Speeding up 25 Shot Thunderkings

[ssmith512]

Question to the Master's from the Grasshopper......

I want to significantly speed up some Lynch 25 shot Thunderkings by firing the main fuse, the last tube and a center tube all at the same time. Get them down to a roughly 5-6 sec duration. I know I can poke tubes and insert e-match, but I am cue limited at the moment.

Can I take some quick match, bridge it from the main quick match leader, expose the black match on the other end (maybe like a couple of inches) and shove it down the tube I want to light from the top of the tube, and stuff the tube with cotton or newspaper to keep the quick match from blowing out. Will using that method ignite that tube (and in turn light the fuse into and out of that tube)?

Thanks in advance!

Steve

[Birdman]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding or missing something but why not just fire 3 e-matches in parallel from one cue?

[ssmith512]

When I say I am cue limited, what I really mean is that I am cue-less LOL! My Black Friday Cobra ordered wont be shipped until after the first of the year. So these Thunderkings will be hand lit to "ring in the new year".

[esgrillo]

there is a clay plug at the top of that tube so the answer is no.

you could take some qm or fast fuse and bridge from that first row that fires to the other by exposing the tubes on the bottom of cake and poke where the fuse goes into the tube and add yours and bridge to the next tube the same way.

I basically do that when I daisy chain consumer cakes together with FF

[ssmith512]

there is a clay plug at the top of that tube so the answer is no.

you could take some qm or fast fuse and bridge from that first row that fires to the other by exposing the tubes on the bottom of cake and poke where the fuse goes into the tube and add yours and bridge to the next tube the same way.

I basically do that when I daisy chain consumer cakes together with FF

I like this idea.

Thank you sir!

[displayfireworks1]

Grasshopper, I mean ssmith512. I suggest you shoot within your means. I politely say this, I'm assuming your audience is going to match your budget and equipment. Not every July 4th or New Years display needs to be as good as a professional company or pyro-musical. Just shoot what your budget and distance allows. If you don't time that finale just right , don't feel like you failed. Most people are just happy to see any fireworks in the air. We as advanced fireworks enthusiast are not failures just because we can not perform at the same standard as professional display companies. You audience is going to be glad you put on a display not matter how it went. I should preface that, I will say do not drag it out too long , 10 minutes or less for a small display is good. Get stuff in the air and create some type of finale and they will be happy.

[ssmith512]

Grasshopper, I mean ssmith512. I suggest you shoot within your means. I politely say this, I'm assuming your audience is going to match your budget and equipment. Not every July 4th or New Years display needs to be as good as a professional company or pyro-musical. Just shoot what your budget and distance allows. If you don't time that finale just right , don't feel like you failed. Most people are just happy to see any fireworks in the air. We as advanced fireworks enthusiast are not failures just because we can not perform at the same standard as professional display companies. You audience is going to be glad you put on a display not matter how it went. I should preface that, I will say do not drag it out too long , 10 minutes or less for a small display is good. Get stuff in the air and create some type of finale and they will be happy.

Thanks for the advice Dave! Much appreciated! I am not planning a "show" or anything like that, I just want to use my new Type 54 you helped me get and purchase 1 case of Thunderkings and shoot them off for the new years. Just want them to get up in the air and put some boom in the sky quickly.

[displayfireworks1]

Just shoot more than one at a time and it will will be fine. Be sure to stabilize the cakes.

[esgrillo]

Dave is right... I shoot multiple cakes all the time... they look and sound totally different from a single. a $3 bump bear is pretty low key as a single but fast fuse 10 together and its really pretty impressive

[WithReport]

If you are just after electrically firing a bunch of TKs at the end as one last hurrah and have igniters - you could just use some scab wire and a battery

Firing systems are great, but sometimes we just need the basics.


Or you could step it up and make a simple one or two cue pin board with nails. Here is a blast from the past



https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=x7IoCSf2pmU

[BMoore]

I'm going to agree with Dave on this one. I'm not a fan of modifying 1.3 cakes and in your case it's just more trouble than its worth anyway. I think those 25 shot thunderkings are in cases of 6. I'd start off with just one and then after a few seconds fire the second and so on so that you speed up the pace and then have all 6 firing at the end. If all you are doing is some boom to ring in the new year, I would think slower is better than faster. You want people to realize what is happening and appreciate it. At 5 seconds you'll just have people diving for cover thinking the world just blew up.

[specialfxpyro]

Just shoot more than one at a time and it will will be fine. Be sure to stabilize the cakes.

Do this ^^^^^^^^

It's safest and the best way to get what you want.

When you shoot 4 or more of even the crappiest 1.4 cakes. it looks great and will impress your audience.

[ssmith512]

Thanks for the words of wisdom! I am now liking the idea of joining the 6 quick match leaders together and popping all six at once. 98.6% of my neighbors are going to love me and the remaining 1.4% who complain about everything all the time, well......they can be miserable. :D

[Birdman]

Instead of quick matching them all I'd go with BMoore's idea and use slower fuse on the first 3 so that cake 2 fires before cake 1 is done and cake 3 fires around when cake 1 is finishing but cake 2 is still firing. Then cake 3 while cake 2 is finishing. Then same with cake 4 but at cake 4 use the quick match or fast fuse to fire 5 and 6 so at the end you have 3 firing at about the same time. Something close to that anyway. This will give you a little build up in the beginning which IMO will allow you to enjoy the cakes a bit more but still give you that finale at the end.

Just to give you an idea, below is a video of a 25 shot cake fired by itself and a video of my show where I fire 6 at the same time (2 groups of 3 spaced out just a bit) that are fast fused together.

Single cake (starts at 0:15)
https://youtu.be/R3YB6j83YOg?t=15

Six at same time (starts at 6:44)
https://player.vimeo.com/video/435815697#t=6m44s

The cake I used seems a bit slower than a 25s thunderking.

[Hoosierhick]

We get 25 shot Thunderkings every year .They make a 4 second 25 shoot cake if you can find them. Do not try and hand light them. We tape 4 to a stake & shoot them together.

[RalphieJ]

Not highly recommended, but if you really want to speed things up, remove the paper covering the top of the cake and pour some black powder evenly around the base of the tubes, covering the connecting fuses. Experience has taught me to be sure to wrap a few turns of filament tape around the exterior......you can guess why.