Low Breaks and other failures

[Bazerk]

I was wondering how many of you guys and girls have ever personally dealt with low breaks or any other catastrophic failures when dealing with shells. I was thinking about this last night because I was contemplating on adding larger shells to my shows. Currently I dont exceed 3in shells because of the distance I can keep my crowd away. If I went to 4's and 5's any low break would reach the crowd. Dont think there would be any injuries but it would certainly scare the crap out of some people, lol.

[ilovecrackle]

If I went to 4's and 5's any low break would reach the crowd. Dont think there would be any injuries but it would certainly scare the crap out of some people, lol.

Based on your statement right here, It sounds like you already know the answer. :)
Getting others to tell you what you want to hear rather than what you already know does not make it any safer. :p

In my experience, shells don't malfunction or break low very often but it does happen.
Best case scenario, you have a 4 or 5 break low and it scares the crap out of your audience. Worst case, one of the stars actually reaches the crowd and burns someone.
Friends and neighbors can become enemy's very quickly when someone gets injured from something that was caused by you and then it can get very expensive for you.

Just my usual safety oriented 2 cents. :p

[Bazerk]

I hear ya and I know the safety answer but I was more interested in how often other people have seen it happen. Most low breaks that I have seen were a result of someone using the wrong sized tube.

[displayfireworks1]

Most serious catastrophic failures I witnessed in the past started with 6 inch shells and up. In the less than 6 inch shells it has been the 3 and 4 inch peanut shells , with one part being a salute. If you are going to shoot larger shells under suggested clearance I would hand fire them slowly one at a time. If you connect them into a computerized display and it starts to blow apart , you may not be able to stop the display as fast as you want. If you use 4 inch shells how far under suggested clearance do you think it will be? 4 inch shells usually require around 300 feet.

[Bazerk]

Most serious catastrophic failures I witnessed in the past started with 6 inch shells and up. In the less than 6 inch shells it has been the 3 and 4 inch peanut shells , with one part being a salute. If you are going to shoot larger shells under suggested clearance I would hand fire them slowly one at a time. If you connect them into a computerized display and it starts to blow apart , you may not be able to stop the display as fast as you want. If you use 4 inch shells how far under suggested clearance do you think it will be? 4 inch shells usually require around 300 feet.
Thanks for the input Dave. I wouldn't exceed a 4in shell in my usual 4th of July location. Crowd is a good 225ft away. I don't use chained shells for that exact reason. When I script the shells in I do so individually and with a 2-3 second delay between them for the exact reason you mentioned above. I am using all 3in shells for New Years so I will see how that goes.

[PGH_Pyro]

nothing like a big salute popping at face-level a short distance away ... that will give one what is called a reality-check .
i don't recommend it . been there , done that . try to avoid that .
if you're handlighting what you know are salutes in a rack, light and egress, quickly.
:cool:

[ilovecrackle]

nothing like a big salute popping at face-level a short distance away ... that will give one what is called a reality-check .


I'm always up for a nice reality check. Just not in a show! :p
If this happens in a show though, the crowd could poop their pants. :D

[Northern Sky]

You are aware of the table of distances right, 70 feet per inch? 225/70 = 3.2 inches and half that size for chains.

Isn't that include in a DVD somewhere?

[djsmurf]

Based on your statement right here, It sounds like you already know the answer. :)
Getting others to tell you what you want to hear rather than what you already know does not make it any safer. :p

In my experience, shells don't malfunction or break low very often but it does happen.
Best case scenario, you have a 4 or 5 break low and it scares the crap out of your audience. Worst case, one of the stars actually reaches the crowd and burns someone.
Friends and neighbors can become enemy's very quickly when someone gets injured from something that was caused by you and then it can get very expensive for you.

Just my usual safety oriented 2 cents. :p

I agree with crackle here, nothing will kill a show more then injuring someone in your audience. We had some 2.5" salutes go not so well this year, was not a good time.

If you know your shoot site you could post a map. You say you have 225 ft from your audience, could you safely slightly angle your 4" shells away from your audience?

[Northern Sky]

[QUOTE=djsmurf;4194
If you know your shoot site you could post a map. You say you have 225 ft from your audience, could you safely slightly angle your 4" shells away from your audience?[/QUOTE]

This is covered in 1123 and gains 30% distance.

[winterportpyro]

I've had two(2) 3 inch shells at 2 different displays 'round-trip' on me while shooting flights of three this past year. They landed near my feet and went off. Neither time did I see this coming as, according to training, I turned and bent away after positive ignition. It happens and 'we' , the professionals, are taught and trained that these and alot of other scenarios can and DO sometimes, happen. The viewing public isn't. Keep it safe. Follow distance guidelines for your shoot site. Remember, you're the lead shooter and the call you make while be the one scrutinized.