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?
Safe Black Powder Storage?
- Thread starter Lock Nut
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
I pondered that question myself years back, so I thought I'd ask the experts.
Went down to the local Fire house and spoke with the Chief.
(Big City 6 station type FireChief)
His answer suprised me, he said;
"We don't care." :shocked2:
Well, I said I keep the stuff in a G.I. Ammo box on the floor in a closet, he said;
"That's a good place and ya can't beat Ole`Reliable can ya,,"
See the stuff needs to get mighty damn hot to ignite without a flame, and flame needs oxygen,, and heat rises.
So it's a good condition/seal intact metal .50cal GI ammo box for me, they actually pack in there real nice.
Went down to the local Fire house and spoke with the Chief.
(Big City 6 station type FireChief)
His answer suprised me, he said;
"We don't care." :shocked2:
Well, I said I keep the stuff in a G.I. Ammo box on the floor in a closet, he said;
"That's a good place and ya can't beat Ole`Reliable can ya,,"
See the stuff needs to get mighty damn hot to ignite without a flame, and flame needs oxygen,, and heat rises.
So it's a good condition/seal intact metal .50cal GI ammo box for me, they actually pack in there real nice.
SgtSchutzen
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2008
- Messages
- 626
- Reaction score
- 6
Other than the powder in my horns, my cans of black powder sit on the same shelf in my shop as my smokeless powder and other reloading and shooting supplies.
Interior wall closet top shelf (spare bedroom) in the original shipping containers.
Have about 40 lbs in there now.
Have about 40 lbs in there now.
jamesthomas
70 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2009
- Messages
- 4,111
- Reaction score
- 14
In the bottom of my closet in the cardboard box it came in.
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
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
In a powder magazine out in one of the storage buildings. You can buy a magazine or make one from an old aluminum cooler. It should have 2 hasps with padlocks on it & a rubber/foam seal around the lid. The locks are just to keep curious kids out. I keep an old rug over mine so you cannot see what it is when you walk into the building.
Keith Lisle
Keith Lisle
Robert Egler
50 Cal.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2007
- Messages
- 1,319
- Reaction score
- 26
My black powder is stored in a home-made fire-insulated bunker. It is in a locked commercial fire safe, inserted in a vertical hole dug in the dirt in the lowest corner of the basement, so that the entire safe is buried and surrounded by dirt for additional insulation, except the very top of the lid. It is then covered by a 1-inch thick treated plywood cover.
I am pretty confident that the house could completely burn down and the powder will not get hot enough to ignite, especially if the fire department uses water on the fire (a reasonable assumption), since all the water will run downhill into the lowest corner of the basement where the safe is.
I am pretty confident that the house could completely burn down and the powder will not get hot enough to ignite, especially if the fire department uses water on the fire (a reasonable assumption), since all the water will run downhill into the lowest corner of the basement where the safe is.
ohio ramrod
75 Cal.
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2008
- Messages
- 7,473
- Reaction score
- 2,209
I keep mine part in an old refridgerater in the barn. And part in the chicken house. Both places are without electric so the danger of sparks is nonexistant. :hmm:
Seriously folks...
Black Powder IS an explosive. It was what caused the definition of the word "explosive"..., and it is why we have the classification of "high explosive" vs. "low explosive"..., as black powder deflagrates it "is a rapid high energy release combustion event, that propagates across the surface of the explosive material at subsonic speeds, driven by the transfer of heat". When a substance does the same thing but at supersonic speed, it's called "detonation" instead of deflagration, and the stubstance is then considered a "high explosive".
This is important to remember as many places where we live have legal restrictions on the storage of "explosive" material, and the wording of the law often does not make a distinction between "low" or "high" when using the word "explosive". So you have a fire and the fire fighters put it out, and none of your powder deflagrates, but the fire is near to where you store your powder and the fire fighters see the cans..., and the fire marshall then asks you to step over to his car as he has some paperwork for you to sign..., oh and by the way your BP is being seized as evidence... :shocked2:
If I had enough BP to exceed my local legal limit for storage in my residence, I'd make a concrete lined container in the ground in my back yard, built to naturally drain (my house is on a hill), and I'd store the BP containers inside a plastic bin with a sealing plastic lid, and cover the storage area with a plywood lid that I had painted with several coats of Rustoleum for water resistance. Then it's not in the house, and if some freakish scenario played out and fire actually reached the powder, the explosion would be directed straight up.
