Nickd

Nick,

I have the same concerns you have regarding chemicals in the living areas, so perhaps my answer is to avoid it entirely. I was hoping if I stuck to solids and was careful about properly containing them, I'd be ok. I'm curious how others manage to keep their chems safely separate from each other. I can't imagine most people having separate temperature controlled environments available, though perhaps the climate in the UK is mild enough not to be of concern.

I'll take your suggestion regarding tempurature monitoring, to get a baseline of how my temps fluctuate but I'm guessing (+/- 10 Deg F) I'll see ranges from 20F - 130F worst case (Which would roughly be -5 - + 55 Celsuis). I may be able decrease the high end number somewhat using your suggestions above, but I doubt I'd get it below 37C on the worst summer days. Given those assumptions, can Oxidizers (KCL03, KCL04, NH4CL04 etc) be safely stored? The MSDS I've read so far just say store in a cool dry place.

There is naturally quite a margin of safety built in to what the storage data sheet suggests for chlorates and nitrates. They can withstand storage temperatures around the figures you mention provided they have not been contaminated with other chemicals or moisture.In the lab chlorates have to be heated to several hundred degrees before decomposing.

I'm looking for some advice on storage of pyrotechnic chemicals. I have a limited number of locations available to store my chemicals. I assume most amateurs would be confronted with similar limitations, so maybe this will be useful to others.

Basically I have 3 options for storage:

-Inside the house in a locked closet - tempurature controlled but less ideal since its a living space. The room with this closet is reasonably well separated from the bedrooms, kitchen and I dont intend to work with the chems in the house, just storing them if it turns out to be the best place among my various options.

-Inside the garage in a locked steel cabinet - no tempurature control so this will get hot in the summer, some spark hazards are present such as gas pilot, garage door opener etc. Should be safe from water other than potentially a burst pipe.

-Lockable shed in back yard. No temp control, No real spark harzards that I can think of. I do store pesticides here though. Its fairly leak tight so I dont think there is much danger from water.

I know I need to separate Oxidizers and Fuels, so I would store KC, KP, AP, etc separate from Aluminum, Magnesium, Sulphur, Charcole etc. I also believe the solvents such as MEK, Acetone, Denatured Alochol would need separate storage from oxiders and/or fuels

Can Oxidizers be safely stored in a non tempurature controlled environment such as a garage or shed? I would imagine these locations might get up to 120-130F in the summer. I am hesitant to store oxidizers in the house but I am wondering if this may be safer in the long run due to the controlled temps.

If anyone can offer advice, I'd appreciate it. I didnt see any kind of sticky post that summerizes storage guidelines when I searched this board, so perhaps this would be a valuable addition. I've also done some searching on the web and found a few documents that are helpful, but these tend to geared towards Labs and businesses with more space and much greater financial resources at their disposal. I'm also aware of and read the MSDS that come with the chemicals. If helpful, I can post a list of chems I would likey be storing.

Personally I would always a prioritise personel safety, if only to let me sleep easy at nights. therefore I would avoid storing any dangerous chemicals in the house. How ever careful you think you are domestic accident happen. Vapours can build up in any secure cabinets not to mention the fact that most houses are laced with wires ready to short out !
You seem alittle vague about the temperature variations that your chemicals may be subjected to so the first thing is to invest in a couple of max /min themometers and compare different sites in your shed and garage . Then store them in the most temperature stable area..It may be possible for you to improve the temperature regulation for example by adding ventilation bricks or insulating the roof.

WAAA???????

I can't believe my ears! There banned! These are safe and sane fireworks and there banned! The smoke pellets are just as dangerous since they don't have a fuse, you can burn your self! I think the government has completely lost his mind lol.

BTW, has anyone heard about these new UN classifications about the powder in fireworks? Well from I think June 2007 all rockets with over 20g explosive weight will have to be reclassified to 1.3g!!!!!!! Terrible, tis tis, . Oh and you can't buy in shop premises too. Cakes will also have to have reduced powder!

Regards

Nero

:Smoke grenades are easily available in the Uk. Many are sold through Army surplus shops.One of the leading manufacturers is " Enola Gaye"products .They have quite a good website including some more interesting thunderflashes and paint ball grenades.I don't think they supply the general public direct but I am sure they will advise you of a local supplier .