Incidently... what would you do with a flare that hasn't gone off when fired?

Two course of (recommended) action depending on the situation...

1. If in a dire distress situation drop it over the side - but preferably where you won't drift over top of it before it sinks - maybe throw as far a possible downwind. But NOT if there is any risk of fire from oils or fuel floating on the surface, should it ignite.

2. Fill a bucket with water. CAREFULLY remove any protective caps bearing in mind it may still ignite. Puncture the silver foil top with a knife and place in the bucket of water.

If possible avoid dropping any unused flares over the side - especially in coastal waters - as they will more than likely end up on a beach somewhere with the risk of a child finding it...

W. 

I used to test military pyrotechnics and in general they age gracefully and safely.  However, certain ones became a little livelier after the 'use by' date had expired.  As was said before the tendency was as the pyros age for the colour to deteriorate and/or the burn length change from spec.  We also used to artificially age them by hot/cold cycling, vibrating and placing in cycling humid/very dry conditions.  The results suggest that keeping them in steady, cool and dry conditions extends their lives. 

As for poor colours being ignored: when the RNLI gave a flare demonstration at our sailing club with white and green parachute flares 3 people reported seeing them to the Coastguard!

Given my experience I keep the last lot of expired flares and the ones 'in date'. Those whcih are 3 years expired are disposed of.

This thread is very useful as I've recently bought a load of flares which are 4 years out of date, along with an Evolution 26.

So, how do I safely dispose of them?

Hi David.

Aty the moment the best way of disposing of flares is to give them to the Coastguard, who will dispose of them for free. (They are taken to an MoD firing range and exploded in bulk!). Everyone else seems to want to charge for disposal. It seems only reasonable that the flare manufacturers should be required to take out of date flares if handed in when buyng new ones, but they want to charge for this "service."

Some coastguard units are not equipped to take them or don't like to...  Likewise you can hand them into the local police station for disposal - again you ll have to be persuasive though!

The coasties will also not take large quantities nor flares from any form of commercial organisation.

If anyone is one the south coast and is really struggling I have a contact that will take most hand held flares to be used for training purposes - pm me and I ll give you his number.

W.

Hi Bill,

I think it depends on how much offshore sailing you will be doing soon and if these old flares have been stored well.  So you may consider hanging on to the out of date flares.

As previously mentioned I have kept some old flares along with some new ones, clearly marking up the old ones so they do not have priority in an emergency.  So offshore I have a real firework show if required. However, they do fill up one of those large plastic barrels and  so storage is a pain.

I would be very concerned about old flares if there appeared to be a risk that they became unstable and so dangerous.  However, from all the information I have heard to date, it seems the worst that happens is the parachute flares may not perform so well and the colour may become affected.

Flares appear to be like 'sell by' and 'eat by' dates on food. Most of the food can be eaten well after the dates on the packets especially if they are stored well, 

cheers, Scotty

Thread drift...

Why do they put use by dates on natural water that has been filtered though rocks over thousands of years?!

W.