a fusing related question for artillery shells/racks.

[Icooclast]

i obviously wanna use the .20 sec/ a foot fuse on some racks to really heat things up, but i also would like to have some racks have a little delay before the next shot for the previous effect to dissipate before the other one in the line breaks. i am not good at fractions, to give myself that time delay (or as close as possible) would i need fuse that is 5/sec. per foot, 10/ sec. per foot or is there some other way to get that. i am thinking of buying the 10 shot racks from 76 and

i was thinking about starting 1 row with singles, then doubles, etc. till the last row or 2 and then use the quick fuse to light all the canister shells as close to the same time i can get them. kinda like a finale in one. the main thing i'm needing help with is what speed fuse to get and how much. any help is appreciated.

[Kenny East]

You could get away with only buying the fast fuse, just add a loop of extra fuse between each leader fuse... Or buy a variety of soeeds, as adding extra fuse for delays in chains can cause added issues.

[Mattp]

My math is shit too.. but i guess it really depends on how long of a delay you want also?? If the tubes are close enough you can probably piggy back them to each other one after another .. if you can do it a few inches down.. should be about a 1-3 sec delay between shots.. although alot of these newer shells are giving you just enough fuse to make it to the top of the tube.. so that idea depends on that too i guess.. lol.. math wise i would divide the ft/sec by how many shells in the row to figure out the spacing

[displayfireworks1]

Optometrist say when a person runs out of arm, holding reading material at a distance to read , they finally get some glasses. I say if your fuse is longer than your arm, you need a fireworks firing system. Consumer fuse and general overall timing of consumer products is never exact, Don't be disappointed if the fuse does not burn as planned and calculated. If its just a backyard display , it should be fine. You should however consider a firing system in the future.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Dave has it exactly right. Figuring out timing using visco is like trying to find a unicorn. It's just not going to happen. The best you can hope for is to get it close. I would do what Mattp suggested. Start out by daisy-chaining each mortar to the one next to it. When you want to speed them up, incorporate faster visco like 4 sec per ft. in the middle and 3/4 sec per ft. to finish them off.

[Kevin S]

I recently went over to a buddies house to shoot off some fireworks to celebrate his Birthday and to test out my new Chinese firing system. The audience was me, my buddy & his wife lol. Any ways, for the finale I filled a milk crate with DR11 mortar tubes. I had 24 excals. The first row of 5 I cut the fuses to where they where only sticking maybe an inch or two up out of the pipe(I did the same for the second row) and fused it with 25 second per foot visco. The second row I fused with perfect fuse that burns at 10 seconds per foot. I then made the turn and quick fused the last 14 shots. I was pretty happy with the results and so where my buddy & his wife. The reason why I cut down the fuses was to try and keep the ignition point as directly above the tube as I could so that I could let the slower fuses burn at their rate and not at the rate of the fuse coming out of the Excals. It worked great for the visco but the perfect fuse went quicker than I thought it was going to. Oh well, live and learn. Hope this helps for you!

[Icooclast]

good info, guys. thanks. i know e-firing is what you guys prefer, but i feel like i don't have enough experience for that yet, i mean, so far i haven't even connected fuse together to light 2 or 3 at a time, it's been individually lit by hand, so i want to buy a little bit of e-firing stuff and fuse so i can get my feet wet with both, if i get to do it this year.

the advice is awesome, though. and is much appreciated. and if anyone else has anything they'd like to add or elaborate on, please feel free.

[Kevin S]

Your welcome Icooclast. I, like you had no experience and then I found Dave. Although I still have a long ways to go his videos have taught me all that I know and it is because of him and with his help that I am applying for a Type 54 license. Can't wait to get it so that I can start to legally buy the good stuff!!

[PYRODAN]

You can always remove the fuse from the shell and replace it with whatever speed fuse you want, and make it as long as you want. Even mix up a few different speed fuses on a common main fuse.

[esgrillo]

I fuse lots of shells. I use 3 kinds of fuse, 20-25 sec regular cannon, pink 4 sec, and super fast white paper 0.4 sec per ft. Regular 20-25 sec fuse is good for providing a few second gap between each shell, I use that most of the time. I fast fuse with the 0.4 sec for finales. It burns almost as fast as quick match and you get get a whole rack of 40 or 50 shells in the air within a couple seconds. I have found the 4 sec fuse burns fast enough that it really isnt needed much if you have the super fast white fuse.

I know you're talking about shells but you'll likely be fusing lots of cakes in the future too. I always test some fuse to verify exactly how many sec/ft and then I just write down how long different lengths will burn. That way I can quick reference if I need a 15 sec delay I need "x" inches of fuse between cakes. Saves a lot of time and keeps everything consistent. Dont be afraid of the math lol. Also as kevin s mentioned try to avoid overlapping the shell fuse with the cannon fuse too much. Timing gets harder to get close when you do and generally it will burn quicker than you expect.

