Flare disposal in the back Garden

[maby]

Just trying to think laterally
...

At a push one could just dig a hole at the bottom of the garden & bury it, if it was just a small quantity of non explosive liquid. It would soon lose its corrosive properties.

I have wondered about the feasibility of burying a flare reasonably deep with a cord attached to the firing mechanism so that I could set it off under ground - at worst it should make a small crater?

 

[Daydream believer]

I have wondered about the feasibility of burying a flare reasonably deep with a cord attached to the firing mechanism so that I could set it off under ground - at worst it should make a small crater?

You just know that after reading that someone is going to post a picture of Bikini Atoll don't you !!!!!!!

 

[maby]

You just know that after reading that someone is going to post a picture of Bikini Atoll don't you !!!!!!!

Hmmm, the US military abandoned their programme to develop nuclear hand grenades, didn't they?

 

[Olivia123]

I've been trying to get rid of some unwanted handhelds since October with no luck. I decided to simply gaffer tape them to a stick before they go out of date and let them off from a safe distance.

Video here.

High-tech test rig (Before):
http://i64.tinypic.com/3x3k1.jpg

High-tech test rig (After):
http://i63.tinypic.com/27zkqk9.jpg

Two down:
http://i65.tinypic.com/2whi7na.jpg

My kids took mine to Glastonbury. Without my knowledge. And they were still in date. I was not very happy. Although apparently they worked very well

 

[wotayottie]

could you not set off a smoke flare and then stick a metal bucket over the top to contain the coloured powder?

 

[mr_average]

+1 for demystifying the process. I let my 2 year ood flares off last November the 5th (inland in suburbia) and it was all rather undramatic. They do burn a long time and the main hazard was to eyesight from the brightness- the world was a strange colour for a while afterwards so i'd at least wear dark glasses if doing it again.

 

[KINGFISHER 9]

Question: ... Do they float?
Question 2: Do they float tied to a brick?

 

[ash2020]

I'm near Oban and last night the lifeboat, the coastguard and the search & rescue helicopter were out searching for a couple of hours after a report of a red flare being seen. I sincerely hope it wasn't someone letting an out of date one off. Must have cost tens of thousands of pounds.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I'm near Oban and last night the lifeboat, the coastguard and the search & rescue helicopter were out searching for a couple of hours after a report of a red flare being seen. I sincerely hope it wasn't someone letting an out of date one off.

You hope someone was really in distress and firing off in-date flares? That's a bit harsh.

 

[ash2020]

You hope someone was really in distress and firing off in-date flares? That's a bit harsh.

Hahaha!

 

[Mark-1]

Question: ... Do they float?
Question 2: Do they float tied to a brick?

Sink, even without brick. I don't have a strong moral objection to this disposal method. The two reasons I ruled it out were 1) I don't want some poor guy in a trawler getting burned or at least having the problem of what do do with it if it came up in his net. (I have no idea how likely this is.) 2) The less litter that gets dumped in the sea the better.

I'm near Oban and last night the lifeboat, the coastguard and the search & rescue helicopter were out searching for a couple of hours after a report of a red flare being seen. I sincerely hope it wasn't someone letting an out of date one off. Must have cost tens of thousands of pounds.

All the more reason to either ban flares or provide an effective disposal mechanism. Having said that you'd have to assume that someone firing a parachute flare to dispose of it would not be firing it directly upwards, they'd be aiming down at the sea a safe distance away so few people saw it.