Mortar Rack Maintenance
You now have a collection of mortars racks, but what do you do with them when you don’t need them until next year? This section is going to talk about how to properly maintain your collection of mortar racks. If you follow these simple guide lines, your racks will last for a while.
Cleaning
HDPE mortars can be washed with dish soap and cold water. Your mortar pipes
in your mortar racks only need to be washed when the buildup interferes with
the reloading of the shells. I usually wash my racks after each use.
Note: When washing mortars that have wood plugs only do it on days
where the plug will dry and do not store the mortars until the plug is dry,
a nice hot summer day will do this quickly.
Maintenance
Make sure that if your mortars are plugged that you check that the plug has not dried
up and the screws are not rusted before use. If the plug of the mortar is damage you
can just unscrew the screws and insert a new plug in the bottom of the
mortar. Make sure that the mortar is not cracked, dented, or for any other
type of damage that could interfere with the performance of the shell and
mortar. If
there are any dings or dents around the mouth of the mortar just take a
pocket knife and try to smooth it out as best as you can. It is good to
inspect your mortars before you use them, just to make sure that they did
not incur any damage while they were being stored.
Storage of Racks
HDPE mortar racks should be stored indoors, away from ultraviolet rays, which
will break down the HDPE with time. It is also good to store the mortar
racks inside away from the elements of weather, like rain and snow. If the
mortars are plugged the plugs could rot.
Plugged mortars should also not be
stored on an uncoated basement floor. What I do is build a rack to hold all
of my individual mortars that are not screwed into mortars racks. The
mortars lay on their sides until needed for next year. Since I shoot
professional shells I have a different rack for each size of my mortars. I
will be building a storage shed to store all of my mortars and racks while
not in use. I am hoping to start building that next year, as the racks are
starting to take up to much space in my workshop.
Try to store the racks somewhere they won’t be disturbed if at all possible.
This will prevent unnecessary handling of the mortar racks. These are just a
few ways that you can make sure that you don’t destroy your investment in
theses mortar racks. In following these easy guidelines you will be able to use
your mortar racks over and over again
for years to come.