4 Questions I've been wondering about for a while...

[wizard7611]

1. ATF license question: Does the fire marshal have to be at my show or can there be experienced firefighters?

2. What's better? (XS HD shells or Excaliber shells)

3. Where (or if it's even possible) can I buy consumer girandola reloadables? If no, can I buy professional grade girandolas?

4. What are the best skyrockets and where can you purchase them?

-Thanks!!! -oh yea, if you're wondering, I live in the U.S. if this location conflicts with any of my questions:D

[Pyro Nation]

1.YES and NO... Depends on the requirements of the AHJ of the area the show is in.. I live in PA, never had a visit from a fire marshal

2. I have always loved Excal's, but I find year to year they vary and so do other shells

3. Consumer girandolas are almost non existent anymore and 1.3 hardly carry them

4. all depends on what you mean by best... LOUD or a BIG break or special effect you like

[wizard7611]

4. I would like to know the best skyrockets with the most loudness:D

3. I see Kgfireworks sells them as a consumer product but is it better to just make them yourself?

2. IDK, I think last year was great with Hd shells

1. You're lucky;)

[PGH_Pyro]

Excal & XS-HD are 2 differing kind of shells. the XSHD have that neon/psychedelic coloration to the stars. Excals/etc are more traditional colors.
I would also say the Excals are louder and the breaks, wider, in the sky. Exterminator / Pro-Shells / Just for Pro. shells are even better than Excal, in my experience .
The best rockets are the ones vendors are selling at shoots/events . (or the ones you make yourself assuming you know what you're doing, etc etc.)

[wizard7611]

After seeing this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2sKwXAylIY

It is clear that I'm missing out on something here. I really am interested in finding out where you could buy these.:cool:

[PuroJon]

I still have some of those tube-launched reloadable girandolas, fired a few cases of them. For me one of the problems with small girandolas is the clean up after. Like rockets, you spend a lot of time collecting spent sticks and rings. Won't shoot them again in any show I have to clean up after unless they are big and really worth it.

Just an opinion...

[wizard7611]

I still have some of those tube-launched reloadable girandolas, fired a few cases of them. For me one of the problems with small girandolas is the clean up after. Like rockets, you spend a lot of time collecting spent sticks and rings. Won't shoot them again in any show I have to clean up after unless they are big and really worth it.

Just an opinion...

Oh nice, but how are people getting these in the first place? What brand are they?

[PuroJon]

Oh nice, but how are people getting these in the first place? What brand are they?

They were from Legends and called "UFO Reloadable", the same one's that Dave did a video about. As I understand it they had some 1.4g qualification issues and they were blocked from import after the first shipments got through. They are not one I would buy again, FWIW. I still have a few and I regret getting as many as I did.


484

[wizard7611]

They were from Legends and called "UFO Reloadable", the same one's that Dave did a video about. As I understand it they had some 1.4g qualification issues and they were blocked from import after the first shipments got through. They are not one I would buy again, FWIW. I still have a few and I regret getting as many as I did.


484


how much did they cost you per package and why do you regret getting them?:confused:

[PuroJon]

how much did they cost you per package and why do you regret getting them?:confused:

I can't remember how much I spent, something between $3-$6 a piece because they were shelf pulls. They were cheap so I got all he had at the time (smile). But they just were not impressive enough to warrant repeating. They are nice mini-girandolas, which made me learn there is a big difference between a mini and a 'real' girandolas. And I can see why they were pulled by the CPSC... Here's a story which illustrates why:

With a case or two of them in hand we went to a local open shoot with them and maybe 200lbs of other stuff (grin... had about 80 Excals in series with quick fuse straight into the cans. It was GREAT!) My woman was going crazy wanting to shoot the UFOs so I gave her a tube and sent her off into the field while I hung back with a few other interested pyros. Well, she opened the first tube, took out a girandola and set it on the ground to light it. We all started giggling and between laughs we were all yelling that "NO ... giggle... NO... gufaw" but it was too late. She lit it upside down just sitting on the ground. Luckily she was back far enough that it just made an entertaining ground flop. We all yell at her "It goes in the TUBE! ON THE STICK IN THE TUBE!!!". She figured it out and dumped the remaining 2 wheels on the ground, unwrapped one and put it on the dowel rod that's glued in the center of the tube package they come in. She loaded it, and after hunting around found and lit the fuse - but the girandola was upside down. Made for a pretty flashy tube effect (it did not blow the tube out) and we were almost on the ground laughing over it all. A couple of chorus shouts of "UPSIDE DOWN!" at her and she figured it out and shot the last of the 3 in proper fashion. I remember the general consensus was #1 we all now had something to tease her about for many years to come, and #2 a collective "No big whoop" on the girandolas themselves.

