eb11 Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 hey guys i had quite the scare tonight i went to the beach to test one of my morters. i lit the fuse and went to a safe distance to watch but when the morter was supposed to go off it didnt. so i sat on the rocks at the beach for 30 mins just hoping that it would go off but no luck. so i went to it and kicked it a few time not looking at it just in case still nothing so i brought it up to the rocks and tapped it on the rocks to get the morter out still no luck. i could not just leave ti there so i put it in the back of my van and hurried home i pulled the plug out of the bottom and using a wooden stick i was able to get it out come to find out the fuse was broken and never made it to the morter when i put the fuse on i did not see it broken. so all in all eveything ended ok but it does make you think about safety alot more when this happends i will bring tools next time to take care of it were i am so i dont have to pray the whole way home. just also wondering if anyone else has ever had a fuse problem like this
Algenco Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 next time pour water in the tube and wait a few minutes, better to waste a shell than you life hangfires scare the crap out of me
nater Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 I am assuming the fuse burnt out before reaching the lift of the shell? This is a common failure with commercial product. After a display, you always have a cool-down period before clearing the racks. On one show this year, we had some fires to put out and a rack loaded with finale chains decided they were finally going to fire about 20 minutes after the show was over. Even when you're expecting them, hangfires still scare the crap out of you.
eb11 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Posted October 26, 2012 quess i should have just thrown it in the ocean pleaty of water there
nater Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 quess i should have just thrown it in the ocean pleaty of water there No, not unless you then take care of it. Duds need to be disposed of and not left in any place where they could be found. I have soaked shells in a bucket for several days, peeled apart the pasted layers and found dry stars and burst inside. It takes utmost care when dealing with duds. There was a professional pyro killed this season while burning some.
taiwanluthiers Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 Agreed, I hate hangfires. I used paper fuses as a quickmatch for shell leaders and I pipe them (to protect it) and use two for redundancy. Paper fuses rubs off easily resulting in hangfires. It's kinda like when you buy some firework in mexico expecting it to be something big, and you light it and nothing happens. Time fuse hangfire/misfire is even worse...
eb11 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Posted October 26, 2012 i didnt meen i would leave it ther i meant throw it into theocean to put out the fuse or any fire the take it with me
NightHawkInLight Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 (edited) Pouring water in the tube is a good quick fix to be sure that a damaged fuse is extinguished after a 5 minute soak or so. Afterwards though, Nater is right that you can't rely on that being the end of it. Later on the shell must be carefully disassembled. Edit: Maybe I'll leave that last suggestion out. Edited October 26, 2012 by NightHawkInLight 1
Richtee Posted October 27, 2012 Posted October 27, 2012 I have experienced a hang-fire- like 2 mins after I lit the fuse the shell launched. Had several tubes and just left the one be, and WHAM! Please be careful.
Recommended Posts