rbpwrd240 Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 (edited) This year I did my first real one fuse show. 228 shots in 4 minutes. I was thrilled with how well it went off (other then the fuse connex) but I am already planning for new years and I am positive I need more tubes so early this am I went to the safe pop zone by my home and I collected all the tubes I could get my hands on. Ifocused on 1",1.75" and the 1.91"stuff. Cardboard tubes will have their bases cut off and then they will be put into racks. All the cardboard tubes will be treated with this method for long term durability.http://www.boomtownfireworks.com/service/mortars.aspx All the HDPE tubes will simply have there bases cutoff and they will be put into the finale racks. However my issue comes in with the fiberglass 1.4 mortar tubes. I have been using mine for about three seasons now and Im wondering what the practical lifespan is on a fiberglass mortar tube? Also I have attempted to remove a few fiberglass tubes from their bases to place them into racks but the bottoms seem to be that kitty litter plug and I would like to use something else that offers me a bit more confidence during my show. I was thinking of hollowing out all the bases and replacing the plugs with concrete. Another option is finding 1.91" wood plugs and JB welding them into place with a screw or something to add some strength.This is probably the best option but its also the most expensive and I am trying to do this with as little investment as possible. Thanks for any input or help and please feel free to show me your "ghetto" racks as I am currently thinking of some cool designs. P.S. thank god for the Warlock this year it came with 4 tubes and twenty four 60g shells. There were fiberglass tubes everywhere at the safe pop zone. Me and the kiddo must have picked up over 150 tubes in total, now we can start cleaning and making racks early so we will be ready for new years. For the next show we will be using an electric match and more artillery shells. Edited July 5, 2016 by rbpwrd240 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMarine Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 When I replug a tube I use a wood plug and then drill at least 2 holes through the tube and plug then run bolts through it. We tried gluing plugs in and that didn't work at all. I'm getting away from fiberglass tubes next year since I've heard of too many getting blasted to shrapnel in threads recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpwrd240 Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 No body else has input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrokid Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I would not bother with replugging the consumer tubes. You can purchase quality wood plugged HDPE mortars for ~$1.75 per tube in quantity. They are also easier to put into racks. I'm not sure about the lifespan of these tubes but you can always solve this by inspecting the mortars before the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpwrd240 Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Well I can understand your point but free X 50 tubes is still free. Once you pay the 2 dollars a tube plus shipping its well over 100 bucks and you still have to make the racks. Id much rather use these tubes that I have. Plus I want about 25 1.75" tubes about 30 1.91" tubes and about 24 1" tubes so finding these tubes and ordering them from different companies and paying for all the shipping your easily looking at several hundred dollars. Add that to the cost of the shells and the cost of visco, tape, QM etc your easily looking at a grand or more. If I can save a few hundred bucks by doing some hard work over the next few months then thats more money for BBQ, Sodas, Beer, water and small fireworks for the kiddos. Im not a company or doing multiple shows at each season. Im a twice a year guy that loves fireworks. I feel these tubes could easily handle my needs but I just want to know how to best preserve them and make them safe for the spectators. I understand that the safe viewing area is 75ft per inch of shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'd honestly see what you have right now, and hope you can get by without replugging anything. Ideally you can restock on tubes after new years and the 4th, just like you did this year. The lifetime of fiberglass is very dependent upon how they're treated, frequency of use, and how they're stored. It sounds like you're going to be mostly just wiring these up and using them for one shot per show. Just check them before and after every show. Fraying around the mouth, cracks or stress marks, and heavily faded colors tend to be signs that the mortars should be replaced. They're not overly expensive or hard to come by. It's better to replace them too early than risk failures. Take a look at the HDPE mortars as well. If they have wood plugs and came from China, they will likely just have staples holding the plug in. These are not very strong. A few construction screws will secure them well. The tube walls will give way before the screws do in many instances. I like construction screws as opposed to bolts, but that is just personal preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpwrd240 Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Thank you for the input. Yes its true we don't shoot much out of the mounted tubes except for the finally. Its maybe three or four shots a year. I do tend to replace damaged tubes each year and I only shoot the heavier loads such as Excalibur out of the HDPE Commercial tubes I bought from Cannon Fuse or out of the 9 Excalibur HDPE tubes I have. Removing the kitty litter stuff from the fiberglass tubes is very time consuming. I am hoping that simply knocking off the bases leaving the kitty liter as a plug and placing the raw plugged tubes in racks with be sufficient. Again only smaller shells will go out of these. All of the HDPE tubes I picked up were all Excalibur so I feel pretty safe with them. There was two other Blue colored plastic tubes that may have been HDPE but they had a plastic weak base with two screws in it and they didnt inspire confidence so I tossed those. My concern is the cardboard and fiberglass tubes. I did remove the plug from one fiberglass tube for a wood plug but I am nervous about drilling into fiberglass I dont want to cause any splintering etc. Im hoping putting a pilot hole will help eliminate any damage to the tube. Thanks again, Feel free to keep the input coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpwrd240 Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 (edited) As we are all getting ready for our shows and doing our finale planning I figured I should show you what I came up with from everyones input after the 4th of July. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYY0V0pWY9U&feature=youtu.be Edited December 29, 2016 by rbpwrd240 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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