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ONExLOSTxSOUL
07-08-2021, 09:40 PM
Anyone have a faster way to fuse racks? As everyone knows its time consuming and my fingers hurt after double zip ties on each shell for my 90 shell finale and even with all that I still have some misfires. are those fuse Conex any faster/ reliable?

chrish
07-08-2021, 10:10 PM
i have used knots, tape, and zip ties.
zip ties are my least favorite.
for me tape is the fastest. i do like knots though because that require no hardware to use and are easy to fix in the field. they also affect the main fues burn time the least.
if you arent aware the fire moves the speed of the fastest fuse. if you put 4 sec next to 10 sec, it burns 4 sec. most shell fuse is about 4 sec/ft. so if you have 12 one inch pieces of shell fuse taped to 10 sec fuse over a 12" piece that means you have 12 inches of shell fuse end to end the run burns in 4 secs, not 10. (this is for 12 shells)

to your question, i use tape most often. i like green frog tape. i know dave and others like the uhaul tape. never tried it, mainly because walmart is 1 mile away and green tape is just faster to get. it holds very well. havent used ties in several years. i am not a fan

btw i fused 700+ consumer shells like this this year and do most years. it is definitely easiest on the fingers. knots are very hard on fingers. i dont know the name of the one i use but i came across it on here and it does work well for transferring fire.

Rick_In_Tampa
07-08-2021, 11:36 PM
The fastest way I've found to fuse racks is to have my kids fuse them. That worked well for me this year. I have 300 in my show every year, and this year my kids fused the racks. Surprisingly, every shell fired!

I use zip ties. Then I tape over the connection points. I always have 100% success this way.

215less
07-09-2021, 12:09 AM
Zip ties are my go to when hand firing canister shells. I would think that wrapping the fuse in aluminum foil wouldn’t hurt. Almost like a makeshift quick match minus the speed of actual QM. Experiment safely

Kooooou
07-09-2021, 12:14 AM
I use 2 zipties per 3-4 shells, but bear in mind this is only for my finale racks. It's hard to explain clearly, but my racks are all 5 rows each (angled), and I never zip tie just a single shell to the main fuse. This really cuts down on the zip tying time, and it gives you a much hotter burn when there are somewhere between 3-6 visco fuses burning at once. My success rate annually is about 1-2 failed shells out of 150-200. I choose zip ties because they are least likely to be affected by environmentals like rain and humidity.

ONExLOSTxSOUL
07-09-2021, 10:14 AM
i have used knots, tape, and zip ties.
zip ties are my least favorite.
for me tape is the fastest. i do like knots though because that require no hardware to use and are easy to fix in the field. they also affect the main fues burn time the least.
if you arent aware the fire moves the speed of the fastest fuse. if you put 4 sec next to 10 sec, it burns 4 sec. most shell fuse is about 4 sec/ft. so if you have 12 one inch pieces of shell fuse taped to 10 sec fuse over a 12" piece that means you have 12 inches of shell fuse end to end the run burns in 4 secs, not 10. (this is for 12 shells)

to your question, i use tape most often. i like green frog tape. i know dave and others like the uhaul tape. never tried it, mainly because walmart is 1 mile away and green tape is just faster to get. it holds very well. havent used ties in several years. i am not a fan

btw i fused 700+ consumer shells like this this year and do most years. it is definitely easiest on the fingers. knots are very hard on fingers. i dont know the name of the one i use but i came across it on here and it does work well for transferring fire.

i think i may buy a tape dispenser and try this for my next show. thanks for the advice

ONExLOSTxSOUL
07-09-2021, 10:16 AM
The fastest way I've found to fuse racks is to have my kids fuse them. That worked well for me this year. I have 300 in my show every year, and this year my kids fused the racks. Surprisingly, every shell fired!

I use zip ties. Then I tape over the connection points. I always have 100% success this way.

i really do wish i had some help with my shows, i had close to 25-30 hrs in my own labor for 3 days before the show between poking cakes and gluing to boards and then testing the DMX and everything else.

ONExLOSTxSOUL
07-09-2021, 10:18 AM
I use 2 zipties per 3-4 shells, but bear in mind this is only for my finale racks. It's hard to explain clearly, but my racks are all 5 rows each (angled), and I never zip tie just a single shell to the main fuse. This really cuts down on the zip tying time, and it gives you a much hotter burn when there are somewhere between 3-6 visco fuses burning at once. My success rate annually is about 1-2 failed shells out of 150-200. I choose zip ties because they are least likely to be affected by environmentals like rain and humidity.

i think for me that would be too much sky puke for my taste, but i am sure it is pretty!!

Birdman
07-09-2021, 12:14 PM
I never used zip ties. I use 1 inch scotch tape. I tape each shell first then tape the whole run, folding over to cover as much as I can. I also cover the top of my finale racks with foil. The foil makes a mess though. Every time I say I'm not going to cover them in foil again but always decide it's best if I do. I never had a problem and the tape held even fusing months in advance.

I agree with Rick....have someone else do it! I helped my son get started this year and he did the rest. All of the shells fired and now my son wants to get more involved.

ssmith512
07-09-2021, 12:29 PM
1" green or blue painters tape for me. Never failed. I have had zipties fail.

esgrillo
07-09-2021, 01:53 PM
The fastest way I've found to fuse racks is to have my kids fuse them. That worked well for me this year. I have 300 in my show every year, and this year my kids fused the racks. Surprisingly, every shell fired!

I use zip ties. Then I tape over the connection points. I always have 100% success this way.

Like Rick said... I have one kid do all the racks and another do the 90 bump bears I always fast fuse for my finale....

For the racks he zips and tapes for slow fuse and makes a fuse tape sandwich for fast fused items, no zip ties

rthruska
07-09-2021, 04:15 PM
The fastest way I've found to fuse racks is to have my kids fuse them. That worked well for me this year. I have 300 in my show every year, and this year my kids fused the racks. Surprisingly, every shell fired!

I use zip ties. Then I tape over the connection points. I always have 100% success this way.

can I borrow your kids for new years?

R. Derrick
07-10-2021, 05:47 PM
I used zip ties - at least the past 2 years and it is very time-consuming. I've not had any fails yet but I do at least 2 ties per can. I then tape over top but this is more to prevent accidental lighting not to enhance the flame - although, I'm going to be reexamining my methods next show.

I think I will try the tape method next.

ONExLOSTxSOUL
07-10-2021, 06:14 PM
I will try the tape method and see how i like it, has to be better then the damn zipties lol!

displayfireworks1
07-10-2021, 08:59 PM
I have only been talking about using Dave Magic Tape for 10 years now and I still hear this question and those stubborn pryo's using zip ties and blue painters tape etc. "What the best way to fast fuse?" LOL Buy that dam tape .

ONExLOSTxSOUL
07-10-2021, 10:45 PM
I have only been talking about using Dave Magic Tape for 10 years now and I still hear this question and those stubborn pryo's using zip ties and blue painters tape etc. "What the best way to fast fuse?" LOL Buy that dam tape .

I just ordered some! and a table top dispenser for it to be fancy

Rick_In_Tampa
07-10-2021, 11:41 PM
can I borrow your kids for new years?

Lol... Absolutely!