Fiberglass vs hdpe

[Mattp]

Im sure this has been a thread before. I looked through forum history and did not see it. Figured id ask...building my arsenal.. ive been getting away from my poor man racks by ordering some tubes every few months and building new racks. ive. Been getting hdpe dr11.. i see some good deals on fiberglass tubes/racks online.. was curious if anyone had any preferences/pros/cons about either and why??

[djsmurf]

HDPE all the way, sure fiberglass can be found at a better price and you can argue it has been shot out of without issues for a long time. HDPE is just overall a better option. It deforms rather then becoming individual pieces in a failure event. It's more durable in the long run, we had some tops come right off our older fiberglass guns this year. HDPE at least the racks we have are heavier. My big sticking point was seeing a 1.75 go in a HDPE tube and the rack and surrounding guns were not effected, (luck or a weak 1.75 can?) while also seeing a 2.5" go in fiberglass and it took two racks and several fiberglass guns with it. I started making the switch last year, everything for me for now on will be HDPE. Better return on investment in my opinion.

[PyroManiacs]

HDPE, the upside down shell test videos make my choice clear.

[Mattp]

Thats why ive been gettig the hdpe.. i want the better product for sure, The main reason i asked is i noticed alot of professional setups i see in videos, looks like theyre using fiberglass. Maybe its a cost thing when you need to have so many?? Theres a show i came across on youtube a while ago, i dont think it ever aired in the states but it has had 3 seasons.. called "pyros".. looks like all their stuff is fiberglass

[PyroManiacs]

It actually did air in the US...on the Discovery Channel in 2012 and ran for only 2 seasons, kind of sad though. I would have kept watching.

And as for pro setups having a lot of fiberglass, I believe that it is a cost thing....I would also tend to think that another reason is that these bigger pro companies have been around for many years and they didn't have HDPE years and years ago, so that leaves with them having TONS of fiberglass tubes. Im sure it would cost too much to just dump all those tubes and switch to all HDPE. It only makes sense.

[Mattp]

It actually did air in the US...on the Discovery Channel in 2012 and ran for only 2 seasons, kind of sad though. I would have kept watching.

And as for pro setups having a lot of fiberglass, I believe that it is a cost thing....I would also tend to think that another reason is that these bigger pro companies have been around for many years and they didn't have HDPE years and years ago, so that leaves with them having TONS of fiberglass tubes. Im sure it would cost too much to just dump all those tubes and switch to all HDPE. It only makes sense.

I wouldve kept watching it too.. when i found it on youtube i thought it aas a great idea was sad to see it was already over.. I wanted to seemore of it.. and sure that makes plenty of sense.. HDPEfor me it is!!!! Up to 50 now in a few separate racks (5-10 shooters)

[kingsixx]

HDPE for me all the way, as it was previously mentioned, it deforms instead of breaking up into pieces. Although, recently at a pro display, I did see the aftermath of a 2.5" shell going off in the tub. Given what it was, the damage was minimal but there was still damage to a couple of the adjacent tubes. And part of the rack closest to that particular tube was obliterated. Would have hated to see what would have happened had they been using fiberglass.

[Kenny East]

I prefer hdpe, but i do have a lot of fiberglass, any new guns i buy are hdpe. If i get a really good deal on fiberglass i will use it, I've only started building a rack collection over the last two years.. So I'm just getting started with my collection

[displayfireworks1]

The only time I see people buy fiberglass over HDPE is a cost or convenience factor.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Sort of on topic... does anyone use DR-9 tubes vs. DR-11? I have all DR-11 and I was pondering buying a batch of DR-9 tubes to see if I could get a bit more elevation out of my shells. All I shoot are 1.75" ball or can shells, so my thought is a smaller diameter tube wouldn't have as much blow by and therefore more pressure and produce a higher flying shell.

If I'm smoking crack let me know.

[aerialpyro]

Thats why ive been gettig the hdpe.. i want the better product for sure, The main reason i asked is i noticed alot of professional setups i see in videos, looks like theyre using fiberglass. Maybe its a cost thing when you need to have so many?? Theres a show i came across on youtube a while ago, i dont think it ever aired in the states but it has had 3 seasons.. called "pyros".. looks like all their stuff is fiberglass

The guys on Pyros also used some steel pipes for their big guns. There was also an episode where they showed large a steel one that unzipped. I thought I saw some HDPE on there also, but not sure.

From an engineering standpoint it all depends on the material grade, design, and wall thickness. The HDPE will absorb much more energy before burst due to stretching, but must have a fairly low fire rate due to heat transfer and melting. For this reason you shouldn't quickly reload an HDPE tube. For fiberglass, the layup and design matters if you want to fully contain an in tube break, but I think that strong of a tube would still be excessively heavy for the large shells. Fiberglass should burst at a higher pressure if designed correctly which has it's dangers. From the little I have seen, the HDPE looks safest.

[aerialpyro]

Thats why ive been gettig the hdpe.. i want the better product for sure, The main reason i asked is i noticed alot of professional setups i see in videos, looks like theyre using fiberglass. Maybe its a cost thing when you need to have so many?? Theres a show i came across on youtube a while ago, i dont think it ever aired in the states but it has had 3 seasons.. called "pyros".. looks like all their stuff is fiberglass

The guys on Pyros also used some steel pipes for their big guns. There was an episode where they showed large a steel one that unzipped. I thought I saw some HDPE on there also, but not sure.

From an engineering standpoint it all depends on the material grade, design, and wall thickness. The HDPE will absorb much more energy before burst due to stretching, but must have a fairly low fire rate due to heat transfer and melting. For this reason you shouldn't quickly reload an HDPE tube. For fiberglass, the layup and design matters if you want to fully contain an in tube break, but I think that strong of a tube would still be excessively heavy for the large shells. Fiberglass should burst at a higher pressure if designed correctly which has it's dangers. From the little I have seen, the HDPE looks safest.

[aerialpyro]

Ops, sorry for the double post. Where is the delete or edit function on here?

[PyroManiacs]

Ops, sorry for the double post. Where is the delete or edit function on here?

Too late now....I believe there is only a 5 minute edit opportunity, lol. I wouldnt worry about it though, there has been something going on with double posts and these vBulletin forums here and there.

[Mattp]

[QUOTE=Rick_In_Tampa;47997]Sort of on topic... does anyone use DR-9 tubes vs. DR-11? I have all DR-11 and I was pondering buying a batch of DR-9 tubes to see if I could get a bit more elevation out of my shells. All I shoot are 1.75" ball or can shells, so my thought is a smaller diameter tube wouldn't have as much blow by and therefore more pressure and produce a higher flying shell.

If I'm smoking crack let me know.

Hahaha.. i dont think a crackhead could afford this hobby!!!
The physics behind what your saying makes sense to me, but im not a physicist .lol.. I'm pretty sure it just wont fit.. never tried it myself, but from the forum/internet research ive done.. the dr9 is a 1.71 ID .. and dr11 a 1.91 ID.. so if the shells are actually 1.75 then it will not fit in dr9..

[aerialpyro]

Lower clearance on the tube means less blow by, higher pressure in the tube and more stress to the shell. Assuming the tube can take the pressure and the shell is sturdy enough, you should get more lift. A longer tube will also help to some extent. That is how the physics of it works. Test it out in a safe distance at a location that can handle it if it goes wrong. You need to test several for a drastically significant result. I don't recommend trying this with anything with a top lit effect that relies on blow by for ignition.


Take all that with a grain of salt as my experience is with physics and engineering rather then the practicals of fireworks operations...

[NorthernKYPyro]

I put my Fiberglass tubes right in the trash. Nothing but problems. Reloading is a nightmare, after one night of use they unravel on me, not to mention fiberglass cuts are a PITA. The OSB glued on the bottom never lasts in a rack.

[WithReport]

Not to re-start the discussion on HDPE vs. Fiberglass (I have a few hundred HDPE tubes for my 1.4 setup), but I've always wonders something about the "professional" fiberglass tubes. I've done some searching but haven't found the answer yet.

Many of them seem to have a bell or flare at the muzzle of the gun. What is all the flare for?

Is this just a carry over from "ancient" flared blunderbusses for ease of loading?

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=2613&stc=1

[Kenny East]

Not to re-start the discussion on HDPE vs. Fiberglass (I have a few hundred HDPE tubes for my 1.4 setup), but I've always wonders something about the "professional" fiberglass tubes. I've done some searching but haven't found the answer yet.

Many of them seem to have a bell or flare at the muzzle of the gun. What is all the flare for?

Is this just a carry over from "ancient" flared blunderbusses for ease of loading?

2613

It's reinforcement for the muzzle, helps fiberglass guns last longer... Some of my 2.5" guns are straight walled without the extra flaring of fiberglass.. Edges are a lot rougher than the guns with the extra band

[Pyrojoy]

The one thing I don't like about fiberglass is it getting into your forearms when loading and unloading racks. My forearms bump up after working with fiberglass tubes but then go away a few days later.

As far as one vs the other I was told by a company they use fiberglass because it does not warp in the heat (desert type) like HDPE also it's light and cheaper. For their 12inch tubes and larger they had HDPE.