Transporting Loaded Racks

[EEdwards7]

Hey pyros. I am doing a July 4th shoot about 10 miles away from my house (the first time I have done anything further than my back yard), but it is a huge show and I would be pressed for time to fuse all the canister shells on-site. Is it safe to fuse them up now in the racks and throw them into the back of my pickup?

Sorry if this is a newbie question.

[Birdman]

As long as you're just fusing them and not connecting MJG's or anything then it's fine, if you ask me. I would probably tape foil over the tops or cover them in plastic just to shield the fuse and make sure nothing falls into the tubes.

[displayfireworks1]

I find this interesting on many fronts. One is , I am hearing more and more about fusing and even matching canister shells. Secondly, I keep saying, we as advanced fireworks enthusiast look less and less like the fireworks builders from the past and behave more and more like display companies trying to, plan displays, meet deadline to build displays and even transporting displays. This is thanks to the internet, social media, the ATF license, the non regulated Initiators and affordable fireworks firing systems. Plus more and more states are legalizing Consumer Fireworks.

[Arles]

I agree with Birdman and would be okay with Talons attached to the fuses as well.

[Kooooou]

Preloading/fusing consumer racks is no problem, but as others stated save the e-matching and wiring for when you are at the site with open air above you. A preloaded rack is similar to larger bore 500g cakes IMO.

[Birdman]

I find this interesting on many fronts. One is , I am hearing more and more about fusing and even matching canister shells. Secondly, I keep saying, we as advanced fireworks enthusiast look less and less like the fireworks builders from the past and behave more and more like display companies trying to, plan displays, meet deadline to build displays and even transporting displays. This is thanks to the internet, social media, the ATF license, the non regulated Initiators and affordable fireworks firing systems. Plus more and more states are legalizing Consumer Fireworks.

I think it's safe to say you can take a lot of the credit for this.

[BMoore]

I see no issue loading and fusing before transporting (Just no e-match). That's what I do, but also take along something to make sure the shells are seated once at the shoot site. I do my best to keep them vertical but there are always a few that seem to try to work their way up the mortar.

This is one safety area I've never quite understood. The same people e-matching in their house 6 months in advance are often the ones telling you to never pre-load consumer racks, never load them indoors, etc. In my mind it seems safer to have each shell sitting in its own tube than having them all laying together in a bucket or whatever.

[barehm]

I agree with others. I have no concerns fusing up my racks - I have 200 shells fused so far. I just don't attach anything to the lead fuse until I get the racks into position. I don't see how this is any additional risk than leaving cakes in your basement. Sure, 10-25 explosives fused together is slightly worse than a loose shell if a catalyst enters the equation, but whatever is going to set off 1 is likely going to a problem for the others.

[FBpyro]

I usually poke/e-match everything ahead of time and then load/connect things on-site. Technically I know you're not supposed to e-match everything until you're on the shoot site but honestly, the chances of any firewire initiator going off from just a car ride is highly unlikely, I can't say the same for professional e-matches as they use a more sensitive composition. I know there's a lot of debate regarding this however.

If you're only fusing them and no igniters then that's perfectly fine.