Waterfall Fountain

[NWPA]

Is there such a thing as a pourable waterfall formula? Everything I see is either pressed or rammed. Looking for simplicity and safety, not comfortable with hammering the composition.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

All your waterfall comps are pressed or rammed like you said. Most have nozzles [except the very small tubes & cones] which keeps the pressure up forcing the comp to thrust out and give the height of the sparks.
If you want to make a waterfall 20-30 feet wide & only about 12-15 feet in the air I would suggest something I did for several years using morning glories, plastic straws, & yellow [or pink] fast fuse.
1. Take the morning glories apart--unwind the gold tinsel thread & paper freeing the paper tube with comp from the bamboo stick. You will need two of these comp tubes per "point" on your waterfall.
Figure they will be spaced 6" apart, so for 20 feet you will need 40 units with 2 comp tubes per unit.
2. Take the plastic straws [40] & seal the one end with hot glue about 1/2".
3. Cut 40 pieces of the fast fuse 3-4" long & set aside.
4. Next, put the comp tube up against the [open] end of the straw & mark the end of the straw. It will be about 2-3". Take the paper removed from the morning glory & pack it in the end of the tube to fill it up to the mark. You can use three of the sticks taped together for a "rammer". Note: if you have clay [bentonite--or kitty litter you could use that in place of the paper packing. It is actually better since it won't burn].
5. Take 2 of the composition tubes & insert them into the straw side by side. NOTE: One end will have a dark prime on it,the other end will not. Insert them together with the primed end out.
6. Take a piece of the fuse & insert it 1" into the tube with the two comp tubes. It shoul be a snug fit.
7. Secure & seal the end with a piece of masking tape.
8. Assembly: I used a 50 foot piece of 1/4" poly rope--: Do this in sections 3-4 foot long at a time so the tape is manageable:==lay out a strip of duct tape 3-4' long. Place the rope in the middle of the tape running along the length. Lay the "fountains" on the tape with the end against the rope & fold the tape over.
9. Take more 3-4' strips of duct tape & rip them down the middle. Lay a strip of the duct tape down & press the fountains onto it about 3-4" up from the other piece of tape. Lay the other strip of duct tape over the top & press them together. Continue down the entire length of the unit.
10: Fusing: Laying the unit out flat on a table, run the fuse the length of the unit & tape or zip tie the fuses together. If you want to light it from both ends, or the middle, just run the fuse in the proper direction for pass fire. You can put a bucket & ematch on the fuse anywhere you chose.
**Hang this about 12 feet in the air & it will drop fire nicely to the ground. If the ground below is dry or grassy, wet it down before the show since the plastic straws will be burning and dropping as well as the front piece of duct tape when it burns back to the end.

I know this is a lengthy description, but it is quite easy to do and does look very nice. It just isn't great if you want to do 60 feet or so because you would have to get ip up higher in the air & the sparks would die out before reaching the ground.
I wish I had taken pics when I assembled my last one.
If you have any questions, drop me a PM & I will send you my cell number.

[NWPA]

Super. I have all the things you mention, two gross of morning glories, even the clay. So my winter project is ready to start, Thank you so much.

[wizard7611]

Wow, what a great idea!

[Westpapyro]

I think I will try this, thanks for the idea. Plastic or paper straws, I have both?

[PyroJoeNEPA]

I definitely would use the paper straws. Less mess as they burn down. Plastic would be stronger when you are handling a 20 foot length of them all strung together, but does drop a mess on the ground. I couldn't find paper here locally but since then I was told to check out party supply stores. Just check the diameter that the two comp tubes & the visco tail fit inside good. You need to use two comp tubes in each straw or it will look wimpy.
Originally I tried just stringing single morning glories out, bur that was a "no go". I also thought about using the 3 foot jumbo morning glories but never pursued that idea although I think it would probably look really nice. Since I had a full case of the morning glories I went that route.
As I was writing this I was thinking about the strength of the paper straws--if there is room in the straw you might be able to insert a piece of the bamboo stick along with the comp tubes to give it more strength.
I would be interested in knowing if you try this & how it works out with the paper straws.

[PyroManiacs]

Awesome write-up Joe!

Maybe next time you make this you can video it instead of just pics.

[Chris H]

Waterfall mixtures really aren't pressed or rammed in the same way that say gerbs are. The walls are too thin to support much force. They're typically dampened, and filled via something called the funnel and rod method. Essentially the composition is tamped. Basically just pressed in with hand pressure and allowed to dry.

[edit] Sorry, I just noticed the topic title was waterfall fountain. These tend to be different than a waterfall effect. There are the type made from thin paper tubes and suspended upside down. This was the type I was talking about. There is also a waterfall fountain/gerb described by Degn. This type would need to be legitimately pressed in the ways it tends to be used.

[NWPA]

Used PyroJoeNEPA's recipe for a 10' section. Just to see if I could make a decent one. Used curtain line instead of the poly rope and wide shipping tape instead of duct tape, because that's what I had. I spaced the tubes about 3 per foot leaving one foot empty on either end.so 24 tubes, 2 morning glories in each.Tied it between two trees, lit it, starting in the middle and was really happy with this great idea. Will definitely be doing a long one for the fourth. As I live alone and I was babysitting my 7yr. old grandson, I had him videoing. As you can see, or not in this case, that didn't work. He thought it was great thou. Thanks, PyroJoe

[PyroJoeNEPA]

I'm glad it worked out for you & you were happy with the results. Sharing information & experiences is what the forum is all about.