How I Make Electric Igniters from Christmas Lights

[firefighterE8]

This is very helpful... plan to use cannon fuse as a delay. 30 seconds per foot delay on cannon fuse for anyone interested.

[BassmanSW]

One tip, if I may. After you cut the bulb glass, do NOT test the bulb, it will burn out immediately due to the loss of the gas inside the bulb. Test BEFORE you cut.

[spooky00pooky]

You are now ready for a mini bar fight... haha, love the vids!! Thanks for uploading them! Where do you get your bp?

[Defaultbomb11]

YOU ARE WHAT YOU TEA

[PyR0Star]

yea January is an important month for pyrotechs, you can get xmas lights, but more important Xmas tree's! I saved about 30 this year from the dump. Got a strand of xmas lights from someone who was moving just yesterday. Never tried this, thanks again NHIL

[TheAmazingBoneraper]

every one of your videos is helpful. Youve gained a new subscriber.

[combatfear4]

where can i fined black powder?

[JimBoopLoop]

@combatfear4 you can go to gun stores or pull apart bullets and get it from inside them but i don't recomend them (waste of brass)

[Itsmyzelf]

@Nighthawkinlight What would be the easiest and most secure way of attaching it (quite fast) to a smokebomb?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Itsmyzelf Tape it to the fuse.

[pyroscience42]

There is another way, but is a little bit expensive. If you go to a hobby store or electronic store, they have these small Estes rocket engine packages. Inside each package is 4 electric igniters and 3 full motors. (I use these packages for simple fireworks.) Their about 7-9$ a box. But I still like your way better! Great video!

[dendog21]

If you leave the plastic part on, you could use the bulb socket to connect your finished product to the wire and you wouldn't have to worry about shorts or trying to twist those tiny wires together. it won't work for every application but i could think of a few that it would

[topepmc]

does it work with matches ?

[gomerk530]

I use these for fireworks all the time, they are awesome!

[GiggleGuyz]

Did you just use a 9volt battery for the ignition?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@GiggleGuyz AA

[topepmc]

@Nighthawkinlight just one AA, 1.5 V battery??

[macieksoft]

@GiggleGuyz On 10M wire you can use 4.5V or more. On longer wire you must use higher voltage. The best voltage is about 12V.

[Coolnventions]

u have +1 subscriber congrats

[lexichronicle2]

nice idea!

if you've got a dremel, or something similar, you could perhaps use one of the tiny cut off discs to zip through the bulbs and get them all the same length with a clean edge.

[teto12ify]

you did save me money

[333xan45]

nixymagoo you need 9 volts

[nixymagoo]

what voltage are we looking at here????

[2005motley]

thanx alot. im a broke newbie and u just saved me alot of money.

[progunist]

will it spark without the powder?

[nicecheesesandwich]

Fantastic - simple and effective, thank you for posting :)

[Spazzmazatastic13]

D: he spilled his powder!! he is gonna be in trouble

[tstart99]

wow what a fantastic idea thankyou! You just saved my 4th of july display!

[tannu99]

subbed!

[phil1692]

Hey night!! I want to know.. Can it work with match head or some kind of flash powder instead of black powder? And witch one would be better??

Im asking because i dont have black powder.. And here I cant find some in store or stuff to make homemade powder..!

[pyrocrazyUSA]

heat the curved end with a flame for 10 seconds, dip in water and snap of with needle nose pliers

[pyrocrazyUSA]

To take the tip off faster, get a lighter candle torch,etc. and heat the very tip for 10 seconds, then dip the tip in water break it off with needle nose pliers and dispose. This way you dont need to breath the glass dust.

[boomboom314159]

very excellent video! I was just looking for e matches online.

[1PATRI0T]

Would this be easier with a dremel?

[Fireworks7760]

What do you use to ignite the e-match?

[soldieroffortune1974]

the "e" is for electric,so you would be using an electric source.The description says he used a double "A" battery to ignite them with.

[00011theman]

you use a eletric igniter like run wires from the leads and on the other end hook it to a 9volt battery it runs a current through and the filament gets hot and ignites it

[hassay95]

That's it? Thanks for the advice =)

[00011theman]

yees sir

[pyrocrazyUSA]

u can u a 9volt battery,

[Warcraftian]

You've gained a subscriber.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Thank you

[s1ck0psych0]

That is ingenious! Thank you for your ingenuity- extrodinarily simple yet elegant solution!

