# Easy Commercial Fireworks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915 "2019-06-23T01:52:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915/1 "2019-06-23T01:52:08Z")
Major firework shows are put on by teams of experienced professionals using a lot of dangerous explosives. What about those displays they fire off at the end of baseball games and such? My wife mentioned the local amusement part was firing off their nightly show. It seems to not go up in the air as high as “real” fireworks. May I presume there is some sort of easy firework show in a box out there? Something that semiskilled people can put in the middle of a parking lot and set off producing a small show safely and easily? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915/2 "2019-06-23T02:58:18Z")
Yes, although more generally I have no idea. 50 years ago we could get a small box just by paying enough money. Light fuse, retire to safe distance, watch fireworks for a while. Even then, a minute of mid-altitude fireworks cost significant money. Those were mid-height fireworks, which you want so that people can see them if you have more than a couple of people. Fireworks do cost more when they go higher: it not just the height, you need a bigger flash if it is farther away. There must be some limit at which you can’t just get a bigger box of bigger fireworks. That’s what I don’t know: if you can get a big enough single unit for a small commericial display. One of the things that has changed since 50 years ago is that back then, there was no cheap ignition sequencer. The box had timed fuses, so that the individual fireworks would go off in the correct sequence. Now you wouldn’t have to do it that way. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915/3 "2019-06-23T03:47:22Z")
Check out the 500 gram displays on [This page](https://fireworks.com/products/aerial/500-gram-repeaters?items_per_page=12&sort_bef_combine=price%20ASC&sort_by=price&sort_order=ASC&page=0) Phantom Fireworks is a player in “Semi Pro” fireworks. I may be wrong, but I think 500 gram weight of explosives is about the limit without a pyrotechnic license. Think Consumer Fireworks vs. Display Fireworks. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915/4 "2019-06-23T04:13:03Z")
Thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915/5 "2019-06-23T22:05:54Z")
Professional fireworks are basically mortars. I watched some guys setting one up recently and they had racks of metal tubes that they arranged around the launch area. Each tube was wired up and what looked like a brown cannonball was carefully dropped in. The wires were run back to a controller like a small sound desk. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915/6 "2019-06-23T22:28:37Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Check out the 500 gram displays on [This page](https://fireworks.com/products/aerial/500-gram-repeaters?items_per_page=12&sort_bef_combine=price%20ASC&sort_by=price&sort_order=ASC&page=0) > > Phantom Fireworks is a player in “Semi Pro” fireworks. I may be wrong, but I think 500 gram weight of explosives is about the limit without a pyrotechnic license. Think Consumer Fireworks vs. Display Fireworks. I have seen those types of boxes used for New Year’s. You simply light the fuse and stand back, exactly like the 50-year-old boxes described by **Melbourne**. There is no safety to be gained by trying to complicate things. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-commercial-fireworks/835915/7 "2019-06-23T23:04:55Z")
Perhaps [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwQ31-vSgfs) is the next generation of simpler fireworks