20 replies to this topic

[The Legendary Graham]

yes CrAzY that!!! but you have given me an idea ( josticks ) possible cheap firework lighters ? wot do you reckon?

not good at all. since all the fuses changed from blue touch paper many years ago portfires were the only way for consumers to go really, men shun started supplying them, but if you use fireworks a lot a good alternative is a bernzomatic gas torch, instant on and instant off as soon as you let go of the trigger and its near impossible to blow out with wind once its lit. although its quite expensive, but like i said if you do a lot of this its definatley worth the investment.

[Arthur Brown]

Firers who use time fused cakes tend to use portfires or gas blowtorches (think plumbers tools) or the hand held trigger ignition gas BBQ lighters that asda/sains/Tesc etc sell for £4.99 in season or £1.50 later. Beyond that electric ignition is popular.

[djsansom]

thanks i like the bbq lighter, think i will get 1 in case i run out of portfires!

[Gigantic Crab!!!]

Gigantic Crab!!! says long time no see TLG!!! How is it hanging, proverbally?

TLG is bang on the money with a Rothenberger Surefire2 (£40 B&Q but sold under the name Bernz-o-Matic TS7000).
If you hand light a lot of fireworks, there is nothing better.
Also cheaper than portfires in the long run, and safer.

[W.P]

I've read somewhere that some firework teams like to use flares in place of portfires.

[Gigantic Crab!!!]

What Gigantic Crab!!! doesn't like about portfires is that they drip hot nastiness, ash up so you have to keep tapping them to maintain a clean flame, and most importantly keep burning if you drop them.
As TLG mentioned, the Rothenberger/Bernzomatic has one button for ignition and gas, so you can light it one handed and if you let go it goes out instantly (there is another button to keep it on permanently if desired).
It is also designed to break away from the gas bottle seal if dropped from height, so you can break it in two without spewing gas everywhere.
I always have spare portfires handy, but since getting a Rothy I've never needed them and I am still on my first bottle of gas after several years of use both as an enthusiast and a professional (it gets a lot of use).