5 replies to this topic

[Jonny2hats]

Hay everyone im a new member and recently purchaced some chemicals from ebay and was wondering if anyone knew the legal limits i could store without a licence of aluminum powder, iron oxide powder, potassium nitrate and sulphur. Im guessing their legal as i could buy them on ebay and they have regulations? thanks, Jonny

[Jonny2hats]

Scratch that i cancled the potassium and i dont think the others are controlled are they?

[TCblastmaster]

Hay everyone im a new member and recently purchaced some chemicals from ebay and was wondering if anyone knew the legal limits i could store without a licence of aluminum powder, iron oxide powder, potassium nitrate and sulphur. Im guessing their legal as i could buy them on ebay and they have regulations? thanks, Jonny

Hi Jonny2hats,

Welcome to the forum. Check the previous posts on this subject and you will find plenty of information on the legalities - and so much more if you are new to the hobby, as I suspect you are.

Judging from the list it would appear that there was nothing to worry about after all. There are also references throughout this forum on reputable and reliable sources for pyro chemicals. Just be thorough with your research (from quality texts, i.e Tom Perigrin's "Introductory Practical Pyrotechnics") and experiment safely and responsibly. Only produce enough composition for your immediate needs.

Hope this helps.

TC

[Andrew]

The ownership of all of those is not restricted in any way. Storage at a private premises I'm not too sure about, but it would come down to common sense.

Iron Oxide????? The only thing stopping the mass storage of this is that it's pretty much useless and makes a mess .



Although there are no legal parameters, the police have a set of guidelines that they use to determine if a find needs further attention and investigation. For obvious reasons these days ! I'm guessing this is what you are referring to! I'm not going to crank out the guidelines, but if you have less that 500g of any of those, that particular find would not, under normal circumstances, warrant further investigation or a visit from Scientific Services. This is not to say that it is illegal to own or store more than this, because it is not, however when eyebrows are raised it helps to have an honest, transparent and good explanation ready for them.

Hope this answers your question.



Compositions (mixtures in lay terms) are a different story, as they are regulated by various acts of parliament. As mentioned before there are plenty of threads explaining the legalities of making compositions. Search or "MSER" and all will be divulged.

Edited by Andrew, 06 February 2007 - 09:59 PM.

[BrightStar]

Hi Jonny, I suppose that the answer is that all your chems are perfectly legal if you store them safely. This shouldn't be too much of a problem for you this stage, but as your pyro inventory grows it will be important and does require a bit of investment.

I suggest you start off by splitting your storage into four separate divisions - fuels, oxidisers, metals and additives and keep them well separated. Large 10 litre plastic food storage boxes work well and are reasonably airtight. Label everything! Any flammable liquids should be in a leak proof metal box as a 'fire safe' - I converted a cheap Rymans filing box.

For visco and ignition supplies, a metal army surplus ammo box is airtight, fireproof and often comes with the correct 1.4S sticker . Don't store mixed comp's if you can avoid it, but if you must temporarily for 'works in progress', a wood-lined metal ammo box (kept closed) should minimise the chance of a small accident becoming a big one, or at least give you the chance to run away...

Hope this helps! Stay green...

Edited by BrightStar, 07 February 2007 - 02:14 PM.

[Jonny2hats]

Thanks guys that should put my paranoid brother at ease, also i have them stored in two 3mm steel safes in seperate boxes think that should be ok.