Sorry to tell it badly. The moral of the story is that I heard the CPSC did not like the non-instructions in/on the package, and the lack of "THIS SIDE UP" labels on each of the wheels. Left too much open to mistake in a consumers' hands and we saw why. Would not have been funny in the hands of an inexperienced local neighbor. We are relatively experienced hobby pyros so we found it funny; kids lighting these on the street would not be so funny, nor the wheel carriage hitting on the roof of the neighbors houses. I can no longer find them in Legend's product lists and those that remain are on some shelves of 1.4g wholesalers who can only sell them direct.

To me a girandola is a thing of beauty and mixed pyro effects. Ground pyro mixed with mid-aerial to high-aerial bursts. These minis don't have any ground effect, they come out of the tube like very small pissed off wheels and burst at mid-height.

Check out Dave's video of him shooting them. They are fun because they are different and help some folks understand what a girandola is and how they work, but the UFO's seemed more like little fountain wheels exploding with a launch charge in their butts. I have another 4-5 tubes (3 wheels in a tube) of them and we talk all the time about what to do with them. Figure to mount them all in a line on a one board and set 'em off in parallel. But no one wants to have to clean up afterwards.

Just my opinion...

[wizard7611]

I can't remember how much I spent, something between $3-$6 a piece because they were shelf pulls. They were cheap so I got all he had at the time (smile). But they just were not impressive enough to warrant repeating. They are nice mini-girandolas, which made me learn there is a big difference between a mini and a 'real' girandolas. And I can see why they were pulled by the CPSC... Here's a story which illustrates why:

With a case or two of them in hand we went to a local open shoot with them and maybe 200lbs of other stuff (grin... had about 80 Excals in series with quick fuse straight into the cans. It was GREAT!) My woman was going crazy wanting to shoot the UFOs so I gave her a tube and sent her off into the field while I hung back with a few other interested pyros. Well, she opened the first tube, took out a girandola and set it on the ground to light it. We all started giggling and between laughs we were all yelling that "NO ... giggle... NO... gufaw" but it was too late. She lit it upside down just sitting on the ground. Luckily she was back far enough that it just made an entertaining ground flop. We all yell at her "It goes in the TUBE! ON THE STICK IN THE TUBE!!!". She figured it out and dumped the remaining 2 wheels on the ground, unwrapped one and put it on the dowel rod that's glued in the center of the tube package they come in. She loaded it, and after hunting around found and lit the fuse - but the girandola was upside down. Made for a pretty flashy tube effect (it did not blow the tube out) and we were almost on the ground laughing over it all. A couple of chorus shouts of "UPSIDE DOWN!" at her and she figured it out and shot the last of the 3 in proper fashion. I remember the general consensus was #1 we all now had something to tease her about for many years to come, and #2 a collective "No big whoop" on the girandolas themselves.

Sorry to tell it badly. The moral of the story is that I heard the CPSC did not like the non-instructions in/on the package, and the lack of "THIS SIDE UP" labels on each of the wheels. Left too much open to mistake in a consumers' hands and we saw why. Would not have been funny in the hands of an inexperienced local neighbor. We are relatively experienced hobby pyros so we found it funny; kids lighting these on the street would not be so funny, nor the wheel carriage hitting on the roof of the neighbors houses. I can no longer find them in Legend's product lists and those that remain are on some shelves of 1.4g wholesalers who can only sell them direct.

To me a girandola is a thing of beauty and mixed pyro effects. Ground pyro mixed with mid-aerial to high-aerial bursts. These minis don't have any ground effect, they come out of the tube like very small pissed off wheels and burst at mid-height.

Check out Dave's video of him shooting them. They are fun because they are different and help some folks understand what a girandola is and how they work, but the UFO's seemed more like little fountain wheels exploding with a launch charge in their butts. I have another 4-5 tubes (3 wheels in a tube) of them and we talk all the time about what to do with them. Figure to mount them all in a line on a one board and set 'em off in parallel. But no one wants to have to clean up afterwards.

Just my opinion...

what do you mean?

[PuroJon]

what do you mean?

Sorry, I do not have a clue what you are asking about. Have to guess you are just being rhetorical?

[wizard7611]

Sorry, I do not have a clue what you are asking about. Have to guess you are just being rhetorical?

Not at all. I'm just wondering if these consumer girandolas are really worth the money

[displayfireworks1]

These UFO or girandola are no longer on the market in the 1.4 category as far as I can tell. They are one of my favorites. There still may be some out there as old stock for sale. I have some as old stock.
Here are some of my videos of them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTHX4lQJptQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuNR13prnKg
http://www.kgfireworks.com/photos/20120416/product_1334631651_8349.gif
Or buy this one.
http://dominatorfireworks.com/uploaded_images/Girandola_details-764859.jpg

[wizard7611]

would if a company did make them for safety reasons and not out of cheapy plastic like that? Would they still be around?