[Nighthawkinlight]

You're welcome

[bucthoui]

WTF is wrong with your thumb nail

[bandgeek126]

Theres an easier and safer way to crack the bulb. heat the VERY TIP of it with a candle or another heat source. Dip this into water. The tip will shatter, and you can remove what you need to. This process is called thermal shock. Much easier. and you don't get shrapnel in your fingers. ;)

[frietjericcardo]

Hey Nighthawkinlight!

I made these lights last week, but i saw a flash every time i ignite them, but the black powder won't ignite!

HELP! (I made the black powder myself withj help from your site, and ballmilled it for about 2 hours)

[Nighthawkinlight]

The black powder likely needs to be milled longer.

[necabiris]

your fingernails are damn short ;)

but nice vid - i had the same idea some months ago and it worked very well on the first try!

[hertogs10]

nice vid im going to try it ;)

[opperkonijnGilles]

it works great!

thanks nighthawkinlight

[Jackomason]

my dad was telling me about a firework he had when he was a kid it was called the auto fool you would hook it up to some wires in the car. when the person how owned the car tried to stat it, it would smoke and scream.

[QuarterSticks]

i did this and it works great, although the clear christmas lights are easier for me to crack, i think this is much cheaper than using fuse all the time... thnx for the tutorial...im waiting for more :)

[kviwn]

i use a grinding stone on a dremel to take the tip off

[TheRolemodel1337]

you sound like kipkay

[Pyroxylin]

Hey Nighthawkinlight,Is it possible for me to use NC instead of Black Powder?

[Nighthawkinlight]

Yes but why? Black powder will be more reliable as well as many times cheaper.

[SlyBevel]

Don't get me wrong...this is very cool, and if you have a glut of lights and low-budget pyromaniacal tendencies...this is for you. :)

Me, I play with a bit more of a generous budget. Winter Blast is in Feb. :)

[SlyBevel]

Ok, now that I've watched the whole vid, I can comment intelligently.

First, you need a 1.3g license to buy whole ematches, and most folks here will not have experienced that. They're really not that expensive.

Second, SkyLighter's ematch kits are cheap and easy to put together, and there is far less risk of cutting yourself/breaking the filament/otherwise doing it wrong.

Not to mention the added benefits of plenty of scab wire to avoid shorts and not having to handle BP.

Cool, but silly.

[Nighthawkinlight]

All correct. The video just shows a possible alternative.

[SlyBevel]

Info bar says they were fired with a single AA battery.

That means 1.5V, assuming the battery is fresh.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Correct. Though were I relying on the igniter to function in an actual show I would use a larger power source. A single AA will likely not fire the igniter through 100' of wire.

[frietjericcardo]

hey, great vid.!!!

One question:

how many volts do you use to ignite

them??

[saluteshell5]

a rocket ignitor or a 9 volt battery works

[ELY3M]

very cool :D

it is legal to transport anywhere in any vehicles without needing ATF permit.

[Nighthawkinlight]

That is very likely false.

[extrasonic]

I use a dremel to sand the glass using a diamanted dust engraving bit, it's much faster.

Very good tutorial

[valdezmiguel2]

alternatively, you could just grow a pair.

[dudomaniac]

I found it way easier to hold the tip of the bulb in a flame for a second or two, and then put it in a bowl of water. This instantly cracks the bulb because of thermal shock, and saves you filing for hours.

[Chiefhalo19]

I use the fire method as well, works like a charm.

[Timme200]

I love you vids!:D

[hoodstarx1]

not to be a ass or anything but i kinda made these like a year ago for my rockets -.-

[Nighthawkinlight]

Not all my videos involve an idea I came up with only a few days earlier.

[Joeyz444]

AWESOME

[kamikazepyro]

This is the reason why I'm so glad I subsribed you ^_^

[poprocz]

Is this guy amazing or what?

Nice camera work.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Thank you

[coilsinamotor]

i got mine lights from my nahbour for free!

[phil1692]

Yay! dude your back :D

this is quite nice but I don't have BP :S

[Nighthawkinlight]

I was only gone for a weekend... ;)

[moosey333]

yeah the easier way is to heat up the tip with a hot flame of a blow torch (easiest for making alot) or a lighter. Heat up until starting to glow a little bit and then quickly dip the tip in some water. It cracks very easily.

[xBangergoosEx]

how would to wire this to a shell? Wouldnt the wires stick out of the mortar and effect the lift?

