Pyro Reliability?

[greg]

This weekend, I was made aware that a thermobaric failed to light, at a critical part of a game.

 

This got me wondering; how often, do various disposable pyros, fail to perform.

 

I had a batch of crow scares a few years back & about 50% of them were duff. No probs, as they were cheap as chips.

 

 

So, how much do you pay for disposable pyro?

 

How reliable is it? Does it always light first time, have the same fuse time & a consistent detonation?

 

Who sell s the good stuff?

 

& is there such a thing as a 100% reliable pyro?

 

 

Greg.

[Pyrodex]

ive found mk5 thunderflashes can be a bit hit or miss sometimes, i'd say 10% i have to light with a lighter cos the strikers go a bit "sulky", sometimes they give more of a wet fart than a bang too..

im a fan of ring pull pea grenades from tlsfx.. they seem to be the most reliable in my experience.

[madwelshman]

well, I run a paintball site (hisss boooo!) and sell Enola Gaye Mk 5's, 60sec smokes and thier paint grenades...

 

Smokes, 15% returns, wicks fail on them

Paint grens 10% returns, customers sit on them, or crush them, and then the paint gets the pyro wet

Mk 5's the poncy little strike plate on the top falls off! some dont even make it out of the shop!

 

That coupled with a wet day, can end up with 60-70% failiures!

 

Brings a new deffinition to "disposable"

[galactica]

Those long green mk5s....absolutely hopeless. 90% fail for me, but i've usually taken the lot back by the time 3 have failed to light.

 

All recent Spectrum pyro - fabulous. If you can get them. Pre-2008 it was less good.

 

TLSFX - Very reliable, some wobbles with the new expensive Gen 3 whereby they'd go off way too early. Ring pull nades great and the new thermobarics are good.

 

Enola Gaye - smokes pretty rubbish, they're all I have experience of. Of maybe 5 or 6 i've ever bought, 3 failed to light.

[madwelshman]

prob mainly seems to be the wick tip, its like a safety match, either works, or breaks up when you strike it, then the bloody things knackered! that or the strike plate gets wet/falls off, again, screwed!

 

[tome]

I've pretty much used TLSFX thermobarics exclusively for the last 6 months (approx 50 grenades used) and the only time they've failed was when they sat in a shallow puddle overnight. When they are dry they're flawless, the large striking surface on the cap and the broad striking tip of the wick makes them easy to light. I'd say the delay is consistent enough that I haven't thought any were long enough or short enough to annoy.

 

On a side note, i've seem teammates use the TLSFX ring pulls and being very happy with them. They're also pretty sturdy for a pea grenade. Just gotta watch for the sparks shooting out the top when pulling the ring!

[Samm]

Most of people's problems with the current generations of popular brand pyros are down to improper storage, be that in the box or in a pouch. You wouldn't keep fireworks anywhere damp, but people take more care because they're bloody expensive

 

Disposables will never be 100% skirmish proof because of the cost margin in the way they're manufacturered, the best thing people can do is make sure you keep them in a dry place during storage and when ingame keep them wrapped in clingfilm in a pocket that isn't going to be sat on!

 

As for my experience, recent Spectrums are sturdy enough. Only had 1 failure out of 20 on the Mk5's where the fuse head fell off.

[Silent_Assassin]

I've had a much better result with Spectrum pyros over anyother make. Paul's been suppling my site for the last 2 years and the total amount of returned pyros has dropped considerably, infact I'm also going to be using his pyros for my whole team.

 

Josh

[hotelkilo]

enola gaye - the clue is in the name..

 

joking aside i remember EG pyro as being pretty unreliable or at least much more vulnerable to airsofters maltreatment and damp conditions. smokes that often failed to smoke or sometimes they would go off so quickly it would all be in a huge WOOSH that could really burns large holes in stuff(and flesh) , oh and mk5's that quite often would not go bang as well. lots of costly memories with EG pyro (ymmv)

 

TLSFX duel vent smokes that i use now are pretty reliable ignition wise, i'd say ive had less than 10% not create smoke when i wanted, and the smoke created is pretty consistant unit to unit. also the TLSFX strike ball greandes i've used have been 100% reliable for ignition and bang and nearly 100% crush resistant. thats out of about 30, with me using them in chest pouches.

 

i dont think that any of the disposable pyros we use are ever going to be 100% reliable over a large sample, however in my experiance..

 

TLFSX = happy pyromanic

[Rob15]

Over the years I think I've only ever had one TLSFX ball grenade not got off on me (earlier in the year), possibly one thermobaric although it might have been a friends and not mine, one dangerzone smoke about 4 years ago which didn't strike initally, and then when it did part of the striker burst off and burnt through my gloves and thats about it.

 

The only times I've had problems with the strikers is with the dangerzone smoke (It was a very damp cold day) and when it has been raining or a very damp morning and the strikers on the caps have got damp which has always been sorted by getting a dry striker out of my pocket

[tangman]

I've had a 100% success rate with Spectrum (all MK5's bar 2 Smokes). Always strike first time and always have a consistent volume.

 

No problems with Strike caps falling off either (the first batch I got back in 2006 were all friction fit caps). The 2nd batch I got in 2007 had a strip of tape for extra security (for those ones I would unfold a small part of the tape and then fold it back on itself so that I had a easy access pull tab).

