*Newbie* Wants a big display this year

[shniggysaurus]

Hi everyone.

Last year was the first time i spent actual money on fireworks but I did it all wrong. I went to the local tent on the 4th and spent too much money. I bought artillery shells with the cardboard tubes. The shells were great but after a few shots the tubes got to be dangerous. So this year I come to you for help on doing it right. I am all about DIY and saving money. To this point I have looked in to making mortar racks with HDPE tube and a little bit about fuse material. I would love links on where to buy and what to buy and how to setup to make a decent amateur show this year on a $500 budget.

Thanks for all your help.

[Robbro097]

Where abouts are you from

[Robbro097]

Provided your in a state that allows fireworks to b shipped to you americanwholesalefireworks.com offers 20% off to pyrotalk members and have good shipping rates so even after shipping im sure would smoke any tent pricing your gonna find by alot

[tmwjr]

If the total budget for tubes and everything is $500, I would skip the tubes and shells and buy an array of 200g, 500g, and fan cakes. I would try to get some assorted cases. Expect a big chunk of that budget to go into a decent finale (maybe $150 or so).

Definitely use one of the wholesalers. I use wfboom and American wholesale. It's pretty late for nice discounts.

I just think too much of that budget will go to tubes. That's my two cents.

[Zap85]

You could look into a case of shells that come with HDPE tubes (24 come in a case of excal and demon shells) and spend the rest on cakes, there are a couple websites that offer free shipping for orders over $500 as well.

[Birdman]

All good advice above. I agree you may want to consider spending your budget on cakes this year instead of tubes and shells. One thing I learned is that $500 is not much when you want other goodies like racks. I started with a similar budget. Now I spend more but I shop all year long and take advantage of the good sales whenever I can. Even though I'm spending more I spread it out and get in on the good deals.

So my advice is shop early, shop often and shop smarter. You're here so you're on the right path now.

[Berserker23]

The biggest advice I have is don’t go to Phantom or sky king go to a small mom and pop shop or a reliable business and get to know the owner and become a returning customer that will work with you definitely go with wholesale or close to wholesale prices for 500 gram cakes you should be paying between $20-$30 a cake and 200 gram cakes you should be paying $5-$10 per cake and don’t fall for the BOGO it’s a scam.

[Mattp]

and don’t fall for the BOGO it’s a scam.
what about the Buy 1 Get 2...LOL.. i agree with all the advice above... just to clarify what zap85 said...and i would make the same recommendation.. the excaliber and similar shells come with 4 hdpe tubes.. and 24 shells.. but is a great way to start a good reusable tube collection (my first racks ever were built with those tubes)... and as you advance and have more $, then start to buy racks... but with a 500$ budget and only 1 month to go.. i would want to get as much product as possible with that budget.... also the banner at the top of this forum.. is full of links to great companies!!!

[Scotty Rockets]

Spirit of 76 is still offering 40% off shipping today and tomorrow yet Use code SHIP40. You also can get gold pricing if you are a member of a few groups, possibly this forum group as well. Most of their pro line cakes require no special training proof.

[Birdman]

just to clarify what zap85 said...and i would make the same recommendation.. the excaliber and similar shells come with 4 hdpe tubes.. and 24 shells.. but is a great way to start a good reusable tube collection (my first racks ever were built with those tubes)... and as you advance and have more $, then start to buy racks...

I'm not disagreeing because it certainly is an option but with 4 tubes that's only 4 shells in the show. I would probably go with a nice 9 shot cake (NOAB) and have 9 nice breaks if I thought I was going to buy tubes before next year and make racks.

[TheRifleman]

Hello, I'm new to the forums, but I thought I'd say that I enjoy the Excalibur mortars. They have nice tubes, but they don't work well with racks due to their reinforced bottoms. I re-use the tubes year after year and they hold up great. I've basically built my own "racks" though it's more like a piece of plywood with 1-bys securing all the tubes to the board. A little hillbilly, but it works! I think it's like 24 shells for about $75 and they are good size mortars with good effects in my opinion. Perhaps more learned fireworks enthusiasts would disagree, but I sure enjoy them!

[TheRifleman]

I just saw that someone else recommended the excaliburs too, so I guess I wasn't too far off lol

[displayfireworks1]

$500.00 is a decent fireworks budget. Many fireworks retailers would be happy to make $500 sale all day long. I know its all too late now. When your budget is limited, the best time to buy id during the late winter months when not many other people are buying. Also consider collecting money from friends family and even neighbors that are also enjoying the fireworks shows you put on. Some people enjoy adding money to the fireworks budget and feeling they helped put the show on.

[shniggysaurus]

Thanks everyone for the awesome help! So I've been doing some more research. . . I understand that I am late to the game but I would like to plan ahead for the years to come. We have just moved to a place in Mississippi (USA) where I have plenty of space with no one around. I plan to make this a tradition for my family. With that in mind - if the tubes are reusable I think I should go ahead and make my own rack and get some HDPE from a local plumbing supply store or just buy some plugs from pyroboom. Or just buy some plugged tubes from them. I will check out all the links mentioned and probably go with a few of the recommended cakes and artillery shells. If I can swing it I will also put one of these launch systems (https://www.instructables.com/id/Fireworks-Controller/) together. I think I already have most of the parts for it. So what I need to look for is DR11 HDPE and 1.4g artillery shells/cakes?? Is that correct?

[swabby115]

hi all love to do fireworks what is the best can kits for this year I got AR15 can kit last year and it was awesome

[swabby115]

thank u and i will get them i have a good one too it is the same one for the Excalibur i got 4 of them for the AR15 kit

[Rick_In_Tampa]

For what it's worth, for your budget I'd go with something like this: http://www.patrioticfireworks.com/site/index.php?page=assortment-special

When I was starting out I bought this same assortment and it was a crowd pleaser. You would still have money left over to buy other effects to fill in any gaps you think still exist.