Finale design questions

[357pyro]

What size shells? How many shells? To buy them in chains or fuse them yourself from singles? I currently have 12 racks of 3" HDPE in racks of 12. My distributor sells 3's in cases of 72 so this works out the best in my application. I was thinking about building another 12 racks just for the finale. Packing them with half color/half salutes. My second options is to pick up some 2.5 inch hdpe and build 10 racks w 12 tubes for 120 tubes total. Would this be a sufficient finale? I can place it a little closer to the audience than the line of 3s. The 2.5's are a little better deal price wise as well as they are sold in cases of 120. I also think having the 2.5 racks might come in handy for doing shows w tighter space restrictions. I'm looking for some feedback on what others do for their finales.

[joewad]

If the new rack build is for your finale then the answer is in the length or number of shells in the finale chains you can buy. Then remember that some finale chains are instant while some are 2, 3 or I've seen some 5 second delays between shells. Personally, I'm not into "sky pukes" so that eliminates the "instants" for me. The 3 inch finales I've had which were in chains of 10 with 3 second delays were the best for me when shooting 2 to 3 cases. I don't have a "ginormous" firing system so I ran a 10-15 second lead fuse from start to finish with the 3 cases of 3 inch then a case of 4 inch color in the middle. Remember that aluminum foil is your friend when covering mortars.

[357pyro]

If the new rack build is for your finale then the answer is in the length or number of shells in the finale chains you can buy. Then remember that some finale chains are instant while some are 2, 3 or I've seen some 5 second delays between shells.

The new build would definitely be with the finale in mind. Lynch has Jinsheng 2.5 inch salute chains packed 10/12 w or w/o delay. Im thinking for finale you would not want the delay. They also have 3's by union packed 6/12. The 2.5's seem to just be a better value on the price.

[cptnding]

The new build would definitely be with the finale in mind. Lynch has Jinsheng 2.5 inch salute chains packed 10/12 w or w/o delay. Im thinking for finale you would not want the delay. They also have 3's by union packed 6/12. The 2.5's seem to just be a better value on the price.

For salute finale chains I wouldn't go with a delay either. With color I like a little delay and then let the salutes go all at once. I'm not a fan of 2.5" though. Lots more options in 3" shells.