Hand Firing In Rain

[BMoore]

I always plan for the rain and it looks like storms might start moving in this year right around shoot time. I still hand fire the body of my show. My weatherproofing process for my hand fired 1.3 racks has been to cover the top and side with the leaders with clear carpet runner plastic. At shoot time, if it's raining, I can see the leaders through the plastic and i just burn through the plastic with my torch to fire. My reasoning is that whatever plastic doesn't get torn away by the shell I'm firing will offer some protection to the remaining shells. Some acquaintances are telling me I'm committing a mortal sin by doing this since the plastic could catch fire. What's everyone's thoughts? Am I ok doing what I've always done or should I pull the plastic off? Any other tips and tricks for protecting hand fired racks in the rain?

[Salutecake]

Well I don't know about a mortal sin, but I think it depends on the plastic you use. Most plastic covers, when hit with a torch, at first might seem to catch fire, but also usually shrinks to the point that the flame is far enough away from the plastic, the heat is removed and it stops burning. So my question would be, have you run into any problems with the plastic you use running wild with fire?

Another way is aluminum foil? Dollar store stuff, but since it would probably hard to see the fuse through the foil and then burn through the foil, you would probably have to remove it first.

[displayfireworks1]

When I look at most 1.3 shells the leaders all seem to have a plastic covering on them. In the days before that plastic covering , just a small amount of water hitting the unprotected leader would stop that fuse leader dead. I believe I have a video about that somewhere. I took a piece of 4 ft. quick-match and dripped some water in the middle of it . It stopped that internal black-match from burning to the other end. I am sure they are still shells out there with uncovered leaders , if you are using those you really need to protect from rain.

[BMoore]

@Salutecake - My experience with carpet runner or any other plastic is that you hit it with the torch and it melts through moreso than catches fire. I guess in theory it could burn long enough to pass fire to an adjacent leader but I've never had it happen. My thought is that there is a greater risk of pass fire from the shells themselves than any smoldering plastic. Yes, foil does work but I use the transparent carpet shield on hand fired racks specifically so I can cover the leaders yet still see them to light.

@Dave - Any more it seems like most shells have the so called waterproof quickmatch but I see a lot of it that has splits in the piping or spots where the seam has opened up where the leader was folded. It's a false sense of security in my opinion. Either way, the visco or blackmatch light point needs to be protected.