Ground Salute Question

[Knoxville]

What is the maximum charge that a commercial ground salute could have in it? I have been searching for about 20 mins and have had no luck finding a good answer. A person that I know was able to come across a few of these. The person said that they were like a fabric ball about 4 to 5" in diameter with a kind of paper fuse. These were "bought" and made for licensed people to set off. She also lit off a home made m80 with around 20 grams of Al/KCL flash and said that it didn't even measure up. Just curious what it would take to out do that commercial salute.

[Bert]

First post starts a new thread asking a question outside the Water Cooler? Danger, Will Robinson! However, it's an interesting question to me. nbk2000 may still rip open your jugular and take a refreshing shower in the spray, though!

And what might this "KCL" be?

The NFPA 1123 guidelines, 2000 edition in front of me says:

2.1.7.4 Ground Salutes

2.1.7.4.1 Ground salutes shall not exceed 3 in. (76mm) in diameter by 3 in. (76mm) in length.

2.1.7.4.2 The maximum quantity of salute powder in ground salutes shall not exceed 2.5 oz. (71 g)

2.1.7.4.3 Ground salutes shall be constructed of paper or other equivalent materials. They shall not be constructed of metal or brittle plastic.



NFPA guidelines generally must be followed for your display insurance to be valid in the US, and compliance is usually specified in your display permit as well. The insurance industry basically writes these codes, and their lobbying muscle causes them to be accepted en bloc by most levels of government in the US, except for places like California that write even more restrictive codes.

That being said, ground bombs are not a common item of commerce. Could your "friend" look at the device for label information, I'd be interested most particularly to know if there is an "EX" number for the device. If it is an item in US commerce, it must be tested and assigned this number. I DO NOT want to know the actual number, only if the label or packaging lists one. A more complete physical description or photo would be interesting to me as well.

[Knoxville]

I fixed the typo in the Flash mix that was used in the M80. You answered my question for me very thoroughly. Thanks for that bit of info. I did post first in the water cooler. I'll talk to my friend and see if they might have saved one for new year's eve. If so, I'll get some info off of it and see what we're dealing with. Thanks though.

[Exerd]

It sounds to me like it is simply a morter shot design to be used as a ground salute. 4-5" diameter has a LOT of volume for a flash mix. I was looking at the old fireworks specifications of standard era M80's through M-1000's, I think the largest flash mass I recall was 27g's in the M-1000's. These were apparently true "quarter-sticks". This amount almost fills a 1" ID x 3" tube completely.

Many morter shots filled with flash easily surpass these amounts...I wouldn't be surprised if it was a 1/3lb of flash or more. Too much for me to ever want to ground salute. Would like very nice in the water, though.

[GTOzoom]

Bert:
What country are those guidlines for? Because if I remember correctly, in the US, consumer salutes can only have 50mg of any pyrotechnic mixture in them.

[sparkchaser]

The 50mg rule is true for CONSUMER use, but COMMERCIAL use is much higher. People wouldn't want to go see a big fireworks display if all the fireworks were just a bunch of Black Cats and bottle rockets!:D

[Bert]

Bert:
What country are those guidlines for?
NFPA guidelines are for US. As sparkchaser says, this is for professional pyrotechnics, not consumer. Wouldn't you all be happy if you could buy 71g flash crackers!

[nbk2000]

It used to be that you could buy real cherry bombs and M-80's, but that stopped because of idiots throwing them into crowded elevators and other such inappropriate places, ruining it for everyone else. :(

That's the origin of the 50mg limit.

Oh, that and idiots holding them in their hands and mouths! :)

[c.Tech]

Oh, that and idiots holding them in their hands and mouths! :)
'http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/291' :(

The sad thing is the're old enough to be more mature and know better.

[Skean Dhu]

If only that were big enough to remove him from the gene pool:rolleyes:
Just remember, that was one of tomorrows leaders, today.

[nathan]

Sounds pretty large for even a commercial salute.
It sounds like a mortar shell someone decided would look better on the ground.

KCL? don't you mean KCLO4 or KCLO3 ?
I'd be interested to hear a little more about the explosion. How big was the crater?