nordicwolf Posted April 2, 2023 Posted April 2, 2023 Hello, where can you get Chinese visco in the US? I have some American visco, seems fine, but I hear good reviews of Chinese visco being better, and I would like to try some. This would be slow burning stuff, 2 seconds per inch burn rate (24-30 sec/foot). Also, is there a way to distinguish between American visco and Chinese visco by looking at the fuse or watching it burn? I got a box of stuff from someone getting out of the hobby, and there was some fuse in there. Wondering if there is a way to tell if it is Chinese or American. Thanks!
davidh Posted April 2, 2023 Posted April 2, 2023 (edited) If it burns without a lot of side spit, it's American. If it side spits the whole burn, it's Chinese. BTW, what's the difference between good visco and bad visco? Edited April 2, 2023 by davidh
Arthur Posted April 2, 2023 Posted April 2, 2023 Is here even a USA factory that makes Visco? Cornwall in England was the initial place of manufacture of Bickford fuse from which all .25" time fuse has evolved. But afaik there is NO fuse produced in the UK now. It's far cheaper to export all the health and safety concerns to a place with less regulation.
cmjlab Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) Assuming that American Visco is the thicker, multi-layer / thick NC coated, slow burning (~32 second / foot burn rate), and all else is Chinese Visco... (*Edit* IMO, the American fuse is recognizable by the fact that the thick NC coating often ignites well before the B.P. core, and the external flame front outside the fuse can often outpace the internal BP core flame front.) I've only seen pink fast fuse occasionally and once in a blue moon the blue fuse (cannon fuse.com / pyrocreations.com). The only green Chinese fuse I've seen is the same slow burning "safety fuse", but I don't think that is what you are referring to. I've not seen regular green Cusco in a while. Edited April 3, 2023 by cmjlab
cmjlab Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) Apparently Skylighter has quite an assortment of fuses right now, some that I've not seen available in a year or more like flying fish fuse. They specifically have what looks like Chinese Visco Fuse (again, to me that's the slower burning, green colored, uncoated / No N.C. coating, fuse which takes fire from the sides easily and burns well). They are NOT cheap, but I guess that's the benefit of you have the only available ones for hobbyists. LINK: https://www.skylighter.com/products/cannon-visco-fuse-30-sec-ft-30ft LINK (All Fuses): https://www.skylighter.com/search?type=article%2Cpage%2Cproduct&q=Fuse* Edited April 3, 2023 by cmjlab
SharkWhisperer Posted April 4, 2023 Posted April 4, 2023 International Fireworks Manufacturing Company in PA is the only US manufacturer of American Visco. Sold by the 10,000 foot roll. Buddy in a neighboring state bought a roll but needed to have it shipped and hazmat shipping was $400. The wooden spool the fuse was wound on was ridiculously large. That's where the vendors selling 50-feet for $25 negotiate purchase from. It was $8 pre-pandemic, and domestic manufacturing costs have not tripled in that time.
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