5 replies to this topic

[Bob Twells]

I've been wondering about this for sometime; when is it legal to fuse together separate commercial fireworks on-site, to give time delays/sequences etc?

Obviously this is standard practice for professional displays, but what about for private/non-Cat4 displays?
Is it only legal if you are trained and have the necessary Cat4 storage/insurance credentials, even if you're only fusing Cat3 goods?

For example, if I was to put on a Cat3 show for an event, would I be able to use extra commercial Visco to fuse the fireworks on-site?

On a related subject, is Visco/Blackmatch/Quickmatch etc classified as Cat4?

Edited by Bob Twells, 23 October 2008 - 11:45 AM.

[Arthur Brown]

MSER governs this! Part 3 paragraph 9 section 2 part d reads

(d) the preparation, assembly, disassembly and fusing of firework displays at the place of intended use;

in the context of things NOT needing a manufacturing licence.

Fusing materials are not fireworks so not in cat 1 - 4 but they are explosive fusing materials available trade to competent users -you did the course!
Igniters are often 1.4s
visco 1.4g
QM is I think 1.3
BM may well be 1.1

[Spyrotechnics]

once you start modifying the fuse on a Cat3 item it ceases to be a Cat3 item as its different from the item that was tested and passed as Cat3

it therefore defaults to Cat4

Edited by Starsky72, 23 October 2008 - 12:22 PM.

[Bob Twells]

once you start modifying the fuse on a Cat3 item it ceases to be a Cat3 item as its different from the item that was tested and passed as Cat3
it therefore defaults to Cat4

Ok, that would seem logical. What credentials do you therefore need to do it legally, as it would be different to buying Cat4?
Presumably not a storage licence as you're doing it on-site, and as Arthur mentions not a manufacturing licence. So would you just need the training and insurance that covers Cat4 use?

[Spyrotechnics]

but once you have gone to the lengths of gaining the training and purchasing the insurance there seems little point in NOT buying the Cat4 (en route to the display and not being stored )

[Bob Twells]

but once you have gone to the lengths of gaining the training and purchasing the insurance there seems little point in NOT buying the Cat4 (en route to the display and not being stored )

Oh of course, I agree with that, it would be pointless to get insurance just so you can fuse same Cat3 stuff!
Just trying to be sure of what the requirements are to do it legally, for whichever category of fireworks you're using. But as you point out, by the nature of fusing they become Cat4 anyway.

Thanks for the help!