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I usually just wipe down the module casings and check all the fuse connections. Nothing too crazy. But one thing I learned the hard way — check your battery terminals for corrosion. Left a 12v hooked up all season and by August it was toast. Now I disconnect everything and store the batteries indoors between shows.
lol nice try ATF
nah jk. But fr I think this is way more common than people admit. Not even just the rez stands either. FB Marketplace is wild – you can find guys selling “display grade” mortars in private groups. Just gotta know the right keywords. “Professional tubes”, “special shells”, that kinda thing.
The thing is, the legal consumer stuff has gotten WAY better in the last 10 years. You can get some seriously impressive 500g cakes that are perfectly legal. But there’s always gonna be that group of people who want MORE. Louder booms, bigger breaks. It’s like any hobby – you build up a tolerance lol
The difference is with fireworks, the consequences for getting caught are pretty serious. Not worth losing your ATF eligibility over, imo. But I ain’t gonna pretend I don’t know people who do it.Wedding shows are my favorite tbh. My go-to is a bunch of 200g cakes with low-report effects — like gold willow, silver titanium, that kinda stuff. Looks classy, sounds fancy without shaking the cake table lol. And yeah sparkler exits never get old, every couple loves that photo op.
6-8 weeks is about right honestly. Ive done a few container orders and the biggest variable is customs clearance honestly. West coast ports (LA/Long Beach) are faster but more congested. East coast via Savannah or NY takes longer transit but sometimes clears customs quicker. One thing nobody tells you is the paperwork — if your shipping docs arent perfect it can add weeks. Make sure your exporter knows what theyre doing with the HTS codes and all that.
I know this is an older thread but figured I’d chime in since I just went through this myself. Tina I’d def save em for Labor Day if you can store em right. I split my leftovers — kept a couple cakes in the basement for Labor Day and just lit the rest on the 5th with some neighbors. Best of both worlds. The basement storage trick is legit, just make sure it’s dry down there. I tossed a couple silica packs in my plastic tote like Steve mentioned and no issues so far.
Depends on where you live honestly. There’s no federal permit needed for 1.4G consumer stuff on your own land – that’s the short answer. But city/county/HOA can all have their own rules.
Some counties require a burn permit if you’re in a fire risk zone, and a lot of cities have noise ordinances that kick in after 10pm regardless of permits. I shoot in unincorporated land and never needed anything, but a buddy of mine in a town 20 miles away has to get a $35 annual permit just for consumer grade.
Best bet is to call your local fire marshal’s office and ask directly. They’ll tell you straight up what you need.
Found some solid deals at a TNT tent near me. They had buy one get one on their smaller cakes. Not their premium stuff obviously but still decent for stocking up.
The key is knowing what’s worth it. I passed on the generic stuff and only grabbed the name brand items that were marked down. Rather have quality over quantity for next year.
Wish I’d grabbed more rockets though. Those seem to be the first to sell out even at full price.
Steve the short answer is – check the laws of EVERY state youre driving through. Some states like MA or NJ are really strict even about 1.4G. Others are fine.
General practical advice:
– Keep everything in original packaging, unopened if possible
– Put it in the trunk – not the passenger cabin
– Dont have anything illegal in the state you start in or end in
– If you get pulled over, dont volunteer that you have fireworks. Only mention it if they ask
– Keep receipts if you bought them legallyIve driven through like 10 states with fireworks and never had an issue, but I also dont speed and my car doesnt look suspicious. Some guys have horror stories though so YMMV.
Worth checking the Transport section of the forum for state-by-state breakdowns, theres some good threads there.
I went to the one at Mount Rushmore this year. They do a huge display with fireworks going off around the monument. Saw it on YouTube last year and had to go see it in person. Definitely recommend putting it on the bucket list if you’re into patriotic displays.
What’s your burst charge composition? I’ve found that switching to a 70/30 KP/AL mix gave me noticeably cleaner breaks compared to straight BP. Less smoke, more pop. Takes some fine tuning but worth the effort.
Yeah I saw that about NH! Here in PA we’ve been pretty locked down but there’s been talk about expanding the allowed categories. Fingers crossed. The more states that loosen up, the better for everyone in the industry.
in reply to: New ATF regulations for 2026 – what changed? #5499Yeah I saw that too. The main change I noticed was the allowance for up to 100 lbs of 1.4G in a residential garage without special permits, up from 50. That’s a pretty big deal for collectors. Still need to keep it away from ignition sources obviously but it opens up a lot of options. Make sure you’re reading the federal register version though, the summaries floating around miss some details.
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