Safe powder storage

[pinemarten]

Hello all,

Just got 5lbs of goex fffg by mail order and am really excited to be using it in new flintlock...so much fun!!! but, wait...how do I safely store this in a 5,br cabin with my wife and 3 kids??!!!! Is this a bomb? Or did I watch too many westerns and the Apple dumpling gang too many times?

Daniel

 

[ord sgt]

I have used G.I. ammo cans for many years now. The powder is bought in 5 lb bags. Placed directly into the ammo cans and stored on a high shelf until transfered into 1 lb cans, which are also stored in G.I. ammo cans.
The G.I. ammo cans are airtight and easy to move when needed.

 

[Khufu]

I store up to 50 lbs in my home, I got an old army aluminum footlocker and removed the latch.
they make a greay powder magazine. I have dome this for nearly 40 years, and no boom yet

 

[c1skout]

An ammo can is okay if you don't latch it. You want gas to be able to easily escape if subjected to fire, if it can't you'll have a bomb when it lights off. Best bet is a wooden cabinet in a warm dry place.

 

[necchi]

op:

 

[don hepler]

I believe a latched ammo can with black powder, would be the equivalent to a bomb.

I have mine in a metal trunk, but I never latch the lid.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I store mine in the chicken house. No sparks possible since no electric.As long as it is kept dry and not exposed to high heat it is perfectly safe. Now paint thinners that "evaporate" are another thing. It always amazes me how many people worry about gun powder but not about paint thinners or gasoline. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

a latched ammo can with black powder, would be the equivalent to a bomb.

Yep. Bomb.
Unless confined in a strong container, bp will more likely just sorta "woosh" off into flame if ignited.
I have about 25 pounds of bp just stored on a shelf in my shop. If the house burns I expect it will just go up in a big "woosh" flame.

 

[Billnpatti]

Black powder that is contained will act like a bomb if it is in a fire. However, I don't know how to safely store black powder in such a way that it is protected from moisture and humidity. I suppose you could make an underground bunker but I live in town and do not have a place where I could make such a bunker. I have about 45 pounds right now and it is stored in 1 pound cans with screw top lids. All of the cans are stored in an original black powder cardboard box that I got from the powder magazine at Friendship when I bought my powder. I keep my box of powder cans in a storage shed away from my house. No flammables are stored in that shed, only tools and a bunch of Christmas decorations. No electricity goes to the shed. So, I expect no fires will plague my shed......at least I hope not, and I expect no danger from my stash of black powder. Is my way the best way? Probably not but it is the best I can do and I have had absolutely no problems so far. BTW, many cities, counties, etc, have laws governing how much black powder you can store and it is almost always less than the 50 pounds that is allowed by BATF. Also, I have been told that if you store black powder in your home (I don't know if there is a certain quantity), it will void your fire insurance with some insurance companies. Best check with your insurance company about this because if a fire happens at your home and they find black powder, you could be, as they say...S.O.L. Since I store my powder in a separate shed away from my house, this is not a problem for me. They may not pay for my shed but the house will be covered.

 

[Mort Scott]

i keep mine in my mother in laws room, under her bed.

 

[Boomerang]

i keep mine in my mother in laws room, under her bed.

:rotf: :thumbsup:

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have been told that if you store black powder in your home (I don't know if there is a certain quantity), it will void your fire insurance with some insurance companies. Best check with your insurance company about this because if a fire happens at your home and they find black powder, you could be, as they say...S.O.L.

If you store bp at home and it goes up in flame (or a "woosh") who is to know what you had in there?
And, if you report you have bp to your insurance company and they drop you, rotsaruck getting new insurance.
I really do not know how to make that inquiry without risking the insurance company cancelling your/my policy.

 

[Khufu]

if you store it within BATFE and state fire codes, your insurance is required to cover it.
if you have an licensed electriction repair an outlet and it shorts and burns, you are covered, if you repair it and it burns, since code requires an electriction to do those repairs, the insurance CAN deny the claim, but usually do not unless the work was obviously shody. if you store black powder in a latched ammo can, that is NOT within fire code in New Mexico.

 

[Jim Evans]

I heard that an old non working freezer or fridge was a good place to keep your powder.

 

[pwbsmokey]

What are the powder magazines that retailers use like? I know that they are locked metal boxes, but are they tightly sealed?

 

[azmntman]

I have been told that if you store black powder in your home (I don't know if there is a certain quantity), it will void your fire insurance with some insurance companies. Best check with your insurance company about this because if a fire happens at your home and they find black powder, you could be, as they say...S.O.L.

If you store bp at home and it goes up in flame (or a "woosh") who is to know what you had in there?
And, if you report you have bp to your insurance company and they drop you, rotsaruck getting new insurance.
I really do not know how to make that inquiry without risking the insurance company cancelling your/my policy.

I once tried to get a policy from a good CO and was denied cuz I had "too many guns" and a vicious dog (German shepherd). I guess they wold have black listed me all over if they knew the guns required an "explosive". Insurance Co's have some of the dumbest in the higher ranks of any industry IMHO

 

[jethro224]

What are the powder magazines that retailers use like? I know that they are locked metal boxes, but are they tightly sealed?

They're designed so that, if they blow up, they blow straight up. The top is the weakest link.

 

[Robert Egler]

Black powder that is contained will act like a bomb if it is in a fire. However, I don't know how to safely store black powder in such a way that it is protected from moisture and humidity. I suppose you could make an underground bunker but I live in town and do not have a place where I could make such a bunker.

I do in fact have an underground bunker. Dug into the floor of the basement, a 2h rated fire safe buried, so surrounded by ground on 5 sides, and covered with a 1/2 inch thick fire-retardant plywood cover. The safe is rated 2 hours, but surrounded by dirt it should be 'safe' for a lot longer for heat. I'd actually prefer to have it stored elsewhere, but don't really have any other place to do so.

 

[Rifleman1776]

What are the powder magazines that retailers use like? I know that they are locked metal boxes, but are they tightly sealed?

They are wood lined and that is covered with carpet and they are locked closed. So, I guess, that means "tightly". Keep in mind the design came from Fed. bureaucrats.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Black powder that is contained will act like a bomb if it is in a fire.

I believe how it is "contained" is important. I once actually tried to make a bomb from bp (ATF please ignore :shocked2: ). I had a large colony of yellow jackets in the ground in my yard. Many attempts to eliminate them failed. In desperation, I took a cardboard tube, filled with bp, wrapped with several layers of duct tape, put in a length of cannon fuse and pushed into the nest the lit the fuse and got back. All that happened was a "foosh" of several seconds. Not even big enough to call a "woosh". This was about six ounces of valuable bp. Wasted. The yellowjackets seemed unaffected. Maybe sealed in an iron pipe would do it. I don't know and ain't gonna try.