What do folks do with expired flares?

[MikeP]

I've been keeping them, figuring that they will work just fine if I need them but it's starting to get stupid - I've got more flares than the Titanic! Hmmm - didn't help them much.

So do folks just throw them in the dumpster? It would be more fun to use them as junior fireworks but since they are for distress, using them for "playing" is sort of like making a fake 911 call.

So, just toss them in the trash?

 

[Boatsb]

Call the local towns for where they can be dropped off. I keep some backups but they seem to multiply like rabbits

 

[OBXTucker]

I've dropped mine by the local volunteer fire department. Not sure what they do with them, but they'll take 'em.
They're probably on some of their boats! I agree with the "multiply like rabbits" comment!

 

[MikeP]

It seems odd that WWII pyrotechnics/ammunition still works but "marine" flares expire in a a couple of years...

 

[Boatsb]

It seems odd that WWII pyrotechnics/ammunition still works but "marine" flares expire in a a couple of years...

I believe they are rated for 40 months so you have to have a government agency to make sure we keep buying new ones. I have not heard of one less than 10 years old failing so I keep spares for up to 10 years.

 

[GJH]

Local Power Squadrons, Sea Scouts and CG Auxiliaries usually will take them and use them for training purposes. I keep at least one generation on as spares and have a few on my Whaler (which at 13 ft is not required) as well.

 

[Fanfare]

If you need them you will probably be glad you have a lot. I buy the minimum, three, as mine expire. I keep a rubber band around these so I can show them to the USCG if boarded. (Showing a current USCG Auxiliary inspection sticker seems to have cut down on my boardings lately. I have the Auxiliary inspect both the big boat and the dinghy in order to get two stickers. I post one sticker in the proper place, by the port entryway, and the other by the stbd. so they are visable from both sides.) I probably have a dozen or more "expired" SOLAS parachute flares, several more in the dink.

These things are not intuitive to use, worse if panicked or in the dark where the instructions can't be seen. For instance, on my boat there is an overhead deck above each door. Can't shoot from there! So take some of your oldest flares/rockets inland on July 4th and have each usual member of your crew fire one. You too. I even try to keep a fired one aboard to demonstrate the trigger function. Unfortunately the Admiral generally tosses these out.

I still have a few 45 year old flares from when the boat was new. I fired one a couple years ago to see if it would work. It did. But watching the molten slag drip down toward my hand made me realize the need to hold it sideways and well outboard of any inflatable liferaft as it would melt right through it.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Throw a couple of the handheld sticks in the trunk of your car. They work just like road flares and may come in handy someday.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

My Power Squadron along with the Coast Guard Aux hold a yearly flare demonstration... You can bring yours out and use them.... Or use ours that have been given to us..
The 12 guage aerial ones put out very little light nor do they last long. Plus not only did the out of dates ones have a high failure rate, the current dated ones had about a 20% failure.
The next group, 25MM did a much much better job... I upgraded my 12 guage to these after seeing the difference.
The top of the line is SOLAS....those are a blast to shoot off. But they are expensive !!!
We also set off smoke cans and there's a place to try out your hand held flares. These too had a failure rate that seemed more due to being wet than the date stamped on them
Every time we hold one of these, we always are given flares from WWII and it' amazing to see how many of them still work...

 

[TopHattandTails]

After a few beers, they've been known to be shot at water snakes. Takes em right out and the flares are under water doing there thing.

 

[Trojan]

I use them to start brush pile fires on the farm.

BILL

 

[Bob Bradley]

I suppose that shooting them at sailboats, jetskis, and democrats would be inappropriate?

 

[J's Dream]

I suppose that shooting them at sailboats, jetskis, and democrats would be inappropriate?

I have a jetski, and I'd fire back!

The local FD will not take flares, but the USGC Auxiliary will.

Jason

 

[Passages]

Youse guys are way over thinking this.
Keep a few out dated as spares. If you have more expired shells than you want, shoot the excess point blank in the water and toss the casings.

How difficult was that?

 

[Tim Powell]

I've been keeping them, figuring that they will work just fine if I need them but it's starting to get stupid - I've got more flares than the Titanic! Hmmm - didn't help them much.

So do folks just throw them in the dumpster? It would be more fun to use them as junior fireworks but since they are for distress, using them for "playing" is sort of like making a fake 911 call.

So, just toss them in the trash?

Like you suggested wait till the 4th of july around Morehead city N.C. it looks like a disposal area about 7 to 8 pm dark thirty.

 

[MikeP]

Yeah - there you go; next July would be perfect!

 

[GJH]

Youse guys are way over thinking this.
Keep a few out dated as spares. If you have more expired shells than you want, shoot the excess point blank in the water and toss the casings.

How difficult was that?

I try to avoid putting garbage in the water if I can, particularly toxic, non organic stuff. Must be the the remnants of the old hippie in me. The exhausts from all my 2 stroke engines? Well, I said remnants, right?

 

[Northcott]

I shoot them across the bow of Jackasses making a big wake in the NO WAKE ZONE. After someone put a 4' long hole in one of my boats by "waking" me into the dock, I dont hold back!

 

[Regal2800]

westmarine took mine last time.

 

[Avenger]

Thought I'd update this thread with a recent experience I had disposing of old flares. I'm specifically speaking of aerial flares here, since handhelds can be safely lit off in suburban areas without issue as long as handled responsibly and legally.

Over the years and multiple boats I've accumulated a significant number of expired flares, some of them dating back to the '80s. And as many have said, they're not easy to get rid of. Nobody seems to be willing to take them for disposal and you can't shoot them for practice anywhere on the water. At least not legally. So I rang in the New Year by shooting them off in the mountains in a situation that couldn't cause any issues. What I mainly wanted to address was the results of firing older, expired flares.

Turns out, there's a reason they have an expiration date. While I found flares from my sample group that were less than five years past expiration functioned properly, once they got to around eight years they started having sporadic problems. While a few functioned normally most either failed to ignite or underperformed on altitude, and as the dates got older the reliability got much worse to the point where some were complete duds.

My sample included 12ga and 25MM meteor flares from Olin/Orion and Kilgore. Both the short 12ga. and the newer long case ones as well as metal and plastic case 25MM. There were two 25MM parachute flares but I only was able to fire one. It underperformed on altitude. And since almost the entire cartridge gets launched from a launcher with a relatively small grip it was a little rough on the wrist. Probably comparable to a .357Mag. which is why it's not a bad idea to get some hands-on practice in non-distress situations. For someone with little or no experience with handguns it could be a significant problem in a crisis.

So, my conclusion is that firing old flares for practice, experience and disposal is a good idea if done properly, especially when they've gone well past their freshness date. While this unscientific test wouldn't suggest that keeping recently expired flares onboard is a bad idea, you'll want to check and make sure they're not too stale before you rely on them to save your hide.

The remnants: