Orange... Is your water hard? That reminds me of the calcium flame a bit. Check with your tournament director or proctor about wooden splints, but there's no logical reason to prohibit them. Try to stick with a flame loop, just to avoid headaches. Try switching flame loops? Maybe it's the loop itself? Is the orange color obscuring the compound colors?Jonak wrote: I did the flame test with the lights off. I previously read that sodium contamination was a thing so I was looking out for that, but I never got a yellow flame, even with sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate. With just water the flame was orange which I was previously told it was from the nichrome wire? I've also tried potassium chloride with no success. Can we use wooden splints to do the flame test? The rules say "Flame loop" but how specific is that?
I don't really know at this point, but maybe the temperature is too high or too low? Try adjusting them using the air holes at the bottom of the burner, if you're using the same kind I am. There are some videos online for flame tests, so maybe watch them and see where your lab technique is different, and try adjusting that?