I'm not saying that I actually have a tiny, concrete, powder bunker in my back yard located in a flower bed with the lid concealed beneath the mulch.... only that if I needed such I would.
LD
Black Powder IS an explosive. It was what caused the definition of the word "explosive"..., and it is why we have the classification of "high explosive" vs. "low explosive"..., as black powder deflagrates it "is a rapid high energy release combustion event, that propagates across the surface of the explosive material at subsonic speeds, driven by the transfer of heat". When a substance does the same thing but at supersonic speed, it's called "detonation" instead of deflagration, and the stubstance is then considered a "high explosive".
This is important to remember as many places where we live have legal restrictions on the storage of "explosive" material, and the wording of the law often does not make a distinction between "low" or "high" when using the word "explosive". So you have a fire and the fire fighters put it out, and none of your powder deflagrates, but the fire is near to where you store your powder and the fire fighters see the cans..., and the fire marshall then asks you to step over to his car as he has some paperwork for you to sign..., oh and by the way your BP is being seized as evidence... :shocked2:
If I had enough BP to exceed my local legal limit for storage in my residence, I'd make a concrete lined container in the ground in my back yard, built to naturally drain (my house is on a hill), and I'd store the BP containers inside a plastic bin with a sealing plastic lid, and cover the storage area with a plywood lid that I had painted with several coats of Rustoleum for water resistance. Then it's not in the house, and if some freakish scenario played out and fire actually reached the powder, the explosion would be directed straight up.
I'm not saying that I actually have a tiny, concrete, powder bunker in my back yard located in a flower bed with the lid concealed beneath the mulch.... only that if I needed such I would.
LD
SgtSchutzen said:
Same here.
I borrowed this from another site.
2010 NFPA allows residential storage for personal use of:
10,000 Small arms primers; however, this is increased to 150,000 if in DOT 1.4S containers. (Typically cases of 5,000 primers are in DOT 1.4S containers -- they will have a "1.4S" label on the carton.)
20-Pounds of Black Powder may be kept if in the original containers and stored in 1-inch (nominal) thick wood boxes or cabinets.
20-Pounds of Smokeless propellants may be kept if in the original containers. This may be increased to 50-pounds it the containers are stored in 1-inch (nominal) thick wood boxes or cabinets.
NFPA does not put their publications on line. However the above summarizes what is in the Fire Codes that I have looked at on line which quote the NFPA.
See if you can look at your local Fire Codes and other laws regarding the storage of powder and primers and be guided by them.
2010 NFPA allows residential storage for personal use of:
10,000 Small arms primers; however, this is increased to 150,000 if in DOT 1.4S containers. (Typically cases of 5,000 primers are in DOT 1.4S containers -- they will have a "1.4S" label on the carton.)
20-Pounds of Black Powder may be kept if in the original containers and stored in 1-inch (nominal) thick wood boxes or cabinets.
20-Pounds of Smokeless propellants may be kept if in the original containers. This may be increased to 50-pounds it the containers are stored in 1-inch (nominal) thick wood boxes or cabinets.
NFPA does not put their publications on line. However the above summarizes what is in the Fire Codes that I have looked at on line which quote the NFPA.
See if you can look at your local Fire Codes and other laws regarding the storage of powder and primers and be guided by them.
Not good to keep in airtight ammo cans. Under pressure.
The idea is that the container should not allow the powder to build up pressure
if ignited by ,say, a spark. Wooden boxes with hinged lids or doors are usual.
If it cannot pressurize, it will burn and not explode.
if ignited by ,say, a spark. Wooden boxes with hinged lids or doors are usual.
If it cannot pressurize, it will burn and not explode.
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
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
I have a stuck ball in my powder storage cabinet - help!!
In my closet.
Dave Dworshak
40 Cal
Being a retired fireman, we have done many house burns. the last part of the houses to stand are the corners. I have my safe/storage away from the center of my house.
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;
