- And a package (bout the size of a prescription bottle) of boric acid from the drug store.
- One gallon paint can designated for green fuel (I painted mine green) with ingredients
listed on the can, and appropriate warnings
This is very scientific, so pay very close attention to the directions.
o Pour alcohol into pain can
o Pour a couple of cups of epsom salts into can
o Pour entire container of boric acid into can
o Slush around
o Cap can securely
o Let mixture sit for at least 24 hours, the longer the mixture sits the more saturated
the color will be.
Boric acid is used as an eye wash (as well as ant poison)
Epsom salts are used for soaking in the tub
The denatured alcohol is the icky ingredient
You'll not want to use this mixture for fire eating or transfers
Wash your hands and other points of contacts with soap after contact
Strontium Chloride is a skin and respiratory irritant, can be very harmful if swallowed
Boric acid = similar as Strontium Cl = don't use it.
Lithium chloride can be a severe skin irritant and can mess with your CNS.
Copper chloride can also irritate your respiratory system and cause skin burns. Not
recommended.
While the LD50's of these chemicals classify most of them as "mildly toxic" and probably
won't systemically affect you if ingested or absorbed through INTACT skin IN SMALL
AMOUNTS, putting chemicals in your mouth or on your skin is not wise, and
heated/flaming chemicals often have different properties than room temp ones.
Apart from the possible toxicities of the colorant chemicals, don't forget that methanol
itself is poisonous (as somebody noted above). Denatured alcohol is mostly ethanol with
about 15% methanol added in, so you don't want to be ingesting that stuff, either!
I guess it's just important to keep in mind that to make colored flames it must be dissolved
in a polar liquid. So the obvious choice is denatured alcohol and even ethanol would serve
as the fuel fraction for the solution. lamp oil/kerosene...white gas...etc are non-polar and
don't like to play alot.
****just a side note this stuff is stinky as all living hell
Peeeyou!
That's all I can think of, at least right now. In closing, I’d like to say again: I'm not
responsible for anything you do (....Durrrr...) Don't be stupid. Everything you do, you do at
your own risk. Don't be stupid. Research the chemicals. Don't be stupid. Always consult an
MSDS. Don't be stupid.