$2 Storm Glass Guide!!!
Introduction: $2 Storm Glass Guide!!!
If you are wanting to get to the goods and find out the cheap and easy way to make a storm glass for $2 then check the end of the material list and then jump to Step 12. Sorry for possibly boring you with experimentation first.
I had not even heard of a Fitzroy Storm Glass until my brother put one on his Christmas list. Following the link he provided I thought while they looked cool and fit the winter season but they seemed expensive for what you get with many of the listings asking between $20 and $35. This was the seed crystal that grew into the thought "that they did not look that hard to make". After reading a few articles and watching some videos by NightHawkInLight my 2020 became a DIY Christmas.
I was all set to use NightHawkInLight's method, but I was still ruminating on three questions.
1. Potassium Nitrate and Ammonium Chloride are not readily available so are they really needed?
2. How much Camphor is needed to get a satisfying response?
3. 440
Are there other options to Ethanol since it is expensive and it is hard to get if you are too young.
I was in the doldrums of these questions trying to figure out how to make this weather predictor when I stumbled across an article by <PERSON> from the University of Leicester that looks at the first two questions: https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
It covers some testing that seems to indicate that the Potassium Nitrate and the Ammonium Chloride are not even needed and that smaller amount of camphor could be used while still getting satisfying results. At the start of this I was not sure if this was true and after seeing Ammonium Chloride crystal on Wikipedia it seems like something you would find in a Storm Glass so I was skeptical about not using them
OK, so what are the goals of this instructable? They are four-fold:
1. Show how to make a Storm Glass yourself for only $2 (See The Materials and jump to Step 12)
2. Test if Potassium Nitrate & Ammonium Chloride are needed by comparing performance with and without
3. Test other alcohols that are much cheaper and easier to obtain such as Isopropyl Alcohol and Methanol
4. Test if different concentrations of Camphor will influence the temperature sensitivity of the glass.
By the end of this instructable I will summarize what I learned about how the Storm Glass works and check out the YouTube video I made it and jump to step 12 to make your own.
Lets make the weather inside this storm glass frightful!
I hope you find this instructable a glass more than half full.
Note: I bought way too much Ammonium Chloride and Potassium Nitrate but I am sure I will find other uses for them in other projects.
FTC Disclaimer: I earn a percentage of the sales through the affiliate links provided through Amazon. If you click on the link it helps fund future projects but bear in mind it might not be the best price for this materials.
Supplies
Testing Materials
* Glass Test Tubes
* Camphor (At the time I bought it this was one of the best deals I could find for camphor)
* Ammonium Chloride
* Potassium Nitrate
* Ethanol (80 Proof Vodka) (I am not linking anything here because you get the idea)
* Isopropyl Alcohol
* Methanol
* Distilled Water (Check your local grocery)
Tools
* Water (Hopefully available out of your tap since it is used only as a double boiler to gently heat the samples)
* 3D Printer
* 3D Printer Filament
* Thermometer
* Sous Vide
* Clear Plastic Tub
$2 Storm Glass (Methanol Based)
* Half Pint Jar (I found these that hold just about 1 cup) (~$0.75)
+ Something Capable of hold around 300mL to hold the ~250mL of solution)
+ They are cheaper in person.
* 100mL Heet (~$0.45)
* 100 mL Distilled Water
* 12 grams of Camphor (~$0.8)
$5 Storm Glass (Methanol Based)
* Half Pint Jar (I found these that hold just about 1 cup) (~$0.75)
+ Something Capable of hold around 300mL to hold the ~250mL of solution)
+ They are cheaper in person.
* 200 mL Vodka (Cheapest I found was $1.5 but it is typically closer $2. 440