20 replies to this topic

[Arthur Brown]

Would anyone like:

the BECTU film and TV explosive SFX course -about £500 for 4 days inc accom in somerset. Needs 10 to get a course for just us!

BPA 1 & 2

I think ADR driver could be interesting and useful and possibly a USP when trying to get pyro work with bigger companies.


Or what....

Edited by Arthur Brown, 22 September 2008 - 08:13 PM.

[phildunford]

Think £500 will be a bit rich for most of us...

I'm wondering how we can build on the training we have done and the links we have made...

A lot of us would like to be able to fire the odd Cat 4 show. We have a source of materials and an 'in' to insurance. You could transport a respectable amount of material in two or three cars without ADR.

We would also need storage (unless we went straight from supplier to show...)

What do you think of the idea of forming some sort of consortium that could be jointly insured? Would this get the cost 'per individual' down to something practical? (I certainly can't afford £1000 + to fire the odd show) That way, any group of two or three of us from a particular geographic area might be able to put on shows. Any thoughts anyone??

[Arthur Brown]

As Steve the trainer said trade access to cat 4 depends on training, storage, experience and insurance.

If "we" individually or collectively want cat4 supplies then there must be storage and insurance. the training course -assuming we all passed, satisfies the training need and then there is the experience requirement. Recently I have assisted at several logged cat 3 and cat 4 shows, but has everyone else logged some real experience. As a career start it's going to be slight experience, but we all need to start somewhere.

The insurance quote I had a couple of years ago was for a set value of turnover,

With a home area range from London to Hull to Somerset it would be hard to find one store location that would satisfy all of us for nearness. I have two possible sites but finding one near to home in London proves more difficult.

[digger]

Think £500 will be a bit rich for most of us...

I'm wondering how we can build on the training we have done and the links we have made...

A lot of us would like to be able to fire the odd Cat 4 show. We have a source of materials and an 'in' to insurance. You could transport a respectable amount of material in two or three cars without ADR.

We would also need storage (unless we went straight from supplier to show...)

What do you think of the idea of forming some sort of consortium that could be jointly insured? Would this get the cost 'per individual' down to something practical? (I certainly can't afford £1000 + to fire the odd show) That way, any group of two or three of us from a particular geographic area might be able to put on shows. Any thoughts anyone??

Well I am certainly up for it. I have a suitable site for storage as far as I am aware. If there are a few others who wish to form a company to get joint insurance I am prepared to pay for the storage site and buildings required. As an aside I will definitely be doing an ADR course so movement of supplies should not be a problem and it should make allot of 1.3 within reach.

All of those that went on the course know where I am so if anyone who thinks they are feasibly close enough and is interested let me know.

By the way I think that this should be discussed off forum once the contact details have been accumulated and circulated.

[Arthur Brown]

Future courses will be open to all that wish to PAY.

Sharing jobs with other competent people should be OFF forum.

[phildunford]

Future courses will be open to all that wish to PAY.

Think that goes without saying... Still think that given this is a hobby for most of us £500 is a lot of money. Different if you are going to make it your career.

"Sharing jobs with other competent people should be OFF forum"

Specific details and personal agreements must be confidential to those involved, but I think the forum IS the place to make suggestions and develop ideas.

Edited by phildunford, 23 September 2008 - 09:39 AM.

[Arthur Brown]

£500 for an exotic activity holiday inc accommodation isn't expensive! £500 for a specialist trade training course is incredibly cheap. However it all depends on what you really want of it.

[crystal palace fireworks]

The legislation of ADR training + the various explosive licenses to carry fireworks is difficult to understand or interpret.

Ive emailed the HSE & dept for transport for clarification on this issue,.......hopefully I will get back to you all soon!

I hope I am wrong, but I fear that new EU proposals on ADR licenses may affect us sooner than we expect,.........in my opinion I would hold back on applying for ADR training for the moment.

I agree with Phildunford in principle in that £500 is a lot of money to find considering the status of hobbyist pyrotechnics, but we need to be prudent in what courses we need to take as whole, for example: - an ADR course covering different modules (explosives/gas/fuel etc) would be a better option for those of us in lower paid jobs who want to do better for themselves compared to a SFX course or the like, (tanker drivers can earn around 25 to 40 K), in other words:- the more I earn in my new career day job, the more I can spend on my hobby (pyrotechnics) which in turn could lead many pyro hobbyists to finance full-time businesses in the pyrotechnics industry.

[phildunford]

As we discovered on the course, you can carry a significant weight of fireworks without an ADR licence as long as you comply with a few simple requirements.

Now I'm not saying you could do a huge show like this, but three cars could carry enough for a small wedding show/ scout show/ school show etc - which is just the kind of thing many of us get involved in. As I would not want to do such a show without at least a couple of helpers, this could be a practical proposition. You could of course put mortars and other space consuming hardware in another vehicle as there are no regs to worry about here (or maybe hire a van for this as you can presumably pack your mortars with a consignment of fireworks, as they do not constitute a hazard).

[Richard H]

You could of course put mortars and other space consuming hardware in another vehicle as there are no regs to worry about here (or maybe hire a van for this as you can presumably pack your mortars with a consignment of fireworks, as they do not constitute a hazard).

Provided of course that the mortars are not actually loaded

[Spyrotechnics]

I would certainly be interested in the BECTU SFX course

[crystal palace fireworks]

As we discovered on the course, you can carry a significant weight of fireworks without an ADR licence as long as you comply with a few simple requirements.

Now I'm not saying you could do a huge show like this, but three cars could carry enough for a small wedding show/ scout show/ school show etc - which is just the kind of thing many of us get involved in. As I would not want to do such a show without at least a couple of helpers, this could be a practical proposition. You could of course put mortars and other space consuming hardware in another vehicle as there are no regs to worry about here (or maybe hire a van for this as you can presumably pack your mortars with a consignment of fireworks, as they do not constitute a hazard).

Phil, what are the weight limits and requirements?

[maxman]

As far as I am aware a maximum of 500Kg of 1.4 or 50 Kilo of 1.3 can be carried without ADR. Of course if you're carrying any 1.3 then it's all 1.3 ! NEQ that is.

Edited by maxman, 24 September 2008 - 08:47 AM.

[digger]

Just to add to that or 50Kg of 1.2 or 50Kg of 1.1 with the same mixing rules.

This does not exempt you from carrying the correct documentation however.

Edited by digger, 24 September 2008 - 09:16 AM.

[phildunford]

Like Maxman and Digger say!

You must carry a fire extinguiser in the vehicle (2Kg Dry Powder), a document showing what weights and classes of explosives you are carrying, action in the event of an accident, where you are coming from and going to etc. You must also be 'aware' of the regulations. How you prove this I would not like to say, but I guess you should be able to talk reasonably about weights/ documentation etc to a VOSA or police officer that asks...