Pipe used for aerial shells?

[FUZE]

I feel real dumb but I should ask you guys for your opinions ahead of time, Has anyone used PVC I know on most sites it says it will tear you up if it goes off but would it be safe for a 1.4G shell? I only ask because I FINALLY saw some light at the end of the tunnel to only be shut out by a high price tag.

 

I dont want to spend alot of money on HDPE but I dunno what the risks of using PVC are I was thinking maybe bury the rack or line it in dirt? Sorry ahead of time for the stupid question.

 

PS:I used to use HDPE but a snot headed punk stole my HDPE racks from my garage and the cops are too damn lazy to get away from the coffee shop.

[Givat]

Listen. take a shovel and dig a hole in your lounching area.

Put the PVC pipe in it all the way - so only the end of the pipe is out of the ground.

with this you can be sure you will be safe using PVC mortar.

 

If you don;t want to do this - don't use PVC.

[justanotherpyro]

Under the proper conditions I have fired 10+ 4" shells, and around 30 or so 3" shells from PVC mortars and they are still in good condition. I used the black ABS with a high pressure rating.

[FrankRizzo]

Ordering paper mortars from Skylighter or HPDE guns from pyrogear is probably the better way of doing things, but putting each PVC pipe in its own 5gal bucket filled with sand will make them less dangerous.

[aquaman]

PVC will wear down way faster than HPDE pipes. That is why I would perfer the HPDE rather than the PVC. Other than that I would use PVC. If you follow what has been said above then you should be fine with the PVC. Just make sure that either the sand or dirt is surrounding most of the mortar.

[Mumbles]

One small problem.

 

1.4G shells are around 1 5/8" OD. They are designed to be shot from 1.91" guns. PVC is a tad pver 2" ID. The extra space will make some difference. I'd test fit them. They probably won't go as high due to the extra space. Ask some firework shops if they have any extra mortar tubes, or neighbors or anyone really. Around this time of year they will be wanting to get rid of them.

[hst45]

if you're firing a cylindrical shell from a too-large tube, wrap a few turns of masking tape around both the top and the bottom of the shell to give the correct fit. The few extra grams of weight will be offset by the tighter fit in the bore resulting in less blow-by and therefor yield better lift. Be careful not to make the fit too tight, as this will increase the pressure on the PVC mortar, which is already a questionable proposition.

 

The previous posts give good advice of burrying the mortar. If, on the other hand, you're firing from a site where you can't dig a hole, try tapeing a towel around the bottom half of the mortar. (The highest initial pressure will in the lower section of the mortar). If the tube cracks this will limit the amount of PVC schrapnel you'll be picking out of your forehead!

[psymon]

I visited a material shop where they sell rolls of material for people who want to make curtians, clothes etc.

I asked if they had some insides of the rolls they didnt want. I was given about 20 parallel wound tubes ranging from 1" to 2.5" ID.

If you want bigger then go to carpet shops where and ask. They will give you sizes from 3" up to 10" ID tubes.

I have used my tubes now to fire about 50 shells and they are still holding up.

[Tse-Tse]

Hello,

I also donť think it's good idea to use PVC mortals. Mainly becouse of schrapnells as said hst45.

You can use it safe for a few launches. But your shell can also explode on the mortal... HDPE mortal will survive this and you will make nice mine, but are you sure about this with your PVC mortal?

 

You don't have to buy new mortals for a lot of money, it's better to make the same mortal at home for free

PE tubes are used for water pipelines, so visit some company selling water pipelines(find it on internet or in yellow pages) and ask them for some short piece for your mortal. The bottom make from piece of wood which will fit into your mortal and fix it with a few screws.

 

My home made 3" HDPE mortal

[Mephistos Minion]

Alot of places wont sell HDPE in short lengths. I got mine free when the council was putting it in all over the place.

[Von Bass`]

I visited a material shop where they sell rolls of material for people who want to make curtians, clothes etc.

I asked if they had some insides of the rolls they didnt want. I was given about 20 parallel wound tubes ranging from 1" to 2.5" ID.

If you want bigger then go to carpet shops where and ask. They will give you sizes from 3" up to 10" ID tubes.

I have used my tubes now to fire about 50 shells and they are still holding up.

Thats exactly what I did! I was so pleased - I'v been doing my work ex at a garden centre and they were going to throw out a great big 2.5" card board tube. Its parralel wound, but its also 5mm wall thickness and i can stand on it. I can start having a go at shells

[maximusg]

Carpet Stores are the way to go. The cardboard tubes they give you are safe and free! What more could you ask for?

[justanotherpyro]

Your local newpaper has the same thing. Good 3" mortars. The newspaper here sells them for $1 because they still have 1/4" of paper on them, so you get paper too.