Could an old ammo box be used as an expired Flare storage in my shed? Any thoughts?

[Mark-1]

HMCG at Daedalus Lee on Solent were taking them up to a dozen at a time by appointment last year but no idea whether lockdown has affected that.

In my case they were so inefficient it wasn't worth it. They take flares on the last Friday of the month via appointment. Over 3 months they twice took my details and promised they'd contact me to tell me if they could take mine, then failed to do so. The final straw was one random Friday when they called to ask me where I was with my flares. So they'd obviously eventually put me on the list for that Friday without telling me!

In the end I created a remote test rig and let them off in the garden and on a deserted beach.

 

[awol]

Coming from an age when Sodium Chlorate, Ammonium Nitrate and sugar could all be bought over the counter in brown paper bags without the bomb squad being alerted I am tempted to regard you lot as snowflakes. Many a jolly time was had with loud bangs and, apart from one lad losing a couple of fingers (he still had 8!) which disability he employed to his advantage with young ladies, the world was not unduly perturbed. A brick, a plastic bag and Beaufort's Dyke would add to the thousands of tons of explosives already dumped - could this be a problem for Boris's "world-beating™" and soon-to-be "massive success™" bridge building to Noriron?

 

[vertford]

Thanks for all the replies. Tip is a no go. Watching out for next marina day that may have the disposal option. Fragmentation risk is noted.

 

[prv]

In the end I created a remote test rig and let them off in the garden and on a deserted beach.

I happily let off old hand-flares in my back garden (including inviting regular crew round to practice) but orange smokes would be antisocial to the neighbours and rockets would be both dangerous (they come down burning) and liable to trigger a false alarm.

The visibility range of a rocket flare is often quoted at 25 miles, so your beach would have to be very deserted indeed to avoid doing the same.

Pete

 

[Mark-1]

I happily let off old hand-flares in my back garden (including inviting regular crew round to practice) but orange smokes would be antisocial to the neighbours

No rockets. Smokes on the beach, handhelds in the garden test rig.

The visibility range of a rocket flare is often quoted at 25 miles

IIRC that range applies at night, daylight range is less.

rockets would be both dangerous (they come down burning) and liable to trigger a false alarm.

Most people seem to wait until Nov the 5th to avoid the false alarm issue. The danger issue, well yes, hence wanting rid.

 

[Birdseye]

Basic mistake not leaving them hidden somewhere on the boat at hand over!

 

[AuntyRinum]

Basic mistake not leaving them hidden somewhere on the boat at hand over!

When I sold my previous boat I took the out of date flares off. I would be mortified if the new owner had used one and blown his hand off.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

In my case they were so inefficient it wasn't worth it. They take flares on the last Friday of the month via appointment. Over 3 months they twice took my details and promised they'd contact me to tell me if they could take mine, then failed to do so. The final straw was one random Friday when they called to ask me where I was with my flares. So they'd obviously eventually put me on the list for that Friday without telling me!

In the end I created a remote test rig and let them off in the garden and on a deserted beach.

Some main police stations will take them. I deposited 7 at my nearest one today, no problem at all. Trick is not to ring up & ask (they'll say no), just turn up & rattle the box in front of them.

 

[Frank Holden]

I’d not store them in an old ammo container: if they do happen to go off, containing them in an ammo box will tend to lead to the box blowing up as it will attempt to contain the reaction. Better to put them in an old biscuit tin or plastic box and put that somewhere outside where it won’t do any damage if it goes off and is out of reach of any children. Then dispose of the things soon.
All that said, they’re most unlikely to self initiate. The pyrotechnic composition decays over time, leading to the flares failing to meet the required standards in terms of colour and burn duration, that’s why they have a specific lifespan. They don’t suddenly become likely to self destruct on the anniversary of their manufacture.....

Is there any such place...?

If the OP must keep them then an ammo box is as good a place as any.... they are designed to hold things that can go 'bang!'
Back when Noah was a deck boy ships had steel magazines outside the wheelhouse for pyrotechnic stowage... mind you that included Schermuly line throwing rockets... serious ordnance...
I find the keeping of flares in 'open stow' on yachts a little worrisome... but by the time the fire gets to them they are the least of your problems.

My solution used to be.... living on a farm backing onto a forest used by the military for exercises and some 200km from the sea... wait for a foggy day and let the parachute flares loose down by the back fence...

