Cato

[bingsbaits]

Did a little Labor Day show for the family. Had my first shell go off in the tube. Luckily it was the part of the Finale and was white fused. They all went up even though the rack blew apart and some tubes scattered.
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[hatsgoods]

wow, im thinking everyone is ok? looks like you might be able to order a few mortars and rebuild your rack?

[jamisonlm3]

It's very interesting the way that mortar split like that. What kind of shell was in it?

[bingsbaits]

It was either a Kingslayer or a 5 inch Nishiki Willow.

[Arclight]

So these all went vertical because they were fast-fused, but a slow-fused chain could have been a problem?

[BMoore]

Very strange how the mortar split symmetrically like that. It's almost as if it had seams or some manufacturing flaw. That is not the way HDPE is supposed to behave. You may want to replace all your mortars that came out of that batch or at least give them a very close inspection.

[bingsbaits]

With the fast fuse they all went off at the same time pretty much. I think a slower fuse would have left a couple shells in the tubes lit when the rack came apart.. Tubes came from Pyroboom will have to give them a good once over..Only about the third time they have been shot.

[Arles]

Wow, very interesting. Good reminder that things can go very wrong even when done correctly. Thanks for posting.

[displayfireworks1]

I personally find true canister shells to be reliable and never blow apart like this. It seems to be a rare event. Very unusual how that mortar split. Now I curious how these other than black mortars are made. Is it the same HDPE material and process with a coloring agent added or ? Did you purchase those mortars from one of the pyro suppliers or purchase elsewhere and cut them yourself?

[bingsbaits]

Bought the tubes from Pyroboom. I have had no problems with canister shells. All tubes were fully inspected for proper loading. I know this shell was not in upside down.
It acted like the lift charge was not even there.

[Okimarine]

It acted like the lift charge was not even there.

I nearly had this happen to me. While loading a rack of (60) shells, I found some loose black powder granules and had to inspect every shell. The thin paper disc on the bottom of the shell was damaged and all the lift charge was spilled. Luckily I found it and did not attempt firing it. I finished removing the paper disc myself.

5998

[mguerra]

I like the paper disc because it's easy to poke and put a match in there. But it seems we should take a quick peek at all of them to be sure we don't have this issue of the spilled lift. I would take that shell on a wet day and in a safe spot fire it on the ground, just for fun. Or, replace the lift and use it.