Cakes that have loose shells

[Joeyboomboom]

Hey guys, long time lurker, first time posting. Can't tell you how much I appreaciate the amount of knowledge from Dave's videos and you guys on this foum. I have had experience with cakes for close to twenty years now and have never had a cake where if you tilt it on an angle you can hear and feel the shells inside slide from bottom to top. I have three cakes like this. I was just wondering if any of you had experienced this before. I feel like i should individually go and push each shell down to the bottom of the tubes to avoid low breaks. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

A typical tube in a cake has a clay plug in the bottom, the black powder lift charge with a fuse in it from the side, a cardboard disc with a small hole in the niddle [to hold the powder in place] the "insert tube" which is the effect, then a solid cardboard disc pressed down to hold it all together.
It sounds like the top disc has turned in the tube--that is why it is moving around in there. Look into the tube--if you see the disc in there and it is turned, use a pencil or chopstick --or a wood dowel--and push the disc back down flat against the insert tube. If the disc is missing [sometimes that happens] you cn=an cut a thin piece of cardboard the size of the hols from a cereal box, match book, etc--anything thin & push it in---or you can use a small wad of tissue paper or kleenex to plug it up. No worries as long as you do NOT use a metal screwdriver--or anything like that to poke around in there.
It wasn't clear from the original post if all the tubes in the three cakes are like this? or just a couple tubes in each? It sounds like a factory assembly slip up.
And--by the way, welcome to the "I'm here" side of the forum!

[Mattp]

ive had this happen before on some 200g cakes... every tube sounded like a big marble was going back and forth if i turned it upside down then right side up... i thought it was odd too... but they all fired no problem!!!... cant hurt to check if they are all seated properly (which i did not do..LOL)

[Wholesale Fireworks]

Joeyboomboom...If you are just tilting the cake at an angle and hear or feel something sliding from side to side, it may just be a loose spacer or weight. Sometimes the factories will add small bricks or blocks to add weight to keep an item from tipping when firing. Other times it may just be a wooden or cardboard spacer that has come loose. This is no big deal unless it somehow slides and pulls out the jumper fuses that connect the tubes. To find out just cut the paper off the top and look down in it when you tilt it.