Question on Milk Carton Racks?

[eldridgejoe]

Why dont more people use them? Seems like a cheap and easy alternative? Why do some say to cut wood to put in the botton? I assume so you dont blow the bottom out... But is there another reason. It looks like I can get 24 DR11 in there comfortably. 25 is really tight! No room for the tubes to expand when they heat up. I can build racks too. In fact I have three. But I am looking for a simple way to rack more guns.
Thanks in Advance...

[$/\/\0|<E]

I don't know why more people don't use them , especially in a pinch . You ran out of wood? Just use that milk crate !!! They work fine and I have never had any problems . As long as your using HDPE and only use them for 1 shot a show on consumer shells the crate should be fine .

[eldridgejoe]

I don't know why more people don't use them , especially in a pinch . You ran out of wood? Just use that milk crate !!! They work fine and I have never had any problems . As long as your using HDPE and only use them for 1 shot a show on consumer shells the crate should be fine .
Why not more than one shot? I always use my excal tubes after I have taken a router to the base. I have about 80 tubes from Excals and I just got some new guns from pyroboom.com. I want to be able to put 150 shells in the air rather quickly. Love the effect.

[St1dinoh]

ahhh MCR's...

here's my honest opinion on them, take it or leave it...

MCR's are cheap and easy, but as with all things cheap and easy they aren't always the best solution...like duct tape...more often they are just a temporary fix.

the reason for the wood bottom is the force of the average canister shell will punch the bottom right out of the milk crate, the colder it is, the more likely this will happen (plastic gets brittle when it gets cold).

on that note, using a MCR in the winter isn't the greatest idea... i've never noticed any specific problems but logic would tell you that using a MCR on NYE carries more risk than on a hot summer night.

as far as your worry of "expansion" you can stop worrying about that. in fact, you want to wedge stuff in the rack to keep the tubes from moving around. the more the tubes can move, the more you will need to worry about them hopping out of the rack as they fire.

this brings me to the next problem with any "box style" rack (where multiple rows of tubes are touching each other).

box style racks are kinda dangerous because tubes do hop out of racks, and as they hop, they allow the adjacent tubes to fly around and soon all hell breaks loose.

the worst hazard with box style racks, especially MCR's, is if/when you get a blow out in a center tube...consider the rack toast and you better hope to hell you have assured safe distance between that rack and you...odds are (murphy's law) the tubes that go flying with lit shells in them waiting to launch...

will be pointed in your direction.

total disclosure...

i've got 5 box style racks in my shed right now...

but i know that when i use them they are far enough away from anything so if the worst should happen it's not going to matter...and i plan to replace them with real racks (12 shot line racks) as soon as possible.

telling you not to use them is pointless because you will anyway, so best thing to do here is to tell you the best way to use them so you don't injure yourself or others...

again:

-wood base
-wedge the tubes with shims to keep them as tight as possible
-assured distances
-try not to use plastic (HDPE) MCR's on a cold day where the plastic is more likely to shatter during use.

good luck, and replace the MCR's ASAP with real wood racks...

safer, you can do a lot more with them, and people won't "lol" @ you when you post pics of your setup :D (again, i have 5 of them).

[St1dinoh]

sorry for the double post, but for some odd reason there is an editing time limit on posts you make here. odds are it is a default setting that someone never bothered to switch off...

i would have just added this to the last reply but here goes...


Why not more than one shot? I always use my excal tubes after I have taken a router to the base. I have about 80 tubes from Excals and I just got some new guns from pyroboom.com. I want to be able to put 150 shells in the air rather quickly. Love the effect.

he means you should never sit there and drop shells in HDPE over and over again. "hot reloading" HDPE is a very bad idea as the HDPE tubes become pliable once they get hot and they are much more likely to blow out on you.

if you were to attempt to fire all the shells in a x-cal kit as fast as you could from one gun...by the time you go tto the last one you would most likely have a blow out + ground break.

this is why the new regs require one tube per every 6 shells, and why youtube has multiple vids of x-cals blowing the tubes out on people who don't know what in the hell they are doing (no offense intended).

you should always try to stick to one gun for every shell in your shows if your budget lets you. frankly it's safer if you aren't in the field reloading when the show is going off.

[Pyro Nation]

Didnt think about how pliable they would get, but it is true. Glad I never did it that way. Always just had enough racks I needed for show and fused them up. Never really worried about the reload factor. With that said I now know it and will always have it in the back of the mind if someone asks.lol

[St1dinoh]

Didnt think about how pliable they would get, but it is true. Glad I never did it that way. Always just had enough racks I needed for show and fused them up. Never really worried about the reload factor. With that said I now know it and will always have it in the back of the mind if someone asks.lol

yeah out of all the mortar materials (HDPE, fiberglass, cardboard) HDPE is the one most susceptible to this. if you fire 3 or 4 shells from an HDPE gun in a row then grab a hold of it you'll feel the heat i'm talking about. HDPE seems to hold that heat real well.

IMO, "hot reloading" isn't exactly the best way to do things period, no matter what material the gun is made of.

[FBOD]

Everyone I know of puts 25 tubes in.
Is it safe? Not like a real rack, but many use and have no problems.
If i used milk crates I would add more distance than my normal setbacks.

