Duct vs Masking Tape- protect the fuse

[randomrobot]

Last year I had a small fire in the middle of my display from having too much masking tape on my fuse on one of my cake boards. It caught one of the cardboard boxes on fire. I was thinking of using duct tape this year, thinking it might not catch as easily. How do you recommend protecting the fuse or do you even worry about it?

[morrison2951]

I actually did use duct tape last night with no issues.

[Engineer Cat]

I only use Dave's magic tape for fusing but before I knew about it I was using duct tape and found that the thick glue could snuff out the fuse if completely wrapped around the fuse tight. No so much for a small piece holding leader fuse to an item fuse but more if you you had a long run of fuse and wanted to protect it from burning other items around it.

[randomrobot]

Went with the duct tape. Went pretty awesome. Had a couple of mortars go sideways, gotta watch the replay to find out exactly what happened but no fires and fusing was almost perfect. Had one quick fuse mortar that didn't fire and 2 rockets but overall, a success. Happy Birthday America!

[randomrobot]

For others still learning-So, I think I figured out why I had 2 mortars go sideways on me. I ran duct tape over my racks and I think I had the too tight on one of the sides and it stopped the mortar from going up. The tape over those looked pretty melted. I thought the shell would blow right thru it but maybe on the edge the angle had too much grip.

The duct tape over all the fuse, somewhat loose, didn't cause any problems and it was a one light show other than the one mortar and 2 rockets. First time thats happened for me.

[Engineer Cat]

For others still learning-So, I think I figured out why I had 2 mortars go sideways on me. I ran duct tape over my racks and I think I had the too tight on one of the sides and it stopped the mortar from going up. The tape over those looked pretty melted. I thought the shell would blow right thru it but maybe on the edge the angle had too much grip.

The duct tape over all the fuse, somewhat loose, didn't cause any problems and it was a one light show other than the one mortar and 2 rockets. First time thats happened for me.

I'm not hating on duct tape but Dave's magic tape wont do that, sticks to everything and cost about $5 for a 55 yard roll of it if you have a uhaul close by. It costs about the same as duct tape if you buy it online.

[Mattp]

I use the uhaul tape as well,, but on mortar racks for fuse protection I use the actual duct tape,, like the foil one for duct work

[Rick_In_Tampa]

UHaul tape is the only way to go IMHO. If you tape over the connection points right, you'll get about 85-90% of the fuse covered. If you don't feel safe with that, place some aluminum foil over the racks or fuse to cover it completely.

[bigmike06]

Another vote for U-Haul tape here.

[Birdman]

I used masking tape in the past but my roll must have gotten damp or something and it wasn't peeling off the roll. Thankfully I had a big roll of duct tape that I use for bracing and labeling. I used it loosely on my racks and didn't have any issues. However, since I am now completely out of tape I am going to make it a point to get the U-Haul tape.

[schmidlapp]

So I tried a bit of an experiment in search of a 100% success in pass passfire from fuse to fuse. I purchased 300' of 1/4" heat shrink tubing.
I cut it to length for my mortar racks. Used it as a sleeve with 2 zip ties. It served dual purpose. It covered all the fuses and it also almost instantly shrunk around the fuses as the main fuse burned. I had 100% success with this method. It didn't matter what speed fuse I used.
I also used this method to string cakes in my finale.
My only failure was an mjg that failed to light a quick fuse. I may double up critical 6361points of ignition with 2 e matches next year.6361
6361

[Birdman]

I should add that I typically cover the top of my racks in aluminum foil like Rick suggested. This is the first year I taped over the tubes only because I was too lazy to go grab some aluminum foil. Next year I plan to go back to fusing my racks in advance and covering with aluminum foil.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I used masking tape in the past but my roll must have gotten damp or something and it wasn't peeling off the roll. Thankfully I had a big roll of duct tape that I use for bracing and labeling. I used it loosely on my racks and didn't have any issues. However, since I am now completely out of tape I am going to make it a point to get the U-Haul tape.

Yeah... Regular masking tape is crap in humid air. It won't even stick to itself. If you already have fuse taped over, it will literally fall off.

I'm convinced U Haul tape can hold water molecules together! That stuff is amazing.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

So I tried a bit of an experiment in search of a 100% success in pass passfire from fuse to fuse. I purchased 300' of 1/4" heat shrink tubing.
I cut it to length for my mortar racks. Used it as a sleeve with 2 zip ties. It served dual purpose. It covered all the fuses and it also almost instantly shrunk around the fuses as the main fuse burned. I had 100% success with this method. It didn't matter what speed fuse I used.
I also used this method to string cakes in my finale.
My only failure was an mjg that failed to light a quick fuse. I may double up critical 6361points of ignition with 2 e matches next year.6361
6361

Certainly looks pretty. Looks like it will protect that rack from a rogue ember igniting the entire rack. Also looks like a lot of work. I don't know how many mortars you have to wire, but I can see that tubing solution really slowing you down if you have a few hundred mortar to wire. I have 300 mortars in my show and 299 of them fired on the 4th. The lone holdout had a bad factory fuse on the can itself and the fire went out half way down the fuse. All I do is use U Haul tape and zip-ties to attach the lead fuse to the mortar fuses. Nothing fancy. Just works.

[schmidlapp]

160 mortars, and 80+ cakes...
Luckily I'm retired and have a lot of time.

[ssmith512]

I like this idea. I may steal it! :)

[MontanaMike]

Duct tape seems like it would be too thick. We don't have a Uhaul near here but I do own an auto parts store so I have access to cheap masking tape so that's what I use.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Duct tape seems like it would be too thick. We don't have a Uhaul near here but I do own an auto parts store so I have access to cheap masking tape so that's what I use.

Amazon delivers 3 roll packs to my house. Sometimes the same day!

[randomrobot]

Honestly, the duct tape worked really well and was pretty easy.
It was just my mistake by taping it over the edges of the rack too tight.
Regular painters tape caught fire last year so that's out for me.