Do you secure tubes in racks?

[Xtrememachines]

I bought a 50 shot rack, do I need to worry about tubes bouncing?
Do you secure the tubes, if so how?

[BMoore]

They can be loose. The purpose of the rack is more to keep the mortars pointed up than solidly secure. The force of the lift charge drives the mortars downward rather than up and the spring action of a properly built wooden rack isn't going to be enough to bounce adjacent mortars out. Ideally you want your mortars loose but just snug enough that they don't fall out when you are moving and tipping your racks. If they are super loose a couple wood shims pressed in will do the trick.

[Salutecake]

Agreed BMore, When I'm done shooting with my consumer racks, I usually pull 2 mortar tubes out, click them together to get whatever junk might be left behind, then store them upside down in the racks so no further junk can fall into them.

[bani]

stored my mortar racks in a box truck. one year there was a roof leak and the mortars filled with water. now after a show i store them upside down like @salutecake does.

[topshelfpyro]

I bought a 50 shot rack, do I need to worry about tubes bouncing?
Do you secure the tubes, if so how?

generally no, if you bought or built a rack it should be fine. No reason for the tubes to be tight or "secured" in the rack. You might see some recoil bounce if you're watching the rack but it won't be high enough to affect the tubes. I've seen the worst recoil bounce when i've had the racks on concrete or asphalt. Nothing on dirt/grass.

Store the tubes upside down or capped if you keep them in a racke. Personally I use black plastic bins (greenmade brand 27 gal from costco for my 15" tubes are perfect) to store my tubes and then both the bins and racks will stack very nicely. 60 tubes per bin

[displayfireworks1]

I have a video from years back I can't seem to find. I showed how to screw in the mortar tubes from the bottom. From working Pro shows I like the mortars secured in.

[RalphieJ]

I have a video from years back I can't seem to find. I showed how to screw in the mortar tubes from the bottom. From working Pro shows I like the mortars secured in.


The display company that I was associated secured all tubes in racks with screws from the bottom.

[topshelfpyro]

I have a video from years back I can't seem to find. I showed how to screw in the mortar tubes from the bottom. From working Pro shows I like the mortars secured in.

I get securing tubes in racks on pro sizes (for a company that uses the same racks over and over) since the racks are stored and hauled stacked sideways it makes sense to not have to deal with loose tubes.

For consumer racks I don't see any point in it. I have 120 - 6 shot racks that I remove the tube from and stack straight up as high as I can. The tubes are stored cleaned (just means I knock the paper crap out) in black plastic bins that are also stacked as high as I can on rolling racks.

[BMoore]

Professional racks seem to be a mixed bag. I've seen mostly loose mortars, but I do have some 3" racks that I bought 2nd hand that are screwed from the bottom into the plug. It certainly keeps them from falling out, but also makes them that much harder to swap out, especially if you notice a defect in the field. My personal preference is loose, but snug enough that I can turn a rack over without the tubes falling out. If I notice a rack getting loose I'll push it a wood shim to snug it up.