[Nighthawkinlight]

Ematch is wired into a quickmatch leader same as visco, not into the lift itself.

[xBangergoosEx]

oh i see. i am having problems with my quickmatch, it is really big and bulky and im having trouble fitting it down the mortar alongside the shell

[Maceman8]

not really wires dont really weight that much

[Niakahdabamb]

No offense Nighthawk I love ur vids but this idea is from ChuKoNu1's video on how to make an electric ignitor

[Nighthawkinlight]

I did not steal this idea from him or anyone else. I have been using this method of making ematch for years and have used them in several of my old videos. The tip about a triangle file I got from a friend of mine on APCforum last year but I was making them long before then.

[Niakahdabamb]

ok thats fine I was not trying to cause any harm just stating what I thought was going on

[kentfireworks]

great but i dont make it like that i dont use a file i heat up the very end of the light bulb and then i dip it in water and then i break it with a plier ... soon i post a tut how to make mine ....

[DawwwidW]

I think it's easier just to take a small piece of resistance wire and wrap it over a short (0,5inch) piece of fuse

[TheBombBros]

very nice. i used this excact method for my ematch test with a salute. ill post it as a response. yeah it saves money and can be used for many purposes.

[Serostern]

I find it easier to heat the tip with a lighter and then dip the tip in water.

Cracks really nice =)

[Serostern]

Old trick, but still useful =)

[nonamervuurwerk]

That's awesome :D

[yellowgroove]

EXCELLENT!! by far the best new tip and advice i have seen on youtube in a long time. i am one of those who fire small shows on a budget, this will save me time and money and make things a bit safer since i am not running around like a bangee lighting fuses and what not! nice, thanks for sharing your idea with the community, a solid 5 stars given.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Great, glad it'll go to use. Thanks for your comment and rating.

[Pyrotecnican]

Actually, if you tape on a small bag at the end with BP and Mg turnings, these can be used to light thermite. The traditional magnesium ribbon is really tricky...

[MakkeSk8]

awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PyroFreakDJ]

This one is really usefull! Thank you!

[megafeltch]

i have made these before, they are quite good! 5*

[berger1980]

You never cease to amaze me at the new stuff you come up with. I love ematches, but I think I'll give this a try just for kicks!

[Kuwaiti55]

Can i use Flash powder ?

[megafeltch]

probably, but i think bp would be more effective. bp burns longer and creates more hot gases, so it is probably more reliable.

[kibrorgat]

that's so clever :D

[laurentprodz]

how you make the ignition box a friend of me yust used 2 9volts and a switch

is this alright?

[Nighthawkinlight]

Yeah that will work for one individual ematch, but the cheapest setup to fire an entire show is a board with nails pounded through it. A wire is led from each nail down to the ematch on the display and back up to the battery. The circuit is broken by a handheld rod. To fire each que the rod is touched to the nail that que is wired to.

[laurentprodz]

but they have to be paralell because when 1 bulb is shot everything stops working

[Nighthawkinlight]

Well yes, but it only takes one ematch to fire a que anyway. Typically the ematch would ignite a chain of quickmatch if multiple devices were intended to shoot at once, not an ematch for each device.

[cometomyfrontdoor]

toes for thumbs>?

[TheRolemodel1337]

your thumbnails are short! XD

[berger1980]

Hahaha! WTH?

[honzad1]

the best :D

[BulgarianBoy92]

thank you!!!

[PersonguydudeWB]

Pretty cool man. I personally like fuse better, but I might just try this for kicks. Like an estes rocket igniter with real fireworks :)

[capsulepictures]

Utter genius

[ventsi]

Good video, though if I was to realy get into E-match construction, where proper resistance, storability and all that junk were an issue I'd rather go online and buy a whole bunch of those pre- soldered bridgewire chips. 19 bucks for a hundred ain't too bad for me.

Though these are a heck of a lot of fun to make!

[Atevra]

Alot of time and effort for such an unreliable ignitor.

Get some cheap network cable and take the outside insulation off, you now have 3 or more stranded pairs to cut to length and wrap nichrome or thin copper wire onto, and dip them into homemade pyrogen (also very cheap)

[Nighthawkinlight]

Also an option, one that takes many times longer. Threading thin wires is a pita. There are many that have used bulb igniters for years and continue to use them because they work for their requirements. Both have pros and cons, personally I have never had an issue of unreliability with bulb igniters.

[TheRiderLucas]

would this work with flash powder?

