The Great Cheap, Safe Fireworks Hunt

pmhcfc

bery_451 wrote: »

i undestand that last year lidl fireworks were the best out of the supermarkets.

This year which supermarket does the best quality fireworks at the best deals?

Depends what you are looking for...None of the supermarkets will be selling
anything other than Cat2 (or 1.4 in old money) 'garden' fireworks. They'll mostly have a minimum safety
distance of 8 metres but some will still be 25 m. Morrisons are usually first off the mark - their shops
normally have their firework leaflets in the shop from about the 8th Oct, but they won't be
selling them until the 15th at the earliest.

If you just want something pretty and quiet then most supermarket selection boxes
will be much the same - but I still say you're better off going to a specialist if there's
one in your area.

Just remember that very few (if any at all) staff members at supermarkets will know anything
at all about the fireworks they are selling. If you want any oomph or guts if your fireworks then forget Morrisons et all.

waltzing

pmhcfc wrote: »

Tell me - what do you mean 1.3 isn't for the general public ? Your wires are a little crossed if you believe that. If you've got a 25m firing zone then there's nothing wrong at all with having 1.3 (old or new spec) for your garden display...

Well mate, you can only store 1.3G for THREE DAYS without the licence or you are breaking the law. And you need to store it at the place you are using it at.

So really the general public probably don't have a storage licence , so unless you buy your fireworks really close to your show then you are breaking the law by storing them buddy.

you can but it whenever you like but you break the law by storing it for 4 or more days.

waltzing

pmhcfc wrote: »

Just remember that very few (if any at all) staff members at supermarkets will know anything
at all about the fireworks they are selling.

has to be said here that lots of fireworks shops dont either. Many of them just type whatever it says in the catalogue for a description, or read it off of the back of them. many fireworks shops place orders too before they know what the fireworks do so they might get a rubbish fireworks that they have bought already and need to sell anyway. Videos they might show you are the same thing just sent from the manufacturer or could be old videos.

some people might know what they sell but most dont.

bery_451

pmhcfc wrote: »

Depends what you are looking for...None of the supermarkets will be selling
anything other than Cat2 (or 1.4 in old money) 'garden' fireworks. They'll mostly have a minimum safety
distance of 8 metres but some will still be 25 m. Morrisons are usually first off the mark - their shops
normally have their firework leaflets in the shop from about the 8th Oct, but they won't be
selling them until the 15th at the earliest.

If you just want something pretty and quiet then most supermarket selection boxes
will be much the same - but I still say you're better off going to a specialist if there's
one in your area.

Just remember that very few (if any at all) staff members at supermarkets will know anything
at all about the fireworks they are selling. If you want any oomph or guts if your fireworks then forget Morrisons et all.

so morrisons do the best fireworks out of all the supermarkets this year?

what do you mean cat 2, 1.4 etc. The higher the better?

so fireworks with 25m mark are the best ones?

Dogz111

I think getting wrapped up in the whole 1.3 vs 1.4 debate is confusing for the consumer. To be honest most consumers will purchase cat 3 fireworks which have a 25m distance. I'll bet all the tea in China that 90% of customers don't adhere to the 25m distance, which leaves them in a difficult position should someone get injured etc. There are plenty of 1.4 Cat 3 fireworks which are brilliant. There are also some quite good Cat 2 stuff (5m distance) which is great such as Brother crazy clock or Kimbolton 16 shot barrages or jumping jelly beans, gold selection box etc. It really depends what you are after. Also some fireworks which should be 1.3 are classified as 1.4 due to the way they are packaged. Take absolutes SFX or King cobra rockets, as they are pyromeshed.

I will agree that supermarket products are built to a price and are not as good say Brothers, Absolute, Kimbolton products for example. At the end of the day you get what you pay for. If you want proper advice about what is suitable for your circumstances / budget and exactly what effects a firework has then a specialist shop is the way. You really want to find one that sells firework all year round as some of the ones which pop up before bonfirenight are just after making a quick buck.

pmhcfc

waltzing wrote: »

Well mate, you can only store 1.3G for THREE DAYS without the licence or you are breaking the law. And you need to store it at the place you are using it at.

