Pyro Experiment - Consumer Shells 15" vs 12" mortars

There has been much discussion and speculation in the pyro world regarding shell break heights shot from various length mortars. This pyro experiment used paired-effect shells of the same brand and size fired simultaneously from a 15" tall mortar and a 12" tall mortar. In the videos and stills, the 15" is on the left, 12" on the right. The racks were 80 feet apart. Consumer shells of 4", 5" and 6" heights were used.
The members of the Kansas City Area Pyrotechnicians that were in attendance at the 2021 Spring Shoot discussed their observations after the event. The consensus was that there are other variables more important in determining break height than the length of the mortar, such as the length of the internal time fuse and the amount of lift charge. There were some height differences on some of the shells, but they are barely noticeable.

[@BoomInTheSky]

Thanks for the video - I'll be the 199th Sub - but need that last person to come through to help you cross the 200 mark.

[@3ccdmike]

Thank you very much. #16

[@BenDover-fc9df]

15 does make shells go a tad higher. Just think of a rifle. The longer the barrel the more speed the projectile gets because all the powder is allowed to burn accelerating through the barrel/tube. If you could get identical lift charges and weights, I could prove this. Rent a lift and a pyro tech, the world is just waiting for one guy to take the challenge! It would be viral among pyros if done rite. Then would a 16in be better? How about 20inch tubes🤷‍♂️? We need answers

[@6spyro938]

Agreed, if every shell was built identical, paper canister, plug, comp and lift, I would think the 15" would be slightly higher than 12". My opinion, the canister shells are mass produced, almost impossible that they would all be exactly the same.

[@TRYCLOPS1]

Correct, and that explains that some shells went lower on the left. They’re all hand-made so no shell is created equal.

[@MajDuty]

Any extra height appears to be minimal

[@WatchDragon]

i like 15s with 5 inch canisters, there is less fuse laying around the sides and tops of the rack

[@chrisboyd1408]

Excellent video. When I completed the PGI Course, references were made to Mine Canister shells having larger/higher effects in 15 inch tubes. Has anyone in KC studied the mine issue?

[@PeterMetzger]

I haven't studied this specifically, but it feels logical that since mines "break" on the ground, a longer tube would lead to a tighter pattern, possibly higher altitude but at least a more cohesive path for the stars, similar to using various barrel lengths with shot.

[@chrisboyd1408]

@@PeterMetzger Thanks! We doing our show tonight and most are in 15 inch just to be try to maximize the impact. We are using the Neon Beef, Super Stinger and Black Cat Patriot Mine Shells. IMHO, the Neon Beef are more consistent.

[@TRYCLOPS1]

So to quiet all speculation; yes it does affect height of break on average around 15ft. Is it worth it to replace all your mortars to 15”? Probably not but u do u pyros!

[@grantnichols7474]

Can I shoot 3 4 and 5 inch shells out of a 15inch tube or can I only fire 6 and 7 inch shells out of 15inch sehells Or can i shoot 6 and 7inch shells out of 12 inch shells

[@solobabyface]

Do 6" canister in 12" tube and 15" tube comparison.

[@NightLighter63]

The last 2 pairs of shells were 6" tall canister shells. In the middle of the video I have still photos of all the paired breaks and they are labeled as to the size of the canister.

[@pyropaul1824]

Thank you for doing this, from my point of view it looks like the 15" mortars do launch slightly higher the majority of the time. I would do it for some elements in a show but not worth it to change out all of my mortars. Now here's another question, do the 15" mortars make cannisters more competitive with the 62 mm 1.4 pro shells? ;o)

[@deadzero364]

Let’s get him to 200 subs

[@Youdontknowme966]

It might not look like that much of a height difference but what do you think the average difference in height the shots were in ft??

[@BenDover-fc9df]

10-15ft feet maybe, just a guess🤷‍♂️. I’m going to try up to 20inch tubes and see what happens. All I can do is take identical shells from a kit, I know they still won’t be exact same weight, but we will see. Pyro science physics😉

[@Youdontknowme966]

@@BenDover-fc9df yeah that's still a good size difference. Woah, yeah definitely try that and compare the 3, I would love to see that! Lol science!!

[@denfireworks]

Thanks for putting this together! It is nice to see the comparison that does it make a difference YES.. is it a big difference or reliable difference IMO not really...

[@NightLighter63]

There's the added element that the stock fuses are cut to be fired from 12" mortars. Most people are chaining flights of shells so this adds an extra element of challenge with 15" mortars. If you E-Match each shell, then not an issue.

[@denfireworks]

@@NightLighter63 Yeah, and I still don't have enough cues to ematch all the shells I send up. So I fuse the rack and ematch the fuse.

[@PyroHockey729]

Can you shot a 6inch canister out of 12 inch dr11 will it still reach it height

[@NightLighter63]

The 9th and 10th paired shots were matching 6" tall shells. If you go to the 3:05 and 3:10 mark in the video I have still shots of the breaks on those shells. The taller dimensions on these 5" and 6" tall shells is all marketing hype.

[@PyroHockey729]

@@NightLighter63 5inch canister not 5inch it only 41/2inch long lol

[@PyroHockey729]

@@NightLighter63 so you pretty can shoot a 6inch out of 12 tube then dr11

[@scottyrockets1536]

minimal as I expected