Safe Black Powder Storage?

[LME]

A cool dry place is as good of a storage place as any. Flim, medicine, wine, and Black powder as well if you have the room in your freezer or refrigerater.

 

[VA Hawken]

My wine, bourbon, scotch, and powder are all together in the cool basement on separate shelves. Cigars are in a separate humidor.. Gotta take care of those valuables!

 

[LME]

My wine, bourbon, scotch, and powder are all together in the cool basement on separate shelves. Cigars are in a separate humidor.. Gotta take care of those valuables!

E-mail me your address and I will be right over! If you have an extra room to spare I will move right in! I am good company sometimes? LOL!

 

[VA Hawken]

I am good company sometimes? LOL!

Funny, my brother in law says the same thing... But he does let me hunt on his farm, so I'm a bit more lenient with him.

 

[mushka]

Interesting video.

 

[RC61]

A 10yr old thread? I have always said that the archives have valuable information.
"ammo can's" are designed to express pressure under extreme heat.
The hinge and closing action have a solder that will "loosen" when extreme heat is present,
,that, and having some knowledge of BP and nitro powder composition's reaction during rapid heat expansion/acceleration with-out an ignition source,, might help you understand why Nation's across the globe have actually used "ammo can's" to store ammunition and explosives for over 100yrs.
Air Tight, Water tight, with a built-in pressure relief system,,
With the endorsement of professionals,, behold the reality;

10 year old thread, yes. All that tech data you posted from the ammo cans applies to FMJ cartridges. Are there tests with black powder in them?

 

[RC61]

10 year old thread, yes. All that tech data you posted from the ammo cans applies to FMJ cartridges. Are there tests with black powder in them?

BTW... I was stationed on the USS New Jersey in the early 80's for 2 years. We had mixed bag powder bags that weighed 110 lbs each for the 16" battery. that were wrapped in canvas and stored in metal containers. But straight black powder maybe different. This subject I'd like to research further. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RC61]

Oh good, another thread on Black Powder Storage. There are countless already (see below for a partial usising the search function).
Hopefully it wont be followed by a Stuck Ball thread...

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...stic-vs-metal-containers.147961/#post-2085180https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/what-shortage.144661/post-2038657https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/powder-magazine.142560/post-2004765https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/powder-magazine.142560/post-2005119https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/empty-bp-containers.142031/post-1996342https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/powder-storage-19thc.139187/https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/storage-of-bp.144510/post-2035017https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/best-containers.138998/post-1947914https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/best-containers.138998/post-1948034https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/storage-of-bp.144510/post-2036066

Thanks for sharing

 

[flntlokr]

it sits right next to my other shooting supplies. black powder is not even close to as dangerous as people would make it out to be. when kept in a airtight container it will not hurt much unless yer place burns down... but even then BP is not really an explosive its highly flammable and will burn super hot for a very short period of time.

i like to compare black powder to gasoline (not an exact comparison of course). both can cause an explosion under the right conditions but in most cases they just burn hot and fast.

(theory) if any thing the plastic containers they come in now days are probably safer then the old metal ones. in a metal container the heat would build up untell the powder ignites inside and with no where to go it would cause the container to expode. the plastic on the other hand would melt quickly exposing the powder to the flames which would ignite and burn rather than explode.

-matt

Au contraire--when saying plastic is safer than the metal cans. A friend had his house burn down and 19 lbs of powder were on the floor of his gun room. Two cans burned off, probably because the solder melted out of the vertical seam, allowing flames to reach the powder. the other cans were intact, a few with the paint half burned off. I doubt that plastic containers would have fared as well. The firefighters didn't notice a thing when the powder burned off i.e. no serious explosion. As long as the burn-off isn't confined (as in a gun safe or strong box) it's not necessarily a big deal as far as explosions go.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

A pine boxed filled with cans, inside the center closet where its always cool and dry.
Smokeless powder is in the shop in a fire box according to the FD.
They both have different wants and needs.

 

[UndeadPoet]

My wine, bourbon, scotch, and powder are all together in the cool basement on separate shelves. Cigars are in a separate humidor.. Gotta take care of those valuables!

Sounds like a party!

