How to Color Fire Fun Fireplace Instructions

The old method of coloring fire — rummaging through old magazines and newspapers, looking for highly colored pages to throw onto a fire to make colored flames — can be hit-and-miss. However, if you want to know how to color fire reliably, check out this list of colorants and simple instructions for using them. Chemicals That Are  Flame Colorants In theory, you could use any chemical that works for the flame test. In practice, its better to stick with these safe, readily available compounds. Color Chemical Carmine Lithium Chloride Red Strontium Chloride or Strontium Nitrate Orange Calcium Chloride (a bleaching powder) Yellow Sodium Chloride (table salt)or Sodium Carbonate Yellowish Green Borax Green Copper Sulfate or Boric Acid Blue Copper Chloride Violet 3 parts Potassium Sulfate1 part Potassium Nitrate (saltpeter) Purple Potassium Chloride White Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom salts) Here are some of your options: Toss dry colorants onto the flames.Soak logs in an alcohol solution of colorants.Soak logs in an aqueous (water) solution of colorants and allow the logs to dry.Prepare pine cones, sawdust, or cork with colorants. In general, there is no specific proportion of colorant to mix with the water or alcohol. Add as much powdered colorant as will dissolve in the liquid (roughly a half-pound colorant to a gallon of water). Do not attempt to mix colors together — you will probably end up with a normal yellow flame. If you want multicolored fire, try adding several pine cones, each treated with a single colorant, or scatter a mixture of dried colored sawdust  across the fire. How to Prepare Pine Cones or Sawdust Its easy, but remember to do this procedure separately for each color. You can combine dry pine cones or sawdust with different colorants later. Pour water into a bucket. Use sufficient water to be able to wet your pine cones, sawdust, or waste cork. Skip to step 3 if you purchased your colorant in liquid form.Stir in colorant until you cant dissolve anymore. For sawdust or waste cork, you may also add some liquid glue, which will allow the pieces to stick together and form larger chunks.Add the pine cones, sawdust, or cork. Mix to form an even coat.Let the material soak in the colorant mixture for several hours or overnight.Spread the pieces out to dry. If desired, pine cones may be placed in a paper or mesh bag. You can spread sawdust or cork out on paper, which will also produce colored flames. How to Prepare Colored Fire Logs Follow steps 1 and 2 above and either roll a log around in the container (big container, small log) or else pour and spread the mixture onto the logs. Wear kitchen or other protective gloves to protect your hands. Allow the logs to dry. If you make your own newspaper logs, you can smear colorant onto the paper before rolling it. Points to Keep in Mind The element sodium burns with the usual yellow flame. The presence of this element can overwhelm any other color. If you are making a dry mixture of colorants or colored pine cones/sawdust, you should avoid including any colorant that has sodium in it.If you are using alcohol-based colorants: Remember that alcohol is flammable. If you dont allow it to evaporate before use, you will get a lighter-fluid effect. Use with care!Dont color BBQ fire! The colorants may produce pretty flames, but they can also produce toxic food.Keep the colorants away from children and handle them with the care and respect due to potentially hazardous chemicals. Read and adhere to any warnings listed on product labels. Now, here is the list of colorants. Most can be found in a grocery or dry goods store, in the laundry or cleaner section. Look for copper sulfate in swimming pool supplies (already in water, which is fine). Potassium chloride is used as a salt substitute and may be found in the spice section. Epsom salts, borax, and calcium chloride may be found with laundry/cleaning supplies. Others, including strontium chloride, can be obtained from stores that specialize in rocketry or firework supplies.