Potassium Nitrate

by The Jolly Roger

Potassium Nitrate is an ingredient in making fuses, among other things. Here is how you make it:

Materials needed:

Punch holes on the inside bottom of the bucket, so that the metal is "puckered" outward from the bottom
Spread cloth over the holes from the bottom
Place wood ashes on the cloth. Spread it out so that it covers the entire cloth and has about the same thickness.
Place 2nd cloth on top of the wood ashes
Place the dirt or other material in the bucket
Place the bucket over the shallow container. NOTE: It may need support on the bottom so that the holes on the bottom are not blocked.
Boil water and pour it over the earth very slowly. Do NOT pour it all at once, as this will clog the filter on the bottom.
Allow water to run through holes into the shallow dish on the bottom.
Be sure that the water goes through ALL of the earth!
Allow water in dish to cool for an hour or so
Carefully drain the liquid in the dish away, and discard the sludge in the bottom
Boil this liquid over a fire for at least two hours. Small grains of salt will form - scoop these out with the paper as they form
When the liquid has boiled down to 1/2 its original volume let it sit
After 1/2 hour, add equal volume of the alcohol; when this mixture is poured through paper, small white crystals appear. This is the posassium nitrate.