 

[UndeadPoet]

FWIW, I follow the Bob McBride, Black Powder TV, method of storing my black powder in the original containers in a wooden box with a loose lid, inside another wooden chest with a unlatched lid. I believe the thinking here, is that the lack of compression allows it to not have as much explosive force (think a stick of dynamite on the surface of the ground, versus one snugly packed in a drilled hole or crevice. The snugged or “compressed” one has much greater force). I also store my percussion and musket caps separately.
‘Poet

 

[necchi]

Are there tests with black powder in them?

No, not specifically.
Tell ya what, You wanna know about Black Powder?
First, brush up a bit on your chemistry, then study the offerings found on-line by William A Knight, Bill Knight, aka; The Mad Monk.
He is a Global Expert that shares our passion.
Once you have read all of these; not just scanned, but read and understood.
https://archive.org/details/mad_monk_bp_files/mad monk files complete/Part_1/Then search for what happens when sulfur is heated. Not "ignited",, heated,,
There is a full explanation of the phenomena by Bill Knight in the archives of the ALR forum.
(that I'm not going to dig for)
Basically the heated sulfur changes,, that change turns black powder from BOOM to poof,,
Air tight = lack of flame, no ignition source.
Heated/sealed steel container = Oven. (not a blast furnace).

A snug fitting box made of 2x4's as already described is another excellent method. The box limits available air so the interior doesn't allow flame, while the thickness of the wood slows the heat exchange.

Basically all the concern of storing black powder and it's "explosion" in a fire is unfounded,, myth. Tragic Fires occur nation wide daily,,
Funny thing is, we never hear about the results of BP explosions causing issue, that's the fact.

So I've offered you the opportunity to educate yourself, I hope you take advantage of it.

 

[Redlemur60]

Cardboard oatmeal containers

 

[RC61]

No, not specifically.
Tell ya what, You wanna know about Black Powder?
First, brush up a bit on your chemistry, then study the offerings found on-line by William A Knight, Bill Knight, aka; The Mad Monk.
He is a Global Expert that shares our passion.
Once you have read all of these; not just scanned, but read and understood.
https://archive.org/details/mad_monk_bp_files/mad monk files complete/Part_1/Then search for what happens when sulfur is heated. Not "ignited",, heated,,
There is a full explanation of the phenomena by Bill Knight in the archives of the ALR forum.
(that I'm not going to dig for)
Basically the heated sulfur changes,, that change turns black powder from BOOM to poof,,
Air tight = lack of flame, no ignition source.
Heated/sealed steel container = Oven. (not a blast furnace).

A snug fitting box made of 2x4's as already described is another excellent method. The box limits available air so the interior doesn't allow flame, while the thickness of the wood slows the heat exchange.

Basically all the concern of storing black powder and it's "explosion" in a fire is unfounded,, myth. Tragic Fires occur nation wide daily,,
Funny thing is, we never hear about the results of BP explosions causing issue, that's the fact.

So I've offered you the opportunity to educate yourself, I hope you take advantage of it.

I've been shooting BP guns since 1992. I've always stored it in tight wooden crates in a cool dry place. But thanks for the link.

 

[Mad L]

I have a stuck ball in my powder storage cabinet - help!!

I have a stuck powder can in my powder magazine, do I need to start a new thread? Maybe trickle a little 4f in and shoot it out, or should I go the grease gun method??

 

[Boston Bill]

I keep mine in a black powder safe I purchased from the Maine Powder House. You have to line it yourself with plywood. Dixie Gun Works also sells one already lined, but they are MUCH more expensive.

What is the safe made out of?

 

[smoothshooter]

I have a stuck powder can in my powder magazine, do I need to start a new thread? Maybe trickle a little 4f in and shoot it out, or should I go the grease gun method??

That makes no sense.
Are you trying to say you have a can of powder jammed in a storage container, or that you have a load in the gun barrel that will not shoot out?

 

[smoothshooter]

Just wondering where you all keep your black powder? (not talking what's in your horns) I used to keep mine in the gun safe but I'm running out of room. Not to keen on just leaving it sitting on a shelf in my basement workshop. Maybe in Ammo boxes?

NO!!!
Ammo cans are the absolute worst place to store powder.
If you have a fire and the can gets hot enough there will be a really big explosion because the can is strong enough to let the pressure to build to a very high level before it lets go.
In a thin, somewhat flimsy box the box will start to come apart more easily and release the pressure sooner and be more of a “ WHOOSH “ instead of a big “ BOOM “.

 

[necchi]

NO!!!

Ok.