So really the general public probably don't have a storage licence , so unless you buy your fireworks really close to your show then you are breaking the law by storing them buddy.

you can but it whenever you like but you break the law by storing it for 4 or more days.

Yeah - those October door to door visits by the police when they raid everyone's houses looking for 1.3 fireworks are a real bummer.

And I guess you've never driven 5 mph over the speed limit before...that's breaking the law too.

has to be said here that lots of fireworks shops dont either. << That's an insult to the year round firework suppliers. Might be true for the 'quick buck' types, who lease a place for a month, but you really don't know your stuff if you're accusing many respected people of not knowing what they are talking about.

pmhcfc

bery_451 wrote: »

so morrisons do the best fireworks out of all the supermarkets this year?

what do you mean cat 2, 1.4 etc. The higher the better?

so fireworks with 25m mark are the best ones?

As has been said, it depends what you're willing to pay. Ordinarily, the bigger the tube sizes, the bigger the firework. Those which require a 25m safety distance usually do more than just spit out sparks and pretty colours.

Supermarkets will only be selling cat 2 fireworks (1.4)...The bigger fireworks still available to the general public are Cat 3 (1.3) and the display one's (not available to the public to buy) are Cat 4.

Most supermarket's fireworks will be much the same sort of thing in general. Lidl's range is very limited and Asda's has a reputation for being poor at the best of times.

If you're adamant that you're going to buy from a supermarket then it's probably a flip of the coin re value for money. They'll all be doing Bogof in one form or another,

I'll say again - Go to an all-year round supplier - you'll get a lot more for your money in terms of entertainment value.

Dan2310

Hi!

Can't wait for general fireworks to go on sale this year!

Aldi and Lidl normally have their fireworks the Monday after the 15th, this year 19th I persume.

Anyone have any idea what brand (if any atall) B&M Bargins will be stocking this year, seeing as the great Men Shun have gone bust?

I look forword to collecting this years leaflets

Dogz111

pmhcfc wrote: »

Supermarkets will only be selling cat 2 fireworks (1.4)...The bigger fireworks still available to the general public are Cat 3 (1.3) and the display one's (not available to the public to buy) are Cat 4.

To try and remove confusion:

Cat 2 = 5m distance or 8m in some circumstances and will all be 1.4G
Cat 3 = 25m distance. Both 1.4G and 1.3G fit into this catagory. Items become 1.3G based on the amount of flash power in the item. Flash powder allows manufacturers to create the large breaks for each tube fired.

Supermarkets will sell both Cat 2 and Cat 3 but all will be 1.4G due to storage regs

waltzing

pmhcfc wrote: »

Yeah - those October door to door visits by the police when they raid everyone's houses looking for 1.3 fireworks are a real bummer.

And I guess you've never driven 5 mph over the speed limit before...that's breaking the law too.

Look, if people want to BREAK THE LAW by storing fireworks illegally, thats their choice. Penalties can be quite serious. Police can and do raid homes- many reports in the press around firework season.

pmhcfc wrote: »

has to be said here that lots of fireworks shops dont either. << That's an insult to the year round firework suppliers. Might be true for the 'quick buck' types, who lease a place for a month, but you really don't know your stuff if you're accusing many respected people of not knowing what they are talking about.

All year round firework sellers like to put across an image that they are experts, really know their stuff, can offer great deals, "will look after you" and all that. However, they are a business like any other, and are motivated by profit like any other. Some of them can offer good advice, others just buy in fireworks and sell them as a business. "Well respected" fireworks shop are trying to make money like any other business- this thread I think is about where the consumer can get the best deals. The fact that someone sells fireworks all year does not necessarily mean their products are better or cheaper.