Firework Safety - Artillery Shells

[FireworkNewbie]

I have yet another safety question, this time regarding mortars. I'm planning on building 30 shot (HDPE) racks. So I've seen the destruction that is caused from a shell being inappropriately loaded upside down; how it sheds an HDPE tube.

Now, I'm not too familiar with the composition and makeup of an artillery shell, but I'm assuming that destruction comes primarily from the burst charge and not so much from the lift charge, correct?

So, loading safely and properly, if the lift charge "fails," can the burst charge still ignite? If so, could this potentially destroy the rack itself or cause the other fused tubes to fail due to the force of the break?

Has anyone had this happen, or could it happen? What steps would you take to ensure safety of your spectators, outside of the assumed distance requirements?

[MtnViewPyro]

A first good start is your use of hdpe. It’s purpose to expand when the shell explodes inside the tube. If your crowd is following the distance requirements, your going to be covered for any issues. The rest of your question, the pros on here will have specific recommendations and what can or cannot happen.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

"or could it happen?"

The answer to ANY question like this; ESPECIALLY when you're dealing with explosives; will always be yes. Anything is always possible. You can't control that. What you CAN control is the probability of a catastrophe by inspecting your work and adhering to safety distance requirements. Even if you just consider yourself a backyard shooter, you're still the "lead shooter" for your show, and therefore, responsible for what happens. So even if you have people help you set up your show, (and I would argue ESPECIALLY when you have people help you set up your show!!) you always want to inspect everything before you shoot anything. Inspect the mortar racks then place a piece of tape over the top so no one can mess with the shells. If the tape is missing or broken, chances are someone messed with it and you should check it again or not shoot it. I load all my mortars myself, then I cover the crates with foil and tape it down so only the main fuse is showing. That way nothing and no one can get in the tubes until after they're fired.

Your greatest asset when it comes to safety is distance. Never plan for the minimum! If the book says 70' per inch of shell (and it does!) but you can take them out to 100', then take them out to 100'! The extra margin of safety is your friend.

When you're dealing with 1.4G consumer shells the likelihood that one will shred a DR-11 tube is close to zero. The opening at the top will vent the majority of the blast up and out even if the shell is inserted upside down. As MVP stated HDPE tubes are designed to stretch and rip so they don't turn into shrapnel like a PVC tube would for example. So as long as you make sure you inspect the tubes before you load them to make sure they are sound, clean and the base plug is solid and secure, you shouldn't have any problems.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Some of the "new" 5" canister shells have a little more "juice" in them than they should--and I have seen them blow apart a rack of 1.75" HDPE tubes at a club shoot this last summer. If a ball shell goes off in the tube it will pretty much just look like a mine.

It definitely is possible for a shell to blow apart in the gun if the lift charge is missing--or has gotten wet.
Like everyone above said: distance, safe set up procedures & due diligence!

[FireworkNewbie]

5" though, you're speaking of 1.3, right? Not consumer?

[displayfireworks1]

I believe he is referencing the so called 5 inch canister artillery shells. It is still a consumer fireworks product. I suspect it is a marketing strategy to make it appear bigger and better than other canister artillery shells on the market. But who knows, maybe they loaded them up more than the regular shells.

[MtnViewPyro]

I have two different brands of these 5” canister shells. They both are right at 60 grams of composition. However, one thing I noticed right away is they both break much lower than other 60gram cans. I’m assuming this is due to the extra weight of the shell. I hear voices now saying a 60gram is a 60gram when looking at shells now lol.

[jknepp1954]

I have two different brands of these 5” canister shells. They both are right at 60 grams of composition. However, one thing I noticed right away is they both break much lower than other 60gram cans. I’m assuming this is due to the extra weight of the shell. I hear voices now saying a 60gram is a 60gram when looking at shells now lol.

We sampled a 5" last spring from anew company - and shot a regular 4" can beside it. the 5" we sampled actually broke HIGHER than the 4" can....

[FireworkNewbie]

So, for standard 60g shells, would you guys feel comfortable sitting spectators 180 - 200 ft away from shoot site? That's as far as I can go...

[PyroDre]

So, for standard 60g shells, would you guys feel comfortable sitting spectators 180 - 200 ft away from shoot site? That's as far as I can go...

that's plenty

[MtnViewPyro]

I guess it depends on the shells your working with like everything else.

[MtnViewPyro]

We sampled a 5" last spring from anew company - and shot a regular 4" can beside it. the 5" we sampled actually broke HIGHER than the 4" can....

Guess it depends on the shells.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

So, for standard 60g shells, would you guys feel comfortable sitting spectators 180 - 200 ft away from shoot site? That's as far as I can go...

Very comfortable.

[FireworkNewbie]

I was planning on posting a new thread but since we are talking about the safety of shells, I figured it can go in here as well.

Regarding a dud, if I understand the term, if not, I'm referring to a shell that launches though does not break (burst charge fail) and just falls to the ground. What do you do in this case?

I know for a show it's practically impossible to know that this happened but I've read counterdicing instructions. Somewhere I read to immediately get a shovel and put it in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Somewhere else I read to never go out to the site until the next day...

Any advice and insight is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[esgrillo]

Newbie, I wouldnt go near it if you can even find it. Of course if it starts a grass fire or something put it out but besides that I would leave until after the show. Whoever said to go over right away and pick it up with a shovel is freaking nuts if you ask me (with all due respect of course).

I always spray all my spent cakes with water after the show to minimize fires. They always happen so be prepared and take precautions in advance. If this ever happens (never has happened to me in thousands of shells) and you find it, I would hose it down like the rest of the cakes and leave it till the next day.

What has happened to me on many occasions is a low break flower pot or burst in the tube. I seem to get one or 2 each show (usually 200+ shells). Needless to say that is when you see these, you are glad you have a firing system and keep the crowd away. You can see one in an older show of mine here at the 4:21 mark:


https://youtu.be/hPeS1Lyl4xk?t=259

When you see this close up you understand why you should never pick up a "hot" shell unless maybe you have a shovel with a 100ft handle on it lol.

[MtnViewPyro]

I agree with esgrillo. Leave it alone if you actually see on. In addition, his advice on spraying cakes after the show is very important. Last year, I didn’t do this because everything looked good. Couple hours later driving through the field I noticed one was on fire. The cake caught on fire and burnt all the way through the plywood and started to catch fire to the ground below. I will always spray them from now on.