UK Pyrotechnics Society Forums: PyroPDC - Viewing Profile - UK Pyrotechnics Society Forums

personal im still using the same tubes i brought 3 years ago without any problems. its hard to say the amount of uses as there are to many variables from the thickness, quality of the bung, how they are stored, How hard the lift is on your shells, how many shell post that tube has had.

surprisingly the china manufactures recommend a silly amount of use like 20 times before being changed but they probably say that to get more business lol

the best way to tell is change them when they look like they need changing. sometimes if you look inside the tube you may see parts that are distorted. If buying without lips chances are the biggest reason to change is the top of the tube breaking / weakening of the top from other racks being stored or slid on top in the van.

This year we have had 5 shellpots and each time the tube has held without any problems so we know they are still strong enough.

as long as you store them out of direct sunlight, away from long exposure to frost, damp conditions they will give you a long and reliable life.

Dam sounds really Intresting and I'm from Peterborough pitty I'm busy running my own business otherwise Id apply. Good luck filling the post

most people work on the 10% rule for lift (some can get away with less if its really fast) eg if the finished shell is 100g then you would need 10g lift. a good start is to use a cricket ball as they fit a 3" tube perfect and you have no worry if your lift fails.

before you try and change lots of variables (eg making your own charcoal or buying from unknown sources) buy some good quality chemicals from a reliable source like www.cooperman435.co.uk (you will save so much time instead of wondering what chemical is causing your bp to act slow)


mixing the 3 chemicals wont give you good enough bp so a good ballmill is recommended, there is the CIA method but ballmilling is by far safer. have a look at building your own ballmill or buy one, lots of pics and ideas on this forum on building one, parts can be found on ebay or coppermans website.

found this video that iv never seen , i was quite intrested in the part 3:14 which show a shell pasting machine but more like the taping iv seen in modern shells.
quite interesting the whole vid

well im sure kimbolton will do a better job than the Beijing Olympics since most were CGI lol

just hope they dont use pop music, some of there displays in the past have been quite inspirational with there music choice and used things nobody would even think of but really worked.