pjc123

Igniters for visco are usually inert -just a length of fine resistance wire so less of a transport hazard. For less than 500 I'd still be looking at buying them within your country, while the cost per device will be cheaper from China, the carriage, and customs costs could make it cheaper to buy from a large scale importer. (in trade with China a 40ft container full isn't excessive and gets the best unit price).

This all started because I couldn't find a place cheaper than 40+ cents or more per igniter.  Kinda ridiculous for a hobby.  Someone just posted back to me in another fireworks forum that I am on, and it turns out that there is at least one supplier in th US that offers discounts on larger orders, and actually charges a penny cheaper than I could get it in China for a 1000 piece order.  Actually it would cost me a little more because of shipping and taxes, but at that point the cost difference is in the noise.  As it turns out, half the cost of the 1000 piece order from China is the shipping; this is true from all three suppliers that I got quotes from.  The actual price per unit is only 14 cents, and that is what first caught my eye.  So yes, if I were to place even a multi 1000 piece order, one would think that the shipping price would start getting offset.  Anyway, for what good it is worth, I learned a lot today how this all works.

AFAIK most (80%?) of igniters are made in China. Whether they meed your needs depends on what you order. commercial fireworks are often instant lighting meaning that there is NO visco, so match head igniters are the  norm and work well. Igniters for cat3 are usually intended to ignite the visco and are a very different construction. - Still Chinese though. You must specify what you want carefully.

 

Importing from China is easy you pay, they send! there will be freight to pay, and maybe VAT as they cross UK customs, Freight insurance may be an issue.

Yes, I am starting to realize that the suppliers locally here (in the US) are just buying them from China and reselling them.  The igniters I was talking about are rebranded under names like Talon, or Falcon or Red Dragon.  They resemble a clothespin and have a piece of nichrome which spans across the jaws.  I am not sure they are all the same, but the Falcons for sure have nichrome that is wound around a spool, which conforms around the fuse.  You can actually pull the nichrome out of the Falcon and it will not break, because it just unwinds from the spool.  Pretty smart idea.

Thank You,

That was very helpful.