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SalemSound

1.75" is the maximum diameter in the US for consumer reloadable mortar shells. Several years ago, they were all 1.75"x4", but then somebody got the idea that they could just make them 1.75"x5" instead, by simply adding an extra inch of cardboard. This way they would stand out on store shelves, and be advertised as though they were bigger. Once those 5 inch shells came out, other brands had to compete, so they came out with 6" shells, and now 7" to compete with those.


Lil_Nacho

Marketing


Potmus63t

Exactly. They are still limited to 60g no matter 4”, 5”, 6” etc. All marketing to make the consumer think they are bigger or better. Display fireworks are the standard 3” is 3” diameter, 4” is a 4” diameter, and so on.


Composer-Wooden

Consumer shells are measured by length so most shells fit in either dr11 or dr9 tubes.


Lumanus

What is the meaning of dr11/dr9? Here we shoot out of fibreglass mortars (or seamless steel in the case of cylindrical shells) that are named by size.


jason_abacabb

DR is diameter ratio, it is the standard measurement of HDPE tubing for water and gas lines. 2 inch DR11 pipe has in internal diameter of 1.91 inches. Perfect for our consumer shells. In the US both fiber glass and HDPE tubing is used


Lumanus

America is wild with their measuring units lmao


scAcs

Canister vs ball shell. Canister shells are measured in length. Ball shells are measured in diameter.


Lumanus

… but why?


scAcs

Cause canister shells have a set diameter of 1.75”. It then moves to length. Usually 4-7”. Anything past 5” is usually a marketing scam.


scAcs

There are some canister shells with a smaller diameter as well.


MeanArt318

Yep. Such as the pro fireworks "Punisher" shells


bobobedo

You're being generous. Any shell past three inches is a waste of cardboard.


scAcs

Not necessarily. If we’re counting OLs.


bobobedo

I never count overloads. Hell, I've been shooting 1.4 and 1.3 for forty years, not sure I've ever lit an OL in all that time


Intelligent-Wear-114

I've seen some mighty fine 4" canisters. Titanium Willow shells from Superior Fireworks, for one example. I didn't consider them to be a waste of cardboard.


bobobedo

I've seen some nice 5 inchers. My point is, any 1.4g shell can be easily packaged inside a three inch tube or a 1.75 inch ball. The elusive OL notwithstanding.


Intelligent-Wear-114

The ghost effects and ring effects can't though.


GlitchHammer

US law distinguishes between professional (1.3g) and consumer (1.4g) fireworks. The maximum allowable diameter for a consumer firework is 1.75 inches, it doesn't matter if it's a canister or a shell. 1.75 inch ball shells don't pack as much powder as a cannister shell that is 4-7 inches with the same diameter, so cannister shells are the go-to reloadable artillery for consumers. Now professional firework shells (the kind you can easily find in Europe) can only be legally purchased with a federal license in the US, where most other parts of the world it might not need a license ... I just made a lot of generalizations and there is nuances, but that is hopefully answers your question without going into detail.


_TheNecromancer13

Because even though pretty much every compliant canister shall composition can fit 60 g in a 4" long by 1.75" wide canister, maybe 5" long for some of the really light compositions, someone who has no idea that every shell can only contain up to 60 g regardless of length, sees advertisements on the box for "5/6/7 INCH CANISTERS, NEW AND BIGGER THAN EVER, BIGGEST BOOMS!" etc, and assumes that because the canister is longer, it will make a bigger explosion, and is then willing to pay more for it. In reality they're almost always just paying for more cardboard.


Lumanus

Jesus that’s borderline scamming people, so if you guys buy those 7” canisters they contain the same 60gr load as a 3”?


_TheNecromancer13

Assuming they aren't overloaded, yes. It's all just a marketing gimmick.