Static Electricity Sets Off BP ?

[Loyalist Dave]

From The Artilleryman magazine, 2010”¦

Extracted from a list of black powder accidents”¦.

October 1998: Nashville, Ga. An SCV commander received facial injuries and singed hair when powder exploded as he was making up blank charges. The victim was bracing a foil cartridge case with a 2-inch piece of PVC pipe and pouring powder from a plastic bag.

Static electricity was assumed to be the cause of the explosion as he poured the fourth charge. “Pouring” black powder in quantity is not recommended and plastic and glass should not be used.


I suspect that something else was amiss, and that the victim simply let the static electricity theory stand without divulging what may have been a silly violation of safety rules as the real reason?

OR...given the right circumstances, it DOES set off the BP....

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

assumed

Bingo! Nobody knows. Well documented, static elec is not hot enough to set off bp.

 

[garra]

If you can feel or see a static charge, the voltage is in the thousands of volts. The good news is that there is very little current. I make it a practice to use only metal items when dealing with black powder. I try to stay away from all plastics and steel preferring to use aluminum or brass. Styrofoam is a big generator of static, so really stay away from that material.
Some plastics have been treated to be ESD safe, they are usually black in color. You may be questioning the new packaging for Goex powder. I would think they now are using proper packaging.

 

[BrownBear]

Look one line up from your topic on the index page.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Two pieces of plastic won't make enough static to ignite black powder. But don't think for a minute that large doses of static won't ignite black powder. Lightning for instance is static electricity.

I read an account once of experiments at a powder maker as to the amount of static it took to ignite powder. A study done so they could avoid accidents. It was higher than most garden variety static, but something doable far short of Lightning. As I recall it may have been a German study.

Just the static build up of wind blowing through metal towers can under the right circumstances, generate enough static to kill people. Tesla experimented with "harvesting" static electricity from wind blowing through metal screens. One town in Switzerland powered their street lights with static gathered in a metal screen on top a mountain.

It is foolish to think static in it's many varying intensities, can not ignite black powder.

 

But don't think for a minute that large doses of static won't ignite black powder. Lightning for instance is static electricity.

Good advice. Avoid lightning when using black powder. :rotf:

 

[Rifleman1776]

If you can feel or see a static charge, the voltage is in the thousands of volts. The good news is that there is very little current. I make it a practice to use only metal items when dealing with black powder. I try to stay away from all plastics and steel preferring to use aluminum or brass. Styrofoam is a big generator of static, so really stay away from that material.
Some plastics have been treated to be ESD safe, they are usually black in color. You may be questioning the new packaging for Goex powder. I would think they now are using proper packaging.

At one time when I had my ml shop in the 1970's there was a shortage of bp. I had to buy in bulk to resell. It came in 25 lb. plastic lined steel kegs. Pouring out into small boxes was always a thrill. I could see the dust form the well-known magnetic arch on the top of the keg as I poured.
Wasn't too dangerous. Only blew up and kilt me a couple times. :wink:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Look one line up from your topic on the index page.

sorry Partner, you lost me. :idunno:

LD

 

[Scota4570]

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/sparks/sparks.html

 

[hanshi]

I think you're correct.

 

[Zonie]

Here's what was left out of the story,

"The severity and force of the resulting blast blew the commanders cigarette out of his mouth with it ending up a good 30 feet away."

And now, you know the rest of the story. :wink:

 

[ohio ramrod]

Static electricity will NOT set off granuals of black powder. But black powder dust will ignite just as sugar dust, flour dust, or grain dust ,or wood "flour". Which is why keeping dust down and grounding duct work is essential in any industry that produces dust! :hmm: :hmm:

 

[ZUG]

Well he probably forgot to mention the cigarette in his mouth at the time :shocked2: .

 

[necchi]

But black powder dust will ignite just as sugar dust, flour dust, or grain dust ,or wood "flour".

That's the first thing that came to mind when I read this too.
Pouring from a plastic bag,, into a plastic pipe,, could very easily put a large volume of fine dust in suspension.

 

[misher]

Even knowing it is safe,..I was still a little nervous when Goex changed to plastic containers.

 

[hanshi]

Only an idiot would smoke around black powder.

 

[Dewey]

Even knowing it is safe,..I was still a little nervous when Goex changed to plastic containers