TGR

Re-enactor. Please may I suggest you DO NOT tether your lanterns but follow the instructions on the product. If used correctly they are perfectly safe.
By tethering you may be making a "perceived" hazard into a "real" one! The only incidents with these items are caused by failure to follow the instructions.


Coastguard get called out - yes i'm sure it happens but only because users ignore the "Do not launch where the lantern could be confused as a distress signal" instruction.
So a beach launch is not sensible (unless of course you pre-notify the CG).

Setting fire to barns and hay bales - happens too, but only when these are launched in anything other than the stipulated calm conditions , and the idiot launching has not noticed the hay-barn 5 yards down-wind. What people fail to grasp is that these items, if they are still burning, are producing lift; it is only when they are out do they fall, harmlessly, back to earth.

Sad the kid was injured but IMO that splatter burn is consistent with the small child launching the lantern, short arms meant he was standing directly underneath it and no doubt looking up. As he let go, it tipped and the wax fell maybe 2- 3 feet (at most) onto his face. Why? Because parents ignored the warning "This is NOT a toy. For Adult use only. Keep children well away from lanterns at all times". To take blame from themselves the parents suggest it was "at least 40 feet in the air etc etc"

Our lanterns have been bio-degradable for quite a while...bamboo frame (our population of wild Pandas eat that ;-) ), tissue canopy, string support and paper/cloth wick (we don't use wax). So apart from a bit of debris that will dissipate in a short time, with no real environmental impact.


Back to safety

It is the person who launches, and where they launch, these lanterns that have the biggest impact on the safety. I mean, a golf ball hit straight down the fairway at 100mph by a pro is a harmless and enjoyable spectacle, but if a rank-amateur were to attempt the same feat in the middle of TESCO's car park on a Saturday morning then it will no doubt end in tears; But who is to blame? The golf ball or the golfer?

And finally, rocket sticks fall back to earth and can "potentially" cause damage,( as mentioned by an earlier poster) . Just as a matter of interest Re-enactor, to reduce the risk do you tether your rockets

I know what you mean but each of those fireworks actually has a name aswell, it comes across as a bit misleading with the big lettering plastered all over.

Seasonal shops can't stock 1.3G can they? Or can they? Just wondering how that papershop down the road from me gets away with stocking the Epic gear.

seasonal shops can store 1.3G product but it seriously lowers the quantities of all fireworks they can hold. If you have just 1 x 1.3G item in your storeroom then the whole quantity in there is classed as 1.3G.

Also there is an added downer in transport of 1.3G too. Most firework deliveries are in Merc sprinter vans , these can carry up to 499kg NEC before ADR driver requirements kicks in. Now Sprinters never get anywhere near this limit. However, if any 1.3G are in the deliver then the max is 50KG NEC, so in order to comply with regs AND not need an ADR driver the vans will be out and about with roughly 20 or so cartons on board. this is not cost effective and so delivery charges will increase.

Personally 1.3G stuff is a right royal P I T A.

Which begs the question, why does the LOCEF database have them as 1.4G? Is it simply out of date?

most likely

Black Gemini imported before June 2007 were indeed classified as 1.4G, however where an item met the old 1.4G limits but does not meet the new limits then it defaults to 1.3G as per HSE and the classification expires in 2012. If an item pre-june 07 meets the new limits ie less than 20g composition, flash max of 0.13g per effect and total of 1g flash and Black Powder burst charge, then it needed to be re-classified to retain 1.4G status and you'll see these items haviong a 2013 expiry date.

Not sure what Cosmic RRP was on these items , i'd guess around the £25 -£30 mark for a 5 piece pack.

HTH

I normally use plant pots and bricks, however I will be using some stakes this year.

I saw the remnants of an old BS Proton Bomb (the twin shotter) that had been buried in a large garden-planter. All would have been fine and dandy had the numpty setting it off not buried it upside down. He even made a channel in the soil to get at the fuse. (my belief is that it was done deliberatley rather than by accident)

as the first burst fired it popped the firework out of the pot, it then fired the second protectile (luckily away from the firer) at which point the first protectile blew up in the bottom of the planter....................

.......................GRENADE