Ignition Failure percent?

[Bilbobaker]

What percent of shell or mine media fail to ignite on average? (stars, fish tail fuse etc.)

Is there an acceptable media loss percentage?

 

Just curious, because I don't think everything I've been loading is lighting up.

 

I've only made mines, rockets and a couple small shells so far.

The rockets seem to burn everything but the mines don't light all the cutup pieces of flying fish, falling leaf or crackling fuse.

The stars seem to be more successful.

More prime or dust everything with meal powder?

 

I've bundled the fuse, sprayed it with water/alcohol and dipped the bundles in meal powder and that seems to work better than just dumping them in a shell or mine tube, as long as I let them dry sufficiently that is.

They actually look like comets going up and then break into a swarm of angry colorful bees.

Anyone ever use small pieces of that type of fuse as a base for rolling stars successfully?

Seems like it would be a nice finish for small low altitude displays.

 

 

[dagabu]

I'll do my best to answer the questions Bill. Generally we refer to stars and such as contents, stars or embellishments and the hard grinding stuff as media.

 

As far as percentages go for stars being blown blind, we strive for none but even the best builders have a few that remain dark. Proper priming is likely the most important thing to achieve followed by containment and burst where the shell stays together long enough for the fire to start all the stars and the break has the heat to light the stars but not so much energy that the stars get blown blind.

 

For star cores, you will need something that can roll well on it's own, cut fuse is very light and soaking it in water or other fluid will likely destroy the dry powder inside the fuse core. For a strobe core cut or screen press tiny strobe cores and use them for cores.

 

-dag

Edited May 1, 2011 by dagabu

[50AE]

There's no such thing as "acceptable". You'll want to minimize your failures as more as possible in order to improve the beauty of your fireworks. Squeeze the maximum of it, this is my way of thinking