How to make a cool Burning Flame

How to make a cool Burning Flame

This Project is to be done by Adults and Supervised by Adults from Start to finish
as with anything Flammable Use all Extreme Caution and Safety Measures Wear rubber gloves and safety glasses when handling chemicals and COMMON SENSE
This Project is best done Outside

This Project is best done in a Cast Iron Cauldron and older one something maybe you found that at a Thrift store or an old rusty Cast Iron Pot or container you must Place the container on a tile or flat rocks

This is the Reason why Old Cast Iron Containers Will hold the chemcials and heat better and it must be an old container for once this is done burning it will leave a Film and the container will be Ruined forever
you can only use it for this purpose ONLY

All The Heat that is Generated from this Fire will leave a mark on the ground so please put a hot plate tile or Stones to prevent from burning the Ground

An old Rusted BBQ will work Perfect
you can never cook in it again or use it for anything except this project for this purpose

Once you have understood the precautions its alot of Fun and Exciting for the Children just please use all Safety measures so everyone can enjoy themselves


Here is a Video to Help Explain it Vadora has done this many times with her Children while Growing up
This is alot of Fun and Education for its SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!

What you need is
Pine Cones or woodchips or old Rolled up newspaper

Epson Salts
Boric Acid
Rubbing Alcohol
Gloves and Googles

Large bucket
Tongs or slotted spoon

Flat Stones or Tiles
a Cast Iron Pot an Old Cast Iron Pot or Cauldron works Great

Paraffin Wax
Long Fireplace / Grill Lighter

Step 1.

Dissolve the boric acid and Epsom Salts in a small amount of Rubbing alcohol. Soak the pine cones in the solution until well saturated, then remove to a rack or newspaper and allow to dry. 2- 3 days

When you are ready to burn them, you will get even better results if you have a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol handy and spray each pine cone before adding it to the fire.

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 pinecones, each treated with a single colorant, or scatter a mixture of dried colored sawdusts across the fire.

Technique #2
Melt paraffin over low heat and the dissolve the boric acid in it. Add the pine cones, one at a time and turn to coat. Remove to a rack or newspaper and allow to cool/harden.
In either case, you can make large quantities at once and use them throughout the season, or perhaps give bags of treated pine cones as gifts. You can also scent the pine cones by adding a few drops of an essential oil like cinnamon

What Is Happening?

When a metal or metal salt is burned, the input of thermal energy raises the electrons in the metal atom to a higher energy state. These electrons cannot remain in this excited state for too long and will emit energy in the form of light to return to the more stable, grounded state. It is this light we see when a metal atom is burned in a flame.
Each metal has a characteristic flame color which has been found to be useful in identifying minerals.


The secret to changing a pine cone tossed into your fire from a basic yellow flame into more dazzling colors like blue, purple, green, red, and white is saturating the pine cone with a solution that contains a color-providing chemical.

You mix the powder form of the chemical into a bowl or bucket of warm water and then soak the pine cones in it. After they've had a good soak, you pull them out to dry and when the water evaporates you're left with a pine cone soaked with the chemical. Want pine cones that flare up brilliant white? Make your solution with Epsom salts—the white flame comes from the magnesium in the salts. Many of the chemicals you'll need are available at your local pharmacy although for some of them you'll need to visit a specialty store like a hobby shop or chemistry supply store.

A quick and dirty way to make the pine cones, and the one pictured above, is to use boric acid powder—available in the laundry aisle. You won't get as strong of coloration, but you'll get a rainbow of colors thanks to the variety of chemicals in boric acid





List of coloring chemicals

Color = Chemical

Carmine = Lithium Chloride 100g

Red = Strontium Chloride 100g

Orange = Calcium Chloride 100g (a bleaching powder)

Yellow = Sodium Chloride 100g (table salt) or Sodium Carbonate

Yellowish Green = Borax 300g


Pink Lithium Chloride 100g

Gold Sparks Iron Fillings 50- 100g

Silver Sparks Aluminum Powder 50- 100g


Green = Copper Sulfate 200g ( from a hardware store )

Blue = Copper Chloride 125g

Violet **Will smoke a ton** = 3 parts Potassium Sulfate 1 part Potassium Nitrate (saltpeter)

Purple = Potassium Chloride 100g

White = Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom salts)