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Instructions For Making Ematches With GN5050 Electric Match Dip Kit
CAUTION:
Making electric matches is a dangerous activity. If you do it wrong,
you could hurt yourself very badly or start a fire. Before you
start read the instructions completely. They can save your life.
- First and foremost, think safety. The attitude to have is that there could be an accident. Think about what could go wrong, about what you could do to prevent that from happening, and what you would do if you something did go wrong. For instance, if there were a fire, where would you go? What would you put it out with? Etc.
- You should only mix these chemicals in a well-ventilated area away from any heat source or sparks.
- Your kit comes with several jars of chemicals. To maintain a good seal on the jars keep their lids screwed on tight. Keep the inside of the lids and the lips of the jars clean and free from any unused pyrogen.
- Wear a long sleeve cotton shirt, and long cotton pants. In the event of a flash fire, cotton garments will protect your skin. Do NOT wear synthetics. In a flash fire, they will melt to your skin.
- Use eye protection. Glasses or slip-on plastic goggles will protect your eyes in the event of a flash fire.
- Do not allow small children near these chemicals.
- Never stare directly at a burning electric match without the aid of welding goggles.
- Do not store any mixed chemicals or finished electric matches in an inhabited building.
- Store this product in an environment that will be maintained at a temperature between -20 to 140 degrees F.
- Wash hands thoroughly after each use.
- Dispose of any leftover or unwanted pyrogen in accordance with all applicable laws. We recommend that you burn it. Storage life of unused pyrogen has not been determined at this time.
Electric matches (often called ematches) are used to remotely ignite fireworks. Once they are made, they are fairly safe to use and handle. The small explosion made by an ematch is about the same power as a toy cap. But they are friction and impact sensitive, so some care should be taken in using them with fireworks or around black powder and other explosive compositions.
An ematch can be used only one time. They work this way. At the heart of each ematch is a very thin nichrome wire bridging a small gap on the leading edge of a chip cut from circuit board material. This nichrome wire is soldered to the chip on both sides of the gap. When an electrical current is introduced to the wire, it heats up and melts. The heat from the melting wire then ignites one or more layers of pyrotechnic material (“pyrogen”) coating the tip of the ematch. It is this ignition, which creates the characteristic pop or snap sound of the ematch explosion.
This kit is designed to make it easy for you to make electric matches. All the materials have been pre-measured for you. The kit is designed to be used with electric match heads and with match heads that already have wires soldered on to them. Because there are so many variables in making ematches, we cannot guarantee your success with them. But if you follow these directions, you should be able to make very reliable ematches, which will light just about any kind of firework or fuse.
How to Make Electric Matches
- Test each match head or chip for continuity prior to dipping them into the pyrogen. We recommend you use only Skylighter’s Ematch Tester (GN5005) for this purpose. Commercially available continuity testers can destroy your ematch head, because they can generate too much current. The resistance reading should be approximately 1.5 ohms. Or, if you use Skylighter’s Ematch Tester, the test light should come on. If it does not, throw your ematch chip or head away.
- If you are using Ematch heads, solder the lead wires onto the heads first. After soldering, test each partially made ematch again. Discard any, which do not have continuity. If you are using Skylighter’s GN5040 Ematch heads with wires, first slide the white plastic shield up the wire away from the ematch head.
- Shake bottle A containing the wet inactive pyrogen back and forth for several seconds. Place the bottle on a flat level surface and remove the cap. Use the wooden coffee stirrer in your kit to mix the contents until you achieve a smooth consistency. Never use metal to stir any of the bottles in your ematch dip kit.
- Shake bottle B containing the white powdery oxidizer for a few seconds. Then remove the cap. Next, cut about a 1/2 inch off the bottom of the provided paper cup. Use this as a funnel. Place the funnel into bottle A and add the dry contents of bottle B, mixing it into the pyrogen in bottle A, until bottle B is completely empty. Continue stirring until well mixed.
- The pyrogen is now activated. It should now have the consistency of Hershey’s chocolate syrup at room temperature. When you remove the wooden coffee stirrer, the pyrogen clinging to it should slowly run off. If the pyrogen is too thick, take the provided pipette and draw up 1/2 ml of MEK (in bottle D*) and stir it into the mixture. Keep adding 1/2 ml at a time until the pyrogen reaches the proper consistency. If you add too much MEK and the pyrogen becomes too thin or runny, just leave the lid off of the pyrogen bottle for a while for the solvent to evaporate. Stir the pyrogen mixture occasionally, until it thickens to the right consistency. *Do not use anything other than MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) to thin this mix.
- Now take the electric match in your hand and bend the protruding element end 45 degrees away from the main body of the wire lead. Next, lower the ematch head into the pyrogen until the pyrogen coats between 25% and 50% of the ematch head. Do not completely coat the ematch head; this can short it out. Now lift the electric match slowly out of the pyrogen. Once you have cleared the pyrogen in the bottle gently shake the wire up and down in a rapid fashion to remove any excess pyrogen. If you end up removing too much pyrogen just re-dip the match. Note: You should stir the pyrogen every 10 minutes during the dipping process to prevent any settling of the contents. You can use a board with tiny nails on it spaced 3 inches apart to hang the matches on with the match head pointing downward while they dry. Allow 1 hour (70F, 50% RH) to 2 hours (50F, 70% RH) drying time, depending on the temperature and humidity. If in doubt, allow a longer dry time.
- CRITICAL: You must finish your ematch with the sealer in bottle C. This sealer is compatible with the match composition. Once applied, it provides a necessary waterproof seal. It also reduces the ematch’s sensitivity to impact and friction. This helps to reduce the chance of accidental ignition. The sealer also ensures proper ignition of the pyrogen on the match head. Open the lid on bottle C and place it on a flat surface. Next, lower the finished match head into the waterproofing sealer so that the sealer covers all of the pyrogen and then just a little more of the bare ematch head. Remove the match slowly. Allow the excess sealer to drip back into the bottle. Place the ematch back on the vertical board with the match head pointing downward to dry. Allow 1 to 2 hours to dry, depending on the temperature and humidity.
- After drying test all completed ematches for continuity again. Discard any, which do not have continuity. Then test fire a few of your ematches, using virtually any electrical source. We recommend Skylighter’s Electrical Firing Systems as the most certain method of ensuring all your ematches and fireworks light when you want them to.
If you have any problems or questions, please let us know.
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