Steel vs Hdpe for mortars

[silvy44]

Okay pyros I need some advice.For 5 yrs a friend and I put on a nice little backyard show, usually we have mortars and in the past have fused everything together but this yr was the first with remote systems but without the mortars.He mentioned to me that next yr he wants to build racks and add mortars but he wants to use either Pvc or steel pipe.I told him that if we do mortars we have to use the industry standard hdpe pipe for mortars,I mean there is a reason why the backyard hobbyist uses that when building there own racks. correct?His argument is that the steel is stronger then the hdpe.Id rather not be apart of it if steel pipe is going to be used, I'm assuming the pipe would explode and send shrapnel all over.Am I right or just being a little paranoid about this?I've read that some people bury them in the ground if they're using steel.It's confusing at times but I'd like to know as much as possible about this topic.
Thanks everyone and have a safe 4th

[Rick_In_Tampa]

HDPE tubes are the defacto standard for consumer mortar tubes. Unless you and you're friend are going to be shooting 4" or larger shells, I can't imagine why you (he) would want to use steel. A 60 gram shell is the biggest baddest shell a consumer can buy, and HDPE tubes are more than capable of shooting them repeatedly. So, yes... Steel is stronger (so is titanium!) but it's unnecessary IMHO for the back yard 1.4G consumer user.

[silvy44]

a 4" shell? I wouldn't even think of shooting anything that size off for a backyard show. I had mentioned to him about buying the mortar tubes throughout the yr as money permits that is, and then fusing a case together with fast fuse and that's when he brought up about using the steel pipe from an availability standpoint
Thanks for the info rick I really appreciate it
I plan on buying the license package from the site and joining the Neopg
Have a good and safe 4th

[ras1986]

Most of my tubes are steel I have over 300 steel tubes. They are cheaper if you know what your doing..... but also heavier