Firework Purchasing Tips6316984
The 'standard' fireworks licence only permits a supplier to sell fireworks for a three week period before November 5th, a few days before New Year, Diwali and Chinese New Year.
If we deal with what to buy first, then the most important factor to look for is that the fireworks comply with British Standard BS7114. This number must be printed on the box or firework, and shows that the product complies with strict security requirements. If you do not see this number, then leave well alone. These fireworks should not even be offered for sale, but unfortunately non compliant fireworks do still slip through the net.
Fireworks are divided into four categories, only two of which truly concern us here. Category one is for such things as indoor fireworks, and category four is for professional display products, so most of what you see in the shops will be in categories two and three.
The main criteria for category two fireworks are that the fuse must burn for between 3 and 13 seconds, and it should be viewed from at least 5 metres away. For category three the fuse is 5 to 15 seconds, and the viewing distance 25 metres. There are also criteria for debris fallout locations, but these are the primary defining criteria. You have a tendency to get category two fireworks in the smaller display boxes, sold through mainstream suppliers' such as newsagents and supermarkets. The much more spectacular category three products are usually sold as person products, and are usually to be discovered in more specialist outlets.
One very simple, but fairly dependable tip for gauging the value and most likely performance of a firework is to really feel the weight of it. Usually speaking, the heavier a firework is, the much better display it will give you. This is by no indicates a hard and fast rule, but it is a extremely great rule of thumb.
Having been in the trade for 40 years now, I like to believe I have had a reasonable amount of feed back on the topic of DIY firework displays, and the thing that crops up time and again is that most displays last for too long, with as well many 'same again' fireworks! The issue could so effortlessly be solved with a bit of forward planning. Rather of the usual situation, exactly where six individuals all turn up with a small box of fireworks, very likely from a non specialist outlet, that fizzle and phutt their way through a lacklustre display, why not collect an agreed amount of money from each guest instead, and then go to a specialist retailer, and buy a couple of really spectacular fireworks. Everybody will then see a shorter, but far much better show.
We now have a normal customer base, which entrust their spending budget to us each year, and rely us to construct a memorable show for them. Initially it may be tough to persuade them to spend any where in between £40 and £140 on one firework, but almost without exception, once they have gone that route, they never look back!
