ELECTRICAL FIREWORK IGNITION
Making Your Own Electrical Igniters - Method A.
| Tools
- Scissors |
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| Supplies
- ¾” wide tape (cellophane, masking, duct or black electrical). |
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Procedure - Cut a 5” piece of the two conductor copper wire and strip all four ends. Strip about ¼” of the insulation from the two wires on one end and about ½” of the insulation from the other two ends.
Now take a 3”-4” piece of nichrome wire and stick it in the side slot of the wire wrapping tool. Push most of the nichrome wire through the side slot, leaving about ¾” of nichrome wire sticking out of the side slot. Some wire wrapping tools have a small mark or slot that indicates how much wire should be left sticking out the side slot. Then place the tool on one of the ends of the copper wire that has ¼” of the insulation stripped off of it. There is a center hole that copper wire slides into.
With your thumb, gently hold the nichrome in place and turn the tool clockwise until all the nichrome wire goes into the side slot. Gently remove the tool from the copper wire.
Use the needle nose pliers to fold and crimp the end of the copper wire over the wrapped nichrome so it is secure.
Cut a 2.25” piece of fuse with the knife. Place the fuse on top of the wrapped end and hold both between your finger and thumb. Take the nichrome wire and wrap it over the fuse and then under in a tight counter clockwise spiral. Wrap it 2-4 full turns. Give a tight pull at each turn. Bring the nichrome wire up behind the fuse and align the other end of copper wire next to it. The distance between the two ends should be about ½”-¾”.
Now stick the nichrome wire into the half-moon shaped hole at the end of the tool and out through the side slot.
Slide the copper wire into the center hole at the end of the tool. Pull the nichrome wire firmly. Turn the tool clockwise until the nichrome wire disappears into the slot and it is all wrapped around the wire. Gently remove the tool from the nichrome wire. Use the needle nose pliers to fold and crimp copper wire over the wrapped nichrome wire.
Now cut a piece of tape (about 1.25”) that is long enough to cover the two ends of the copper wrapped wire. Place the fuse on the sticky side of the tape. It should go lengthwise in the very center of the tape. Line it up so there will be about 1.5” of exposed fuse and it covers both ends of wrapped wire. Fold the tape evenly over the fuse and the ends of wire. Press sticky sides the tape firmly together.
The igniter is now finished. It should be stored in an air and water tight container until is ready to use. Then the exposed piece of fuse can be attached to the fuse of a firework and a shooting wire can be attached to the other end of the igniter.
Important Notes About Connecting the Igniter - The fuse portion of the igniter needs to be firmly attached to the fuse of the firework. Both the fuse portion and the copper wire of the igniter should be taped securely to the firework or some other support. More tape should NOT be put over the nichrome wire. If the fuse portion is not attached, the fuse will immediately be propelled away from the nichrome wire when the igniter is fired. This happens so quickly that it either straightens out the nichrome spiral or it unwraps more nichrome wire off the ends of the copper wire. In either case, this increases the amperage to break the wire or increases resistance of the wire, greatly increasing the chances that the nichrome wire will not break. Also, since the fuse flies away, there is less heat generated by the fuse to melt or break the nichrome wire. So the firing panel will indicate that the igniter has not fired. Holding down the fire button again or longer might break the wire, but it can also cause the tape around the nichrome wire to ignite into a small torch. This happened in nearly all tests where the fuse portion of the igniter was not secured. If the copper wire is not secured, it can be propelled away from the fuse. The nichrome wire may not break and the tape might burn in this situation as well. Top >