80 replies to this topic

[Paintballislife]

anyone know of any other tube manufacturer in the us? pyrotube isnt offering the range of tubes that id like.

[Mumbles]

There are many many tube manufacturers in the US. Now, are you looking for a tube manufacturer, or a tube reseller. Pyrotube is a tube reseller. Unless you want several ten thousands of tubes, I suggest a tube reseller. If you clarify what you really want, and the size you require I may be able to help you.

[sizzle]

Does anybody know of any cone sources for conical fountains? I'm intrested in trying a few just to see what can be achieved with them but I don't want to be messing around trying to make my own.

[Amleth]

Sasman,you will need to stick to 1/4" thick tubes for stingers due to the side vent. If the tube is not as thick there will be less "spin up" leading to a dangerous and unstable device!

I would've thought it'd be the opposite, as long as the case is strong enough to withstand the pressure. Sure, you need a certain minimum thickness to effectively vector the thrust, but beyond that, thickness works against you, since the thrust point is moved closer to the centre of mass relative to the axis of rotation, which gives a smaller turning moment, and so less spin up.

I've flown many 3/4" stingers made from hand-rolled tubes with only 2mm walls, and even using slow 6:3:1 delay meal with 15% steel added, they spin up just fine (using a 2mm side vent and 4.8mm core).

[pyromaniac303]

My source of tubes come from my grandpa who buys a lot of spanish cigars, that come in 1/2" ID tubes, quite thin walled but they are ok for small fountains. Another problem is they are parallel wound so I have to make my own for small rockets, and bought 25 from inoxia a few weeks ago.

I also got several 9/16" 3mm ID tubes from the doctors from a chart recorder paper roll. My mums a nurse so she can get them. The machine only runs out every month or two though

I bought a rocket nose cone from a model shop to wrap triangular pieces of kraft paper around, for cone shaped fountains, but they take ages to make because they have to be really thick, and cutting 20-30 triangles out of kraft paper takes over an hour. I usually just make tube shaped fountains for now.

Edited by pyromaniac303, 21 April 2006 - 12:26 PM.

[EnigmaticBiker]

I bought a rocket nose cone from a model shop to wrap triangular pieces of kraft paper around, for cone shaped fountains, but they take ages to make because they have to be really thick, and cutting 20-30 triangles out of kraft paper takes over an hour. I usually just make tube shaped fountains for now.

Cutting 20-30 triangles sounds like hard work.
I've made cones pretty easily by cutting circles from thin card curling them into a suitable shape and fixing the ends/building up thickness with paper art tape.
The end can be cut off afterwards or a circle cut in the centre before forming.

[Pieman]

Last bonfire night I went to salvage a conical tube from a fountain I had let off the previous night only to find out they had cheated! it was a normal tube with a thin cone rapped around it to make it look like a cone. The cheek of it.

[Jerronimo]

Yes, the Chinese have a habbit of making consumer fireworks look bigger than they realy are.
The autopsy on passfire of a standard chinese made rocket is another good example of this.

[Karl]

Last bonfire night I went to salvage a conical tube from a fountain I had let off the previous night only to find out they had cheated! it was a normal tube with a thin cone rapped around it to make it look like a cone. The cheek of it.

Yeah I have seen this done before. Especially in the smaller "garden" fireworks, Cat2 stuff. Cheats!!

[fishy1]

Yeah I have seen this done before. Especially in the smaller "garden" fireworks, Cat2 stuff. Cheats!!

yep, last year i bought a selection box, most of it was great, but their was a 4" diametre 8 inch high fountain, which was awful. opening it after burning revealed a tube about 1/2" ID.

[Creepin_pyro]

yep, last year i bought a selection box, most of it was great, but their was a 4" diametre 8 inch high fountain, which was awful. opening it after burning revealed a tube about 1/2" ID.

Just curious - was the tube 8" high?

[fishy1]

Just curious - was the tube 8" high?

no, it was about 6" high.

it had an 1" layer of clay at the bottom of the container, then the 6" high tube, then 1" or so to the top of the big tube.

[Steve]

Yeah, I always notice how much denser homemade fireworks are. It so much more satisfying to hold a smaller firwork weighing about 500g than a bigger one that feels like 100g.

[phildunford]

see pics on the 'lidl' thread to see some of these fiendish practices...

[they say im crazy]

i have some tubes which i use for rocket engines but there spial wound so have weak points and split so as i didn't want to start a whole new topic does anyone have any advice on how i compact the bp without splitting the tube (i hammer my mix in)