Flares

OK, guys. What do we do with out-of-date flares? I have accumulated quite a few and don't want to throw in the trash but don't have any better ideas.

We called around and had a difficult time finding anyone that would take them. The fire department was not interested. The Coast Guard didn't want them. We called local Police and they took them to use at their firing range. Not sure what they had in mind, but they seemed happy to get them.

Do you know any campers?
They (except orange smoke ones) make great fire starters.

Here in Nanaimo the local Power Squadron (U.S. now called America's Boating Club) offers a free disposal day every year.
When I used to moor in Point Roberts, Wash. they had an annual day where you could fire off the old ones for practise. This was all arranged with the proper authorities. I thought that was a great idea, as firing one for the first time when under the duress of an emergency may not be the best way to learn.
I suggest contacting the local Power Squadron, marinas, and/or yacht clubs. Worth a call.

From what I have heard (see post#4) they will still work for many years after the expiration date - we have one current set, and two expired sets aboard in hard plastic containers. Obviously hope to never need them, but the more the better

I store all my old flares in a seperate container (water tight orange tackle/ammo box). I have used flares many, many years past their expiration and they worked just fine. I inspect the brass on the 12 gauge flares for any signs of signficant corrosion. In an emergency, I plan to use the expired stuff first.

I have put on Flare Demo Days at two yacht clubs I've belonged to and they went over well. There's a form from the USCG you should fill out to notify them of the date/time/location of the demo. Then notify the police, sheriff's depts. and fire depts. and ask that an ambulance be on standby in case something goes wrong.


At the last one the ambulance was there and a fire truck drove by and stopped for as few minutes to watch.


The better organized you are the more successful it will be. Encourage the public to come, get the TV stations to publicize it and invite them to come to video it for their news broadcasts.


At the last one we had about 50 people fire off about 250 old flares. They all went off as advertised except for the ones you hold aloft and pull a string to fire. Many of those were duds.


Have a pail of water to put the duds in.

GFC
Safety / flare demo days are a great idea.
When I did one of these a few yrs ago we tied it in with a safety seminar and then practiced w flares and fire extinguishers. Local fire dept contributed old outdated fire extinguishers to practice with. We didn't try to extinguish flares but set a demo fire w weighted rag soaked in kero for the fire. Review and practice P-A-S-S. I even recommend to folks the nark the extinguishers ahead of time w a Sharpie PASS as a reminder... no time to be reading directions!
The other things most boaters have never attempted is to toss a life ring w line attached or a "throw bag". It is a challenge and practice helps.
All things that can be done ashore.

Everyone involved was pleased to have hands on experience with both.

Our local county landfill has a "hazardous waste" facility. They take them.

I am with GFC. I contact the USCG and schedule a date and time for the demo. Then our yacht club have an afternoon setting off flares. What we have found that the Admirals were the ones that needed the training with flares and the signal pistol. We found out many had never activated a flare. So good training.

If you do this make sure you contact the USCG.

Our technique is to anchor in sight of the USCG station ,

call them and TELL them you will be conducting crew training with flairs for 30 min..

My customers asked me about getting rid of old flares all the time. I decided to find out how to do it legally.

I called everyone I could think of. Coast Guard, CG Aux, Fire Dept. and probably a few others. Finally I called the State of Florida Fire Marshal. He told me there was a hazardous waste incinerator, about a six hour round trip from Miami, that would take them.

I just fire them into the water when no one is looking.

Anybody know what I can do with a thirty pound Civil War canon shell?

When I was at "NestEgg" marina in Marinette they held a Spring launch party every Spring and featured an opportunity to practice with old flares. It was arranged with the Coast Guard and local law enforcement. It was great practice, but it got boring after a while so the left overs and "duds" were just tossed into a campfire, they burned but not dangerously.

Vashon_Trawler said:

I store all my old flares in a seperate container (water tight orange tackle/ammo box). I have used flares many, many years past their expiration and they worked just fine. I inspect the brass on the 12 gauge flares for any signs of signficant corrosion. In an emergency, I plan to use the expired stuff first.

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I can't imagine getting rid of them because I keep picturing being deserted on some remote island and wishing I had all my expired flares back

Wxx3 said:

I can't imagine getting rid of them because I keep picturing being deserted on some remote island and wishing I had all my expired flares back

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I do the same however just for security sake be careful how these are stored. Never forget that these are kind of bullet and if stored in big quantities and one is fired it can result in a drama.

