Reloading 1.3 Fireworks Forums Survey

[displayfireworks1]

I think it is not secret I have reloaded 1.3 display shells from time to time. I see it being briefly discussed in another thread. I often wish I could hear from other countries and how they handle the practice. I came up with a quick survey. When you find a minute please answer the short survey and after a reasonable time passes I will share the results. You do not need to be a forums member to respond to the link and no log on is required.
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https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VWKQFD8
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https://autismontheseas.com/images/Foundation/Images_and_Pictures/survey.png

[pyrobarry]

I think it is not secret I have reloaded 1.3 display shells from time to time. I see it being briefly discussed in another thread. I often wish I could hear from other countries and how they handle the practice. I came up with a quick survey. When you find a minute please answer the short survey and after a reasonable time passes I will share the results. You do not need to be a forums member to respond to the link and no log on is required.
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https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VWKQFD8
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https://autismontheseas.com/images/Foundation/Images_and_Pictures/survey.png

I took this but like many such surveys the questions were entrapping. Example "1-10 seconds, etc" then "you should never reload". Why would you take such a narrow minded approach? Are you advocating laws against reloading?

Reloading is not as common as it once was when (in many states) all guns had to be buried but most shells were multi-effect. Reloading is dangerous as a shell being dropped into a hot gun could light. Shell leaders are commonly the waxed type these days which usually means it takes longer to burn through them.

The bottom line with reloading is if you've been trained or not on doing it safely. If the shell drops into the gun easily, there is no reason to have any of your body parts over the gun. If it doesn't, you better consider how hot the gun is before you start ramming the shell down. For myself, some of the risk would be weighed by what size/type of shell I was loading. I do not like seeing salutes reloaded. I make 5" ball shell salutes and I would never fire them out of anything but dedicated HDPE guns with nobody near them. I prefer them in a ditch, but not necessarily buried. Like many things, it's common sense with experience. Someone who has been doing it knows more than some legislator that will ban it. You need to know what you are doing and know the risks!

Reloading does not make much sense these days in a typical display. However, it is very realistic in club events. Like everything else, you need to know what you are doing and reloading is particularly dangerous. But if your asking if some idiot that knows nothing should pass a law saying I can't do it, the answer is definitely not!

[displayfireworks1]

I believe we may be up to 100 responses, I will check and post the responses. The survey is to see how prevalent the practice is, irrespective of popular opinion. The practice may or may not have stopped. It may have decreased, if so we should see that trend in the one question asking when was the last time you reloaded. We will find out. Who here besides me remembers a label attached to the product outlining with words and a picture how to reload a display shell. Don't forget now, reloading a mortar is still permitted in the consumer line of fireworks.

[displayfireworks1]

This link should allow everyone to view the first 100 responses to the 1.3 reloading survey.
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https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-RC8SCHM3/
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http://www.harvey152.org/uploads/4/3/7/2/43723355/5830988_orig.jpg

[RalphieJ]

I'm chuckling now because these days "reloading" seems to be a dirty word. However, reloading during hand-fired shows was safely accomplished using a double-banked battery box. Assuming that the body of the show consisted of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8" shells, mortars would be set in a box half the height of the guns, filled with sand, with one 8" in the center, and the rest (2 of each) in descending order on both sides. Then two sand-filled boxes were set in front of the battery box. The tops of the guns were slightly exposed above the top of the front box. (For a the larger shows two batteries were used).The shells were handed by the lead to one of two rotating shooters from the "bomb box" or from under a fireproof tarp. Starting on the left the typical firing sequence would be in order, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 then a flight or two. Then repeated on the right. This method allowed the iron to cool sufficiently. Remember, back then almost all shells were multiple breaks and most all had salutes except for mag stars, long-duration willows, or crossettes. Each hand-crafted beauty was savored for it's individual effects and not shot with a shit-load of "sky puke" like today's shows. (I hate sky puke.) And of course, the finale was a combo of hand dug, 5-gal pails, and occasionally a drum or two, with 2" and 3" racks mostly for the salutes that branched out from the line. Having said all that and if you're still with me, no mishaps ever occurred during the reloading process.

[ThorsThunder]

Dave, thank you for doing this survey. I took it and have now looked at the results of the first 100. To me the survey reveals that most think it is a bad idea to reload as a general rule of thumb but that it CAN be done safely, sort of. Personally, I don't reload, I really don't hand fire at all anymore for any shows so there is no reloading anyway. I love fireworks but I don't see the need to take additional risks by hand firing a show. I totally agree with RalphieJ that we should not allow a politician pass a law against hand firing or reloading, but with that means that those in the industry need to be vigilant and TRAIN the new folks because as soon as an accident happens, we open ourselves up for scrutiny and the chance that more laws get passed. The other thing I consider is that if one wants to shoot a pro show and get paid to do it, then maybe one should invest in enough equipment to be as safe as possible. Not being a pyro snob or elitist in this remark, just saying before you play baseball you have to have the right glove to start. Another thing is equipment is FAAARRRRR cheaper now than back in "the old days" and waaaayyyyyy easier to set up than years ago also so what is the real excuse to reload?

[atxpyro]

Interesting survey. My first fifty displays (give or take a few) were shot from buried steel mortars, reloaded with shells stored in steel trash cans. The typical configuration was six 3" inch mortars, four 4" mortars and two 5" mortars, all in a straight line with appropriate spacing between mortars and sets. The steel trash cans were positioned about 35' away, each diameter shell set had it's own trash can. Two techs at the can (one handing shells to the loaders and one on the lid), two loaders and one shooter. The display is a tightly controlled effort with everyone paying close attention. Loaders had the most critical job, insuring the shell was tagging the bottom of the mortar. A poorly loaded shell resulted in a low break or a live shell on the ground. I shot with a group of pyrotechs all over west Texas and southeast New Mexico.

[displayfireworks1]

Thanks for the comments everyone, does electrical firing and not hand firing and reloading mean displays are safer? If you look back over the years at some of the recent professional fireworks display accidents here in United States and Europe, many of them are electric match related. More than one accident occurred in preparation of the display during the day light hours. Should an experienced pyrotechnician be trained to reload a mortar or is it time to let this reloading of display shells disappear into the past? The survey of 100 responses seem to indicate it is not gone yet.

[Melp]

hey Dave
Sorry I missed your survey. The last shoot I did we had to reload guns. I thought it was crazy but the lead shooter had no problems with it. As he explained they used to do it on almost every show. The only reason we had to do it on this show was the main company shorted us 50 3" guns. The thing that we had to come up with is a box that the lid automatically shut. I believe there was a name for this in the PGI course I took

[displayfireworks1]

They came up with a really creative name for the box... A Ready Box".LOL In my opinion the three inch shells are the worse to reload, usually 4 inch on up because of its weight drops into the bottom of the mortar pretty easily.

[Melp]

Ya know I was going to say that but I thought there had to be a technical name for it

[atxpyro]

Dave, i agree with your observation on three inch shells being the most challenging to reload, Your observation of the weight factor is spot on.