SO! Anybody else get 2nd and 3rd degree burns on July 4?

[JP135]

Bought some pretty decent sized artillery/mortar fireworks. Came with a launch tube. You drop the round in the tube, hold the fuse out, light it and duck. They have an explosive that fires in the tube to get it going, then solid rocket motor fires and gets it to altitude (150-200') then the display fires for the ooooh-ahhhhh part.

First one I lit, I was like DAMN that initial blast is pretty freaking huge. Big concussion and it rattled the boat dock I was launching from. From that one on, I'd do like the mortar guys do - duck, squat, turn away and cover the ear closest to the tube. We'd light other stuff and then light one of these big ones every few minutes. I put one in a cool tube, lit it, ducked away, just got my ear covered and BANG - damn thing sounded like a half stick of dynamite going off. My whole right side (side closest to the tube) got hot, next frickin' thing I know my right arm and rib cage are burning real bad. I look and my clothes are on fire.

I wasn't screwing around, wasn't drunk, wasn't shooting them at my buddies - for probably the first time in my life I was using the firework as it was designed and following the directions!

The explosive that initially lifts the round to get it going must have been a double charge - it blew up the launch tube and burned the living shit out of me.

I'm just glad I made mama and the little one get completely away. Somebody could've sure enough got hurt. As it is, I've got second and third degree burns inside my right bicep and on my right forearm. I had melted skin dripping off the burned area and the middle of the wound burned badly enough that it got the nerves.

World Class Fireworks - QUALITY SHIT!








(Didn't have a Dr Pepper can handy)

[KBScobravert]

So you had a good time then?

I bet in the future you get a few feet away from the tube before playing mortorman. We used to hold the tube driving a convertible down the highway launching them. Dumb now, a good time back then.

[GrayStangGT]

Damn that's a big mortar. I just lost some knuckle hair trying to light 8 mortars at once with a mapp gas torch.

[goofygrin]

this years version of that tube has been redesigned to have a collar around the bottom for this exact reason.

Two things... you're supposed to empty the tube (there's stuff in the bottom after each mortar) and you're supposed to let it cool before reloading it (for this exact reason).

That looks painful though...

[JC316]

Damn that sucks. That is the worst possible place to be burned on your arm, that is tender as hell. I have burns on my ankle that look like that, got them 20 years ago and I just now got feeling back in the skin.

[dsrtuckteezy]

rookie mistake

[Txstang1]

That sucks. looks like debreeding and silvadine (sp) are in your future. Not good times.

[JP135]

That sucks. looks like debreeding and silvadine (sp) are in your future. Not good times.

Debrided it myself. Doc perscribed another goo that he likes better than silvadine. Confirmed: Not good times!

[DON SVO]

Fuse on a mortar burned my palm. Man it stung.

[Fastlane]

I get the Excalibur every year and it never disappoints! Did you by chance drop the mortar in upside down? My 14 year old daughter dropped one in the tube that way a couple of years ago and ended up with almost an identical burn on her arm.

[JP135]

this years version of that tube has been redesigned to have a collar around the bottom for this exact reason.

Two things... you're supposed to empty the tube (there's stuff in the bottom after each mortar) and you're supposed to let it cool before reloading it (for this exact reason).

That looks painful though...

Check and check - dumped the tubes after every shot and gave them plenty of time to cool. Nice to know they've redesigned their shit. Obviously this isn't a new thing. Gimme dat phone. Ima call... The Texas Hammer! lol.

I get the Excalibur every year and it never disappoints! Did you by chance drop the mortar in upside down? My 14 year old daughter dropped one in the tube that way a couple of years ago and ended up with almost an identical burn on her arm.

Yeah it was pretty damned impressive when they worked right. This one was in correctly - the round launched and did its thing at altitude.

[CJ]

Typical shit man, I've had artillery shells blow up MANY times. I've since made my own tubes to launch them out of, and discard the ones they give you. They don't have a booster, they work entirely off the initial charge and fly up on inertia. Which is why if you hear a bang, and you don't see anything in the air, it's going to go off in the tube and blow you to hell if you're near it. I've probably seen at least a dozen of them blow up on the ground. Most of the time they blow the base off them.

[CJ]

So you had a good time then?

I bet in the future you get a few feet away from the tube before playing mortorman. We used to hold the tube driving a convertible down the highway launching them. Dumb now, a good time back then.

Yep, use to love doing that. I fired an artillery shell into the cab of my friends short bed single cab chevy driving down 180 by mineral wells. It was awesome.

[46Tbird]

Dude that sucks. Maybe you can repair it with fiberglass.

[CJ]

Dude that sucks. Maybe you can repair it with fiberglass.

lol, I thought you meant the pipe.