Primary to Secondary Ratio?

[JoeB]

Is there a necessary ratio that has to be used when detonating something like ANFO? For example, if I used 1kg would i need a primary higher than 200 g of APAN for example? It may be simple question but everybody has to ask at one point. Also , do you like your caps to be plastic or metal lined capped pipe?
Thanks

[Timm]

Mmmmm... The short answer is yeah that'd probably work. The rest goes.... Dude you're probably gonna blow your pee-pee off if you're playin with that much goods relyin' on that much bad. ..Just a thought.

Be friggen careful.

[X-ray Cat]

Try getting a decent booster instead of that apan crap..

[AnonymousUploads]

Originally Posted by X-ray Cat

Try getting a decent booster instead of that apan crap..

For sure. A proper booster gives a powerful shock at the beginning the explosive train that ensures the main charge doesn't low order or undergo partial detonation. It doesn't take much. I cast my boosters out of ETN, and 75ml (roughly 120g) has always been enough to get great performance out of even some really insensitive compositions.

Ratio should only really matter for a small charge. For anything over 1kg I'd use the same booster I mentioned earlier.

It's well worth investing the time to make the switch from APAN to a proper train with primary > secondary > tertiary. Safer, more reliable performance.

You can take the safety factor even farther with some detcord. I set up my main charge, then insert my booster with some detcord well attached. I run the detcord to a safe distance before attaching the cap, which I then fire remotely. This allows me to minimize the risks related to accidental cap detonation, and approach safely in the event of a misfire or other problem.

Originally Posted by JoeB

Also , do you like your caps to be plastic or metal lined capped pipe?
Thanks

Depends on your primary, but in general plastic will be safer in terms of shrapnel. Additionally, plastic will tend to be less likely to react with your primary- especially in the case of HMTD.

...pipe? That's either some really small pipe, or you make monster caps

[JoeB]

Appreciation for the advice. I had thought of researching the tetranitrate and venturing into the creation process but I knew very little about it.

Once again, thanks.

[X-ray Cat]

PETN:
Megalomania's Method of Making PETN