Expiriation date on aerial shells ?

[Almamater]

Hey ive been working with aerial shell for a couple of years, i finaly got a rather big gig which means i need to make A LOT of aerials and fountains, you know the drill how long can it be stored ? here in Norway its ice cold 50% of the year, and usualy i make small amounts for new years and so on. so to the point how long can it be stored cool and dry ?

[AlexPyro66]

If you store them in a zip lock bag i think they can be stored for a couple of years

[dynomike1]

If you build them as water proof what difference would it make. (oops) I was thinking about plastic, but anyway looks like the paste would waterproof them.

[nater]

Most shells if stored and kept dry will keep for quite a long time. In fact I think commercial Chinese shells, especially salutes, improve over time. At PGI this year, they shot some of Don Rowe's shells in tribute to him and his wife. They had been stored for a while and performed quite nicely. There are some star comps that degrade over time, so just know what you are working with and store them well. Edited December 24, 2012 by nater

[Potassiumchlorate]

I stored Bleser Aqua for over a year and it seemed like it improved. I made it a bit differently and used Paris Green instead of copper carbonate - I don't know whether that might have been the cause or not.

[Arthur]

I've seen pro shells 3+years old and the worked fine. If it starts OK, then kept dry they should be OK for years.

[Mumbles]

A well made shell can be stored for decades and still function as intended. If you use inferior materials like masking tape and hot glue, I wouldn't count on that kind of longevity though.

[AirCowPeacock]

I don't know about hot glue, but I've seen really old masking tapr deteriorate.

[50AE]

Adhesives on masking tapes age with time. One of the reasons they aren't recommended for fireworks making.

[Potassiumchlorate]

I will try plastic shells next year. Pasting is really the most boring thing in pyro.

[TritonPyro]

I am new to building shells for a 2 inch mortar and live in a Victorian cemetery, that looks very presentable. The reason I use craft paper and tape and cotton string is that plastic shell parts really look bad and of course does not degrade. Do most of you use cardboard and Kraft paper?

[AirCowPeacock]

I never use plastic shells and many well respected pyros feel very negitively towards plastic.

[a_bab]

At the beginning of my interests in pyro (>20 years ago) I must confess I used plastic (film cans, Christmas tree decoration balls, plastic/fiber tape, you name it) as it was so easy and fast to use.

 

I now prefer to use ONLY biodegradable stuff. I really hate the idea of using plastic - it's all around us, sufocating everything. The places I use to test my shells are really far from my town and I feel like a would be a blasphemy littering those sites with plastic.

 

Yes, pasting is boring but there are alternatives such as pasting machines.

 

I always look for quality rather then amount. 10 rockets with some 4" shells (max size) on NYE are plenty enough to satisfy my pyro addiction.

 

As about storing the items, it really depends on the compos and the storage conditions. A cold AND dry place is the best obviously. AP/metal or KN/metal based compos are clearly not very storable, but I guess 1 year should be fine in DRY conditions, with the stars fully dried (an unnoticed problem usually, hence "the color improved over time").

All TT type compos should store well, also organic based stars.