 

[KAM]

I just burnt all my old flares in my chiminea. Sounds dodgy but it was a non event. They just burnt quietly and much safer than setting them off hand held. The one precaution I took was to ensure there was no projectile hazard by separating the flare and rocket motors. The only event was a small pop due to the charge which expels the flare composition from the top of the rocket motor. Probably less pollution than driving hundreds of miles to the nearest disposal point and certainly less pollution than my neighbours fireworks. Obviously you need to take care and ensure each one has gone before adding the next.

 

[Birdseye]

When I sold my previous boat I took the out of date flares off. I would be mortified if the new owner had used one and blown his hand off.

You are a nicer person! My view was that I inherited them with the boat, so they go with the boat on sale.

The "blowing hand off" is highly unlikely. One New Years eve down at the club some bright spark, after seeing the trampers in the docks firing off flares, suggested we let our old flares off as fireworks. It was amazing. Some of the flares were as old as 30 years or more and every one worked OK except for some of the tiny ones that fit into a small pistol like appartus that didnt work at all. Not one misfire and we must have set off at least 50 flares.

 

[Birdseye]

I just burnt all my old flares in my chiminea. Sounds dodgy but it was a non event. They just burnt quietly and much safer than setting them off hand held. The one precaution I took was to ensure there was no projectile hazard by separating the flare and rocket motors. The only event was a small pop due to the charge which expels the flare composition from the top of the rocket motor. Probably less pollution than driving hundreds of miles to the nearest disposal point and certainly less pollution than my neighbours fireworks. Obviously you need to take care and ensure each one has gone before adding the next.

How did you seperate the rocket motors? And what did you do with the smokes?

 

[KAM]

Took the plastic end cap off and the two parts just slid out. Just make sure the atmosphere is damp to reduce any static hazard. The smokes just seemed to burn. Can't say I noticed it any worse than the neighbours fireworks. Just a note having fired off quite a few old flares the percussion cap initiated ones were significantly more reliable than the pull string match head type. The match head ones seemed to fail a few years after end of life but the percussion cap devices only started to fail to fire at 25 years or so.

 

[Daydream believer]

When I sold my previous boat I took the out of date flares off. I would be mortified if the new owner had used one and blown his hand off.

I would be more mortified if it was my hand.

 

[Daydream believer]

I know a company that takes hundreds of them as part of their commercial work. They pass them to the film industry, who use them for pyrotechnics in films.
So if you know a friendly stunt film maker, you are on to a winner- James Bond perhaps

 

[thinwater]

Until such time as you can get rid of them you could store them in a bucket of water. Just top it up as needed.

And then the resulting water is seriously polluted with perchlorate. Google it.

 

[Povremeni pomorac]

Can't one just disassemble them? Surely no different from doing this with a firework?

 

[Daydream believer]

And then the resulting water is seriously polluted with perchlorate. Google it.

Bore a hole in the garden with a domestic post hole borer & pour it in. Once it is 4 ft down it is hardly likely to affect anyone, unless Tony Robinson & Time Team start poking their noses in. Come to that, what would happen if one were to bury the flares nice & deep. Not going to suddenly blow the garden up . Might save turning the veg patch over if they did, I suppose.
Could always stick em in a container of patio magic or other mild acid to speed the decomposition up

 

[prv]

The smokes just seemed to burn. Can't say I noticed it any worse than the neighbours fireworks.

I was once at a back garden fireworks party where some idiot produced and without warning set off an orange smoke float. It was definitely extremely noticeable and unpleasant, and quite a lot of stuff (and people) ended up with an orange tinge.

Pete

 

[Frogmogman]

Coming from an age when Sodium Chlorate, Ammonium Nitrate and sugar could all be bought over the counter in brown paper bags without the bomb squad being alerted…….

…..unless you had an Irish surname !!

In the early 70s, my mum went into the chemists in Chelmsford to buy saltpetre for some ham she was planning on curing. The chemist took her name, and asked her to wait a moment.
Five minutes later, the police turned up mob-handed.

We do share a surname with the man who at the time was chief of the army staff if the IRA, yet my mother couldn’t sound more English, her accent only marginally posher than the Queen’s (Bajansailor can confirm this). Still, better safe than sorry, eh ?