[Nighthawkinlight]

It would not make for as effective of an igniter. I have tried it and it gives too much of a kick to whatever is being fired. Starmines blow blind or explode and it damages nozzles on gerbs and rockets.

[jeffb8074]

it will blow up like a firecracker if worse comes to worse u can use pyrodex i have tried it and it works :)

[xBangergoosEx]

seen this before, but still an awesome tutorial and very seasonal

[mathewrtaylor]

Great video as always. Very innovative, and it would be excellent to see an upcoming launch/test using your ehohoho match ;-). Keep up the great work, I appreciate it!

[Nighthawkinlight]

We'll see. Thanks for the comment.

[GuyPyro87]

pretty much, yep.

[metalinvalidmatt]

5*.

i think i know where I'M going arfter xmas... heheh....

[Hellafireleli]

ur thumb nail is fat! nice video

[AirrowRocket]

Personally, I would have used an antimony trisulfide dark based comp, added my fuse and taped it off.

[Ralphgtx280]

it would be far safer and cheaper just to use fine nichrome wire and coat it in a pyrogen (I like to use KClO3 Sb2S3 but meal would work) using glass means you can get cut but much worse off it can cause shrapnel i can see you used low grade meal in the match it self but the quick match may blast it apart.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Shrapnel is a ridiculous thing to worry about on this scale. Bits of clay from a gerb cato are more dangerous. Stars, sparks, cardboard, wood, plastic, clay, rocks, and a shell in the chest is more worrisome than a heat seeking Christmas light fragment.

[Ralphgtx280]

its still cheaper and safer to make your own with nichrome. and shard of glass would be much worse than sparks wood or plastic.

[AirrowRocket]

Agree.

[AirrowRocket]

Agree.

[mrmeowmix2300]

Can they be used more then once? Probably not.

[Nighthawkinlight]

No, the filament is destroyed first use.

[mrmeowmix2300]

Yeah thats what I thought. Great video though! 5*!

[Blueace12345]

What if any is the delay from adding power to the light to the powder being detonated?

[Nighthawkinlight]

None if a reasonable power supply is used.

[GuyPyro87]

Can I suggest using a lighter to heat the tip of the bulb first, then dipping it into water to 'crack' the glass instead of using the file? Thats the way I learned to do it and I've never had any issues with it. Once the tip is cracked, you can use pliers to break the tip off. It's fast and a little safer for the fingers, lol. Great vid!

[Nighthawkinlight]

Good tip. I've heard of it but never tried it. Something of note is that some bulbs split open considerably easier than others, those used in this video were the hardest to crack I've used.

[GuyPyro87]

The same can be said for the heating up way. Every now and then you get one that just doesn't want to break open easy. But the end result is usually the same. Your method would work for those who don't have a lighter handy, while mine would work for those who don't have a file near by. 8)

[USAtrapper]

Very helpful 5*

[lilmarine93]

another awsome video!

[cjmproduction]

i figured out how to turn these into blasting caps... rap in electrical tape

[Ralphgtx280]

no wrong your not makng a blasting cap your making an electrically fired salute there is a huge difference and it is far from safe as these ematches are made with glass which is not a good idea

[XX13urtonloverXX]

how many volts are you passing through the e-match  nice vid Ben!!!!

[Nighthawkinlight]

Just that of a AA. More would be needed if running the current through 100' of cable.

[XX13urtonloverXX]

Thanks man Keep up the awesome vids

[Lighttheskyup]

I have used these before. They are pretty reliable. My friend is in to high power rocketry, he ordered the dip kit ffrom skylighter and the ematch blanks. Those are very efficient, but not nearly as cheap as these.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Yep.

[Yoshiruu68]

cool but doesn't that take quite a bit of effort

[YoungJDogg]

Can't wait to see the ball mill you are making

[MTpyromaniac]

cool idea! Ill have to try this sometime...

[dpg35000]

awesome man! thanks

[infaroot]

5th

[Lokalmattador001]

^^no 6th :p

[Lokalmattador001]

...great!!!! i will praktis that!!!! 5*****

[miraclo3]

first?

[Hyphy101dre]

actually second, and now im third

[poopyapple1]

can it work with cruushed match head cuz i dont have acces to black powder

[jeffb8074]

maybe try it and see what u get but i would try it with-out it being placed in a firework first just to make sure u dont have a mis-fire :)

[poopyapple1]

ye i just tryed it and it works