looking for some input on mortars and racks

[UniversalPyro]

just curious for the experienced, on the 4inch racks and above, is it wise to drill the bottom of the mortar to hold it down so when it shoots it doesn't lift half way out? Also for the purpose of the electric match, is it best to put screws on the racks and tie to that or i have seen that some people put a tiny hole in the mortar and run it through that?

Last year when i shot, on some of the five inch racks, some of the tubes were halfway out of the rack! Let me know, i know there's different ways to do things, i need to fix these things now in the offseason before its time to shoot in May.

thanks in advance everyone!!!!

[jknepp1954]

universal - when we had our display company we always had mortars (2.5" up to 6" racks) screwed into the bottoms or racks. And i have also used/seen them unscrewed - so i am guessing a matter of personal preference. I personally prefer screwed into the rack.
Ematch - hope someone else can answer that for you.

[coachtimmyj]

I have hundreds of racks and have never had a problem with any of them bouncing out when shot from solid ground. Were the side rails on those racks you're speaking of high up on the mortar or lower? What kind of surface were you shooting from? I've shot from trailers and had a mortar bounce clean out of the gun but after reinforcing the trailer, never had the problem again.

As for tying off, drilling the hole in the top of the gun is the best way so you can tie off in a manner to just pull out the leftover wire at the end of the night. If you tie it off correctly, you can grab a handful and just yank and the whole bundle will come out. When tying off to screws you have to unwrap every wire as you're cleaning up and that's a pita to me. The easiest way is to fold a loop in the wire and slip through the hole from the inside of the gun out. Then take the long end of the wire (going to the slat/rail) and pull it through the loop on the outside of the gun and sinch it tight. If you pull from the inside of the mortar, the knot tightens, if you pull from the outside, the knot comes free.

[indianahx]

Ematch....tie it off to a nail or screw!

Mortars....more of a preference....but with those size shells if for some reason you lose one in the gun you better be good at fishing it out or you'll be taking racks apart (if they're tacked all together in some fashion) or dumping the whole rack of shells out to get it if they're all screwed in. It is the latter reason that I don't even screw in my 1.75 mortars now bc I don't wanna dump them if I don't have to....2c

[coachtimmyj]

but with those size shells if for some reason you lose one in the gun you better be good at fishing it out or you'll be taking racks apart

This is the exact reason none of my guns are screwed in place. My short little alligator arms aren't long enough to reach down and grab the leader on a 4" more or less anything bigger than that lol. Also when removing duds at the end of the night. Lots easier to pull the mortar and roll the shell out.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

The company I shoot for has all fiberglass guns from 3" to 12". The 2 1/2" are HDPE. None of them are secured in the racks, but they all are a very snug fit. You can tip a rack over to dump out the spent lift cups & the tubes stay intact. Also. if you have a dud it is much safer to pull the tube out & let the shell roll out. The spacers between the guns are very tight.
They all have holes for the ematch--except the 2 1/2" which are finale strings so only one ematch per 10 tubes.
Last year we did two shows with 1800+ guns--can you imagine how long it would take to unwrap all those ematch wires if they were wrapped on nails or screws!

Coachtimmy gave an excellent & very easy to understand explination of how to slip knot the ematch wires. It also is in one of Dave's video's--don't recall which one, though.

Naturally, for a couple racks it would not be a big deal. On consumer racks I only ever screwed one down--I didn't see the real need or advantage if the racks are built snug & it makes checking the end plugs a lot easier.

[UniversalPyro]

the racks are about above mid level for the mortar. the racks do have some slop in between them, maybe thats why they can bounce a little bit. I shoot on ground straight up with side boarding. i would rather not screw them down, but i didnt want a accident either. as far as the ematch, i will do the whole in the side, that seems the best. Racks came from Pyrodirect, anyone else have 4,5 or 6 racks from them? and what is your experience with them?

[displayfireworks1]

A professional fireworks company I worked for had a policy in place that when you loaded the truck after a fireworks display all the racks had to loaded upside down. Why you may ask? It was a way to make sure you would inadvertently clean the mortars. With my racks I follow the way most professional companies do. I screw then down, then I can throw that rack anyway I want, upside down sideways whatever. Anyone that has ever loaded trucks after a large display knows you need to throw racks all sorts of ways. I do not want to worry about mortars falling all over the place. If I purchase a rack I also want a spacer between each mortar.
If you want to use fiberglass racks, you need to look at a fiberglass rack that has been used several times, they show wear and tear. I like the black high density pipe. They hold up well with repeated use. I sometimes wonder if fiberglass mortars absorb moisture if left out in the rain. The upside of fiberglass is that it is cheap.

[coachtimmyj]

A professional fireworks company I worked for had a policy in place that when you loaded the truck after a fireworks display all the racks had to loaded upside down. Why you may ask? It was a way to make sure you would inadvertently clean the mortars.

I shot with a company once which had this same procedure in place except they dumped them in the truck so all the trash was easier to clean up...until the day when an unfired 6" shell hit the floor with a "thud". The ematch leader from this shell had found it's way over the muzzle of the mortar next to it somehow and had been sheered off when the shell fired, dropping the rest of the match down into the mortar with the unfired gun. No one spotted the shell until it got dumped out onto the floor of the truck, luckily, the shroud did it's job and kept the match from popping when the shell plopped on top of it. They don't do this anymore.

As for the fiberglass/hdpe preference, there are both advantages and disadvantages to both. If you are reloading, I would highly suggest NOT using hdpe as it heats up very quickly whereas fiberglass does not and is much safer for reloading. If you're going to buy fiberglass do your homework and make sure the company you are purchasing from imports quality mortars. Unlike hdpe, there isn't a worldwide standard for which fiberglass is made so the quality is only as good as the chinese factory wants to make it. HDPE on the other hand, must be made to a certain specification so you can reasonably expect a certain standard of quality. The downside to HDPE is replacing plugs, especially since most companies do not follow NFPA recommendations (the plug should be 1/2 as thick as the mortar is wide). Most guns are made with 1 1/2" deep plugs which really aren't thick enough for guns over 4" which is why you see alot of split plugs in larger mortars. A quality plug will be multi-layered with grains running opposite each other and would be 1/2 as thick as the diameter of the mortar (for example a 6" mortar should have a 3" deep plug). And yes Dave, you are correct, fiberglass will absorb moisture since it is porous. All this being said, if you purchase quality fiberglass mortars, you can expect about the same type of lifespan as HDPE, but you won't save a bunch of money as quality fiberglass isn't really much cheaper than HDPE.

[oldfart]

The state of New Hampsha requires us to attach the morter in the rack. With HDPE most everyone just runs a screw up from the bottom into the plug. With fiberglass I know one person epoxies it in.

[killer57]

would it be ok to run a screw in low on the side? that way if you had a problem with a shell you could just unscrew it and remove the morter. i dont see a problem with this as long as you predrill the morter and just run the screw into the plug.

[coachtimmyj]

would it be ok to run a screw in low on the side? that way if you had a problem with a shell you could just unscrew it and remove the morter. i dont see a problem with this as long as you predrill the morter and just run the screw into the plug.

You could do this without fear of messing up the mortar or the plug, but unless you use a real heavy duty screw it is most likely going to snap off due to the recoil caused by the lift. Most screws do not have a very high sheer strength which is why when most guys screw in the mortars, it's from the bottom up. In the event of having to retrieve a dud, you could always lay the rack on it's side to get to the screw and then remove the mortar. Little more work, but not a ton.

As old fart says, there are a number of states which require the mortars to be attached.