Twister_Ken
Well-Known Member
At last, a sensible answer from someone who knows what he is talking about. Thanks (not) OldFatGit.
Burying time expired flares
- Thread starter webcraft
- Start date
lustyd
Well-Known Member
A curious conclusion in a very long post about how dangerous they can be but thanks for the info it's useful to have someone explain it who understands the subject.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
A bit "off thread" but how do you know they understand it?
Just because it looks a detailed reply, carefully structured does not mean it is correct ( although in this case it seems plausible so please oldfatgit do not take offence I am not critisising you in particular)
Lots of people place info on the forum which they may believe to be correct -but is in fact totally wrong
Sometimes someone will point this out , sometimes not
Problem is that a casual observer may pick a particular post & think that is good advice when in fact it isn't
So how do we differentiate?
NormanS
Well-Known Member
t
That's life. It's also why, as humans, most of us are blessed with some common sense, and are able to make decisions for ourselves.
duncan99210
Well-Known Member
Once, long ago, I was involved in shipping explosives round the world for the Armed Forces. I was also involved in the deep sea dumping of time expired and obsolete ammunition. Whilst not an Ammunition Technician or Technical Officer, I picked up a good deal of information on the movement and storage of explosives, which include pyrotechnics. What Oldfatgit has to say mirrors my own knowledge and understanding of the problem of dealing with time expired pyrotechnics. Provided the casing is intact, then they can be regarded as reasonably safe to handle, within the usual constraints of keeping the away from open flames and the like.
The point about them being reasonably safe is down to the fact that they might not function as intended if you try to set them off. They might fail to go off at all, burn less brightly than intended or with a different colour. They might also burn in an uncontrolled manner although this is less likely.
As an aside but to illustrate the problems inherent in dealing with old explosives, part of the procedure for dealing with the deep sea dumping of ammunition was to require a certificate that the ammunition concerned would not detonate as a result of the pressure of sea water when it was dumped. Each year I would get the required certificates in, yet equally each year there would be at least one explosion as a result of the crushing effect of the water leading to something going bang, usually at considerable depth.....
The point about them being reasonably safe is down to the fact that they might not function as intended if you try to set them off. They might fail to go off at all, burn less brightly than intended or with a different colour. They might also burn in an uncontrolled manner although this is less likely.
As an aside but to illustrate the problems inherent in dealing with old explosives, part of the procedure for dealing with the deep sea dumping of ammunition was to require a certificate that the ammunition concerned would not detonate as a result of the pressure of sea water when it was dumped. Each year I would get the required certificates in, yet equally each year there would be at least one explosion as a result of the crushing effect of the water leading to something going bang, usually at considerable depth.....
