Here's one for you... Old Flares!

[Brian D]

I have a batch of expired flares. My surveyor said to keep them in augmentation to the batch of good flares that I have.So the question is, if I want to get rid of these old flares, how do I do that? I'd love to fire them off but that might cause more problems than it is worth.

 

[Ross]

Wait until July 4th and

light them away from the water.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

I do

exactly what your surveyor says. If I need flares I want all the ammo I can get, even if some of them are duds.The best disposal method I've heard (other than taking them to an appropriate hazardous waste site) is to soak them in a bucket of water for several days. They'll eventually deteriorate into a harmless (non-flammeable) mess that can be disposed of. I'm no chemist but it sounded good to me. Perhaps a CE can elaborate.DO NOT just fire them off. It's illegal if you're not in distress. Even on July 4 when other fireworks are going off. We had a (former) friend do this in our marina even after (our) warnings not to. The end of the story is that he had to buy us a new bimini and it was all I could do to physically restrain the admiral from ripping his head off.You might seek Coast Guard sanctioning for a time and place to do so as it would be good good practice for sure. I've heard of this being done but have had no first hand experience. Just BE SURE you're legal if you go this route.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Sorry Ross

You might have a point there. Perhaps if you're waaaaaayyyyy inland.

 

[CHET P]

local fire dept

Check with your local fire department they will most likely either take them off your hands for disposal or tell you where to get rid of them... our yacht club had the fire dept come to one of our meetings and give a fire suspression demo and i guess they made some arrangements for us to fire off all our old stuff on the river from the local park. I still keep all the old ones...i have in the past needed to be located by the coast guard and in stormy conditions when the ceiling is zero and you can hear the chopper...i didn't think any number was enough, not until they told me to stop setting them off did i stop (they said i almost hit the chopper) FWIW

 

[Eric1803]

Use the CG Retire Them, Don't Fire Them program

Contact your local CG station...they will actually take them from you for disposal, and you will get a 10% discount on new ones under the "Retire Them, Don't Fire Them" program. Do not fire them off to get rid of them as flares are used on land as well as water as distress signals as Rick says, it is illegal (in the absence of a true emrgency), and it costs time and money for cops and CG to check it out.The site below will explain fully.Eric

 

[JC on Bainbridge]

I still got most of my old ones

I keep them in my big pile of stash. However, there are beginning to get too many of them now.If you belong to US Power Squadron, or know someone who is, you can contact them. Usually, when they have boating safety classes, they will sometime setup a demo, and practice firing of flares. Our local squadron has scheduled with our fire department, and all met at the fire department parking lot, and fired them off. Many were duds, but that was ok. The fire department personnel were standing by, watching, and giving advices when needed.

 

[Ross]

I always buy new when

we will pass the expiration date during that boating season but I keep the old in the unopened packages. Just have handhelds, no aerials.

 

[JC on Bainbridge]

Gary, was that pic taken at Princess Louisa?

However, that dock doesn't quite look like the one that's there.

 

[draks]

Old flares & good cheer

Brian,I usually save my old flares for July 4 and join the celebration of our declaration of independence from King George III.SteveS/V Aurelia

 

[Ross]

I have a friend that has sailed ten thousand

miles and has never had occasion to light a flare. I keep telling her to come by and we will burn some.

 

[Brian D]

So Ross...

You'd really like this lady friend to come over and light your flare? *x

 

[Doug_Meyer]

Coast Guard will take them

My Local Coast Guard station took my old flares. They and the CG auxiliary use them for practice.

 

[Franklin]

Save them

for the next racer that wants to cut you off just because he's in a race.

 

[Ross]

Brian ,

Oh, YEAH!

 

[maddmike]

Here's what I do

If you have any expired 12 gage flairs and use a pistol, (and have ever reloaded your own shot before)here is what a number of cruisers out in the Caribbean now do in order to maintain some protection while in ports where the locals take weapons until you depart, but let you keep your flair gun (these are usually the same places you most need protection); They reload old 12 gage flairs with pepper which is a nice way to discourage folks from snatching tenders, motors, etc. While I'm sure this may not be legal in the US and I would not advise it if you do not have past reloading experience, it is something to keep in mind for that 'future' cruise to South America. came in handy for me in Haiti some time back.

 

[Anchor Down]

A Clarification

I'm sure you are referring to whole peppercorns, which would behave somewhat like soft buckshot, and not ground pepper, unless you are wanting to quickly season some gargantuan salad…That it "came in handy" suggests you had reason to actually deploy such a defensive weapon. Is that correct? We'd love to hear about that.(Isn't thread creep fascinating?)

 

[Bob]

maddmike will land you in jail

Most foreign countries DO NOT PERMIT FIREARMS or AMMUNITION. If you reload a shell, and they see it....you are gone for a very very long time. Every so often, on 60 Mins or 20-20, they show an American couple that has been in jail in some island nation in the Carribbean (dont remember which one). To make a long story short, they had no gun, but when cleaning the boat prior to the trip, a few (i believe only 2)bullets were missed and rolled out of view. When boarded, customs found it. They let their daughter return to the US, but the parents were put in jail and i think they are still there.Foreign nations dont play around. Bullets are bullets, and dont think for a minute, that you can argue symantics with a foreign govt.I really dont care who gets pissed at my reply because this was a VERY IRRESPONSIBLE reply by MADDMIKE

 

[John Dawson]

and the correct answer is...

give them to your volunteer rescue and firefighters groups (etc) to use. They come into West Marine stores asking if there are old flares they can have, to signal helicopters, mark accidents, etc. Its expensive for them because they actually use them instead of storing them for several years, and most expired flares still work, at least enough to save them some money.

 

[Brian D]

Well, if anything...

I have found out that I should...1) Hang on to them as extra items, or,2) Give them to local officals to do as they need.Either options is fine with me.No, some of the responses were, well, humoress. Some might think humorless, but they were cute. I think MadMike had best intentions when he mentioned reloading them with peppercorn. The only thing I would add to that is a pinch of kosher salt... ouch!J/K... That, for me, is a non-option. I will get new flares when the time comes and find an agency that needs and can use the old flares.Thanks much guys.