[jungle cat]

I use milk crate racks all the time... Right now I have 10 racks with 25 tubes... I personally have never had any problems, just put a piece of wood at the bottom of the crate

[$/\/\0|<E]

he means you should never sit there and drop shells in HDPE over and over again. "hot reloading" HDPE is a very bad idea as the HDPE tubes become pliable once they get hot and they are much more likely to blow out on you.

if you were to attempt to fire all the shells in a x-cal kit as fast as you could from one gun...by the time you go tto the last one you would most likely have a blow out + ground break.

this is why the new regs require one tube per every 6 shells, and why youtube has multiple vids of x-cals blowing the tubes out on people who don't know what in the hell they are doing (no offense intended).

you should always try to stick to one gun for every shell in your shows if your budget lets you. frankly it's safer if you aren't in the field reloading when the show is going off.

Yes that was exactly what I was talking about . I couldn't have said it better . Thanks St1dinoh

[shellshocker]

Keep in mind that just because you have done something many times without a problem doesn't mean you won't. Just ask the guys that got killed last year in NC how many times they slid a box across the floor of their truck and it didn't explode. if you haven't seen a shell explode in the center of one of these racks you don't want to. The idea behind racks is to help prevent other tubes from flying around if one flower pots. Milk crate racks aren't going to do that. I believe Dave has a video from the fall of a disaster that happen at a shoot where shells were flying all over the place. Luckly no one got killed. If I can find it i'll post a link to it. If you want to be in fireworks do your best to take every precaution possible to protect everyone.

[Pyro Nation]

Well, I never have used the milk crate deal. Only because I was afraid of the blow out. Heard to many horror stories

[fogle22]

All my MCRs have 25 guns and 3/4" scrap plywood on the base. I'll take a 1.5" screw and drive through the plywood into the bottom of the plug on the gun.

Never had an issue with guns jumping out or the end plug cracking.

[St1dinoh]

All my MCRs have 25 guns and 3/4" scrap plywood on the base. I'll take a 1.5" screw and drive through the plywood into the bottom of the plug on the gun.

Never had an issue with guns jumping out or the end plug cracking.

when a shell blows out the center tube and blows that rack all to shit with lit shells in the tubes you'll wish you had used line racks instead of MCR's.

just sayin.

as i said earlier... i have 5 MCR's in my shed right now... but i'm going to be replacing them ASAP with line racks.

not because i have had a problem with my MCR's, but because learning from other's past mistakes is what makes forums so valuable.

i'd encourage everyone to retire their MCR's as soon as they can, but if it's not in the budget just be aware of the dangers involved with their use.

[boomboom]

Just ask the guys that got killed last year in NC how many times they slid a box across the floor of their truck and it didn\'t explode.

Wha??? Ask the guys that got killed? Really?

[shellshocker]

Wha??? Ask the guys that got killed? Really?

I'm sure their families wish they could still talk.

[jknepp1954]

I will probably get flack on this, but I have 2 MCR we use in our shows, never an issue except once.
Tried to shoot a finale round from that - well that didn't work - tubes flew everywhere - of course we may have tried to use cans like Windmill Super Magnums in them - maybe that is why they scattered. But one shell at a time - No problem.
Joyce

[pyro man 205]

racks are the way to good easy to make. ive made 5,10,15 so i group 10s,20,30,25s all work great .HPDE is the way to go,got my from Pyro Direct.

[Pyro Nation]

Now I have never made a rack always just bought them from pyrodirect. Though It seems easy enough to do this, but I can see why MCR are very convenient. Between the time to collect, buy, measure, cut, put together a rack. Opposed to getting a milk crate and laying a piece of wood in the bottom.

As Dave showed in one of his videos. You can get scrap wood for dirt cheep from lowes or Home depot. So, can always mess around building at a not so expensive cost

[pyro man 205]

pyrodirect has some good racks, it took me 2yrs to get and make my racks that i have now. 300 tubes. now in some kits do have HPDE tubes in them yes theay do have a base on them. i have taken them and screwed them down on a 1x6 with 2foot bords as feet. you can do straight up or do fan. theay have worked fine for the last 7yrs.

[Pyro Nation]

300.. Thats nice.... I have total of 175 only... Not a lot, but I strayed away from racks in a show due to the time it takes to setup and more punch in a cake than shells. I can get case of lets say crazy exciting which I love. Have a mid and high effect. 12 for $106.00. So racks have been more of a filler now to slow show down a bit. Now if I can get my hands on those 1.3G - 1.75" shells..lol

[pyro man 205]

i have made 2 neat racks from a design from one guy from that other site but i up graded it to a 25 shot from a 20. 5 in the middle with 4 legs comeing out with 5 on each foot. centrepiece is round and strait racks for the legs. fuse it all up to one fuse to light, and the legs are adjustable.

[pyro man 205]

hey 175 is fine to start out with.i like to do my end of the shoe with shells and 2 500gm cakes. not ever show i use all of them. some times 150, 200,250 depens on $$ theay are going for. most kits i get have 24 to 20, then some 16 and 12s. i try to put in at lease 3 to 4 fans. 50 shot final looks Awesome .