This is a very popular product and so it probable applies to a lot of people here. I am posting this same information to Dockside Chat and Boat Topics. Please share it with ALL of your boating buddies.<br /><br />--------<br /><br />Log News Service - The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a safety-alert warning that some flare guns manufactured by Olin have malfunctioned. <br /> <br />The alert warns that a defective opening mechanism in some 12-gauge plastic flare guns manufactured by Olin prior to 2000 may not open wide enough to accept a flare cartridge.<br /> <br />We have found more than a dozen defective flare guns, said Rick Gipe, an engineer in the Coast Guards product-assurance division in Washington.<br /> <br />Gipe said that if a defective flare gun is forced open wide enough to accept a flare cartridge, a spring may break, and the gun will not close properly.<br /> <br />Guns with a modification to correct the possible problem are marked with U.S. Coast Guard approval code 160 028//12/1.<br /> <br />Boaters with flare guns should check the operation of the opening mechanism now and at the start of each boating season, Gipe said.<br /> <br />If the breech will not open wide enough to accept a cartridge, the gun should be sent back for a replacement.<br /><br />The defective flare guns manufactured by Olin should not be sent for replacement to Olin. Rather, they should be sent to Orion Safety Products, Marine Division, 3157N. 500W, Peru, IN 46970. The Marine Divisions toll-free number is (800) 851-5260. Orion Safety Products bought Olins flare division.<br /> <br />The Coast Guard Auxiliary brought the defect to the Coast Guards attention, Gipe said.