 

Cost wise was £1-£1.50 for each one as we would order in bulk (more than 200 at a time)

 

I've had around a 80% success rate with TLSFX (mostly MK5's and a small amount of the "GM" Pea Grenades). Biggest problem is failure to strike (normally the fuse/wick goes).

 

Strike caps also have a tendency to fall off with the slightest nudge so I now tape them down.

 

Cost wise was also £1-£1.50 due to high quantities.

[Tom Andrews]

I buy large amounts from TLSFX and get very few returns. At the moment only two friction ball grenades are awaiting credit.

 

I recently collected a reasonably large amount version one, version two grenades and smoke grenades from Enola Gaye, five out of six version one (pineappleshaped) grenades failed to work, three out of five version 2 (canister shaped) grenades failed, no complaints yet about the smokes.

 

I would buy from Spectrum, however its now two years since I paid for and failed to receive a delivery from them, despite several promises from Paul and repeated emails from me.

 

Pity, because previous supplies had been excellent.

[creepingfear]

I'd take him to court then if I were you. If he has had your money for so long and still not provided the goods then that can only be a damning indictment of his character, regardless of how good his stuff is.

[Grantfallen]

So you're in game,

Just struck the fuse on your ball grenade, you can hear the fizzle.

You stick your arm around the door to throw it in the room, wait

and nothing.

 

It sucks when that happens.

 

I've had no real problems with TLSFX, but the Mk 5's do seem to be a bit troublesome.

 

Like everything in airsoft you don't expect wonders and have to realise that things do and will go wrong.

 

 

[Tom Andrews]

I'd take him to court then if I were you. If he has had your money for so long and still not provided the goods then that can only be a damning indictment of his character, regardless of how good his stuff is.

 

 

When it comes to legal matters over (relatively) small amounts nobody really wins. Even if I got all costs paid, its still time wasted that could be better employed.

 

Paul never was too hot on delivery although the quality of the goods was excellent. I'd rather send letters and emails until I get a response, when I rang he was always apologetic, but despite various promises, nothing arrived.

[Sonic01]

This weekend, I was made aware that a thermobaric failed to light, at a critical part of a game.

 

This got me wondering; how often, do various disposable pyros, fail to perform.

 

I had a batch of crow scares a few years back & about 50% of them were duff. No probs, as they were cheap as chips.

 

 

So, how much do you pay for disposable pyro?

 

How reliable is it? Does it always light first time, have the same fuse time & a consistent detonation?

 

Who sell s the good stuff?

 

& is there such a thing as a 100% reliable pyro?

 

 

Greg.

 

hi greg, if your referring to me it wasnt a thermobaric it was a MK5! all the thermobarics worked perfectly.

 

in fact the reason i had a thermobaric cap in my hand was because i started using it to strike the mk5's because that worked better than using the mk5's own caps!

 

ok everyone! cover me while i run at the enemy with a useless stick in my hand!

 

my death was in vain....

[greg]

hi greg, if your referring to me it wasnt a thermobaric it was a MK5! all the thermobarics worked perfectly.

 

in fact the reason i had a thermobaric cap in my hand was because i started using it to strike the mk5's because that worked better than using the mk5's own caps!

Ah, thankyou for clarifying that.

 

 

Greg.

[shaunf]

I tried making my own smokes (with my parents permission). i made twenty of them, only one failed

[L473ncy]

Well my team actually makes our own pyro..... (Private field) We can't use it on most public fields though and with other private fields we have to ask permission (and prove that it's safe).

 

We pretty much get some cardboard tubes pack in dried snowpeas (for the area effect), and a "proprietary" blend of other stuff into it.

 

When playing we just light the wick and throw it. I'd say it has about 90% reliability from what I've observed.

[greg]

I tried making my own smokes (with my parents permission). i made twenty of them, only one failed

Please be aware that even with your parents permission, the unlicensed manufacture of pyrotechnics in the UK, is a criminal offense.

 

As such, posts about home manufacture, will possibly be deleted, or get the thread closed.

 

 

Greg.

[shaunf]

i wouldnt use them outside of my parents land, and definatly not for airsoft. Before i made them i did alot of research, including asking my uncle who is a policeman and i found that you can make smokes and gun powder (not going to try that!) infact we made some in chemistry club at school as well. You do not need a license if you only make patches of less than 100g. I understand your concerns, but i made them once out of intrest and we took many safty mesures.

1) we wet all of the grass under and around the smoke

2) I had a bucket of sand

3) My dad had a fire extinguisher

My dad and I beleive that these were enough saftey mesures. My dad is a health and saftey consultant (boo hiss!). If you disagree, feel free to pm me.

 

 

Sources: this documents what you can and cant make without a licence: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2005/20051082.htm#9

Section 3 is what applies in this case

[greg]

i wouldnt use them outside of my parents land, and definatly not for airsoft. Before i made them i did alot of research, including asking my uncle who is a policeman and i found that you can make smokes and gun powder (not going to try that!) infact we made some in chemistry club at school as well. You do not need a license if you only make patches of less than 100g. I understand your concerns, but i made them once out of intrest and we took many safty mesures.

1) we wet all of the grass under and around the smoke

2) I had a bucket of sand

3) My dad had a fire extinguisher

My dad and I beleive that these were enough saftey mesures. My dad is a health and saftey consultant (boo hiss!). If you disagree, feel free to pm me.

 

 

Sources: this documents what you can and cant make without a licence: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2005/20051082.htm#9

Section 3 is what applies in this case

How very responsible of you, well done.

 

 

Greg.

[shaunf]

Thank you