How it works
Throw it in. That is the whole method.
There is no mixing, no measuring and nothing to open. The only things that change the result are the fire you build and where you put the packet.
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01
Build a hot wood fire
Let it establish properly. You want real flame and a bed of glowing coals, not kindling that is still catching. A packet thrown onto a young fire burns off fast and gives thin color, and that single mistake accounts for most of the disappointment people report with products in this category.
Wood only. Not propane. Not artificial gas logs.
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02
Place one sealed packet on a log
Lay it on a flat face of a burning log rather than dropping it into the embers. It burns more slowly there, and the color runs measurably longer. Do not tear the packet open and do not sprinkle the powder. The sachet is designed to burn with the fire.
One packet for a normal backyard fire pit. Two or three for a large bonfire.
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03
Watch for 30 to 45 minutes
Color starts within seconds and deepens over the first few minutes. Blues and purples come through strongest, with green and red present but subtler. When it begins to fade, add another packet to keep it running.
Why it works
It is a flame test, scaled up
Heat a mineral salt hot enough and its electrons jump, then fall back and release that energy as light. Every metal releases a different wavelength, so every metal has a signature color. Chemistry students do this with a wire loop and a bunsen burner. Magic Flames does it with your fire pit.
That is also why the effect is finite. Once the minerals in the packet have burned through, the fire returns to ordinary orange.
- Blue
- Copper compounds
- Green
- Boron compounds
- Purple
- Potassium compounds
- Red
- Strontium compounds
General chemistry, not our specific formulation. We do not publish the recipe.
Do this, not that
Do
- Wait until the fire is hot and established
- Keep the packet sealed and place it on a log face
- Use one to three packets depending on fire size
- Sit upwind, as you would with any fire
- Let an adult handle the packets and the fire
- Store the rest somewhere dry and out of reach
Do not
- Use it in a propane fire pit or with gas logs
- Open the packet or sprinkle the powder
- Cook food over colored flames
- Leave packets where children or pets can reach them
- Use it in an unventilated space
- Expect a perfectly even rainbow. Blues and purples lead
Everything in one place on the fire color packet safety page.