L

Since we have the SOS Distress Light we are compliant with USCG regs. So we have kept all our expired flares. Best of both worlds!

Keep them. Flares will come back into fashion one day. Waistband may need increasing though.

USCG requires that if you have expired flares on board they must be clearly marked and stored separately from unexpired (i.e. good) ones.

ssobol said:

USCG requires that if you have expired flares on board they must be clearly marked and stored separately from unexpired (i.e. good) ones.

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I was not aware of that and don't recall ever seeing this in print. Could you find it and provide a link?

GFC said:

I was not aware of that and don't recall ever seeing this in print. Could you find it and provide a link?

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I was told this by a CG AUX inspector during a safety inspection.

ssobol said:

I was told this by a CG AUX inspector during a safety inspection.

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I have heard the same thing. Never read it anywhere, though. So we kept expired flares separate from the "legal" ones...

July, 4th is less than 3 months away........ if your home port is anything like Jacksonville, where we spent the holiday last year, they will get lost among all the other pyrotechnics. Just put on your own fireworks display!

In Great Britain and Ireland we have the Royal National Lifeboat institution and they gladly accept them and use them for demonstrations and training days.
Personally I go with Larry's suggestion.

Don’t fire your old flares over land. As they get older, the lift charge gets weaker and they don’t go as high. This means they sometimes can reach the ground while still burning. I once fired a Solas parachute flare in my back yard. I doubt it went more than fifty feet in the air. It bounced off an aluminum awning and hung up in a bush. I expected God’s voice to speak to me from that burning bush.

I give mine to the local fire department.

Moonfish said:

Since we have the SOS Distress Light we are compliant with USCG regs. So we have kept all our expired flares. Best of both worlds!

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+1

Take both USCG and especially USCGAUX comments with a grain of salt unless they show you the CFR that corresponds with their comment.
I have never seen the myth that discusses expired flare storage.
I have only seen the CFR requirements for current flares aboard.
Anyone have the CFR describing expired flares?

psneeld said:

Take both USCG and especially USCGAUX comments with a grain of salt unless they show you the CFR that corresponds with their comment.
I have never seen the myth that discusses expired flare storage.
I have only seen the CFR requirements for current flares aboard.
Anyone have the CFR describing expired flares?

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Agree...
Too many vessel examiners like to pass off recommendations as requirements. Ask to see (or look up the CFRs) to see what is actually required.
I've never heard of any regs that are pointed at outdated signal devices.

Bacchus said:

Agree...
Too many vessel examiners like to pass off recommendations as requirements. Ask to see (or look up the CFRs) to see what is actually required.
I've never heard of any regs that are pointed at outdated signal devices.

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But why get in a p**sing contest with an inspector asking to him to "show me where it says ...." when he boards your boat for an inspection.

If one inspector thinks that expired flares should be separated then others probably do too. I separated mine and marked the container they are in and don't expect to ever have that issue mentioned again.

I'm not saying to create a scene or stand-off!
You said "inspector"... certainly makes a difference who this is.
If USCG boarding then... Yes Sir I'll take care of that immediately. When done w the examination I'd inquire... I was not aware of the need to separate old / new flares where did I miss that in the regulations?
If USCG Aux doing a "courtesy" safety check I'd ask for more info about the requirement and where it says that... I wasn't aware that is a requirement.
If the CGAux wants to fail my boat for that I'd just ask he notes the reason on my failed report along w his/her name and contact info as required.
Maybe the difference is - I'm a Vessel Safety Examiner but can't do a VSC on my own boat... have to have another VE do it. If they then cited a requirement I've never heard about I want to know ABSOLUTELY is it fact or fiction.
If fact I need to inform other boaters about the requirement as well as retrain other VEs in my irganization.
If fiction I want to confirm that as well so we (VEs) arent continuing to spread bad information to the public.
I just went through a similar exercise w a USCGAux VE that was telling owners your Doc # Placard HAD to be at the helm or in the salon / saloon in plain sight and he was adamant it could not be in the engine rm (where many / most of us have it displayed).
I wanted to know the real requirement for the reasons stated above. It took a lot of work to get to the bottom of it but glad I did. The other Aux VE not as happy... he checked out and wont respond to any communication so hard to tell what the outcome is from his perspective.