[MtnViewPyro]

I have an 18-shot fan rack that has caused me problems with fusing. The best timing I ever achieved was making a knot around the fuse with shell fuse. That way there is no overlap and u also don’t have to worry about catching fire. However, with an e fire system, I achieve perfect timing on the 18shot fan rack every time.

[Icooclast]

thanks for the advice, everyone. and yeah, i was planning on fusing cakes, too. so, i was thinking right, then? that i need the slower 24 sec. a foot fuse to get a tad bit of a gap in there. like i said, just looking to have it delay long enough for the previous effect to have dissipated (or close to it)

thanks everyone. if there are any comments, concerns, etc. just post :)

[MontanaMike]

good info, guys. thanks. i know e-firing is what you guys prefer, but i feel like i don't have enough experience for that yet, i mean, so far i haven't even connected fuse together to light 2 or 3 at a time, it's been individually lit by hand

That's exactly where we were when we bought our first Cobra pieces.

You will find that your skills, ideas and everything will evolve FASTER once you have a system than they will if you don't. I can't believe how much better and slicker our 2017 show was than our 2014 (our last year without the Cobra). It's literally like night and day. And we have a lot of new concepts in the works for next time too.

As for fusing...in our show we're inbetween regular ignitors and Firewire initiators, so we're not as much about timing as bigger/more pro-type shows. We generally don't add any fuse to cakes or chain them, the only thing I use fuse for is groups of roman candles and mortar shells. In a finale, you might not be so concerned with exact timing as getting a buttload of shells up into the air in rapid succession. I used three kinds of fuse in our finale racks this year, with a bunch of the super-quick fuse at the end.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

What MontanaMike said. Period. The sooner you get a professional system like the Cobra, the quicker you're going to grow in this hobby. Fiddling with visco is simply a waste of time IMHO. Make the plunge. You won't regret it.

[Icooclast]

thanks, guys. i do want to e-fire, but i am not trying to put on shows, that's the one difference. i could use a little e-firing, but my audience likes the "sky puke" thing the most. (me too) so, i can get that with 10+ people lighting cakes, and of course fusing cakes and shells. but i do have ideas for some stuff you might find at a show. i know i won't be able to do it without e-firing, though.

the only thing about the cobra systems i don't like is that they seem more complicated than the P1200 pyroboom has. i didn't want it either, until i saw the instruction video of the P1200 it's easier to use than it looks. but the cobras look insanely hard to use. and like i said, that price tag and not trying to put on shows like you guys do, per-say. just want to put some nice stuff up in the air and hear it go BOOM. lol but i am intending on doing some e-fire if i ever get fireworks *crosses fingers*

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Well, it's like the old expression goes. You can ask me to do something or tell me how to do something, but not both.

You can still enjoy lighting fuses and running away or you can use a system that send up your mortars and cakes at precise times. But not both.

[Pyro@Mach13]

Icooclast, the Cobra system is rather easy to use in reality. Many people here ready to ask any question to if you need help with it.

[MontanaMike]

the cobras look insanely hard to use.

Cobra isn't hard to use at all, it's actually really easy. You can make it as simple as "connect one firework to each cue and press the buttons to fire them." It doesn't get any simpler than that!

The complications come when you get in to scripting shows, or using a dozen modules, things like that. But you could put up a perfectly fine show with just one module and a remote.

In our pre-Cobra shows we didn't really get to enjoy our own fireworks, because we hated having delays in the show so we were constantly scrambling to get the next thing(s) lit. To me the best thing about the Cobra (or any firing system) is, you get to sit back with your audience, watch your fireworks, and hear the ooohs and aaahs all around you. Besides the actual kabooms, that audience reaction is what makes my 4th every time. Plus it makes your show a whole lot safer and improves the pace of your show since you can send up items without having delays.

And, here's one more thing to consider....there's really nothing quite like having three or four of the same firework going up from different locations at the same time, or a great combo of two different kinds of fireworks that complement each other all going off at once. That's what separates a so-so backyard display from a really good one.

[PYRODAN]

LOL, I am a big dumb Polack, and I figured it out! The Cobra is pretty easy to learn. And Scott Smith answers his phone if you need help!

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Well if we're divulging pyro IQ's here, I'll confess mine is in the single digits. I spent months working on my first Cobra scripted show last year, and when the time came, I hit the wrong button and my script didn't run. Epic fail as my daughter would say.

Having said that, I learned my lesson!! Guarantee you it won't happen this year, and I'm going to have 3 times the number of firing modules this coming year, and an audio box! It's all about learning and growing in the hobby. Don't be afraid to push the limits of what you think you're capable of doing. You'll surprise yourself and your spectators when you pull off a show you thought was impossible! Even with my screw up last year, I had people telling me my show was better than some professional shows they've paid to see. So jump right in. The water is fine, and there are plenty of very smart people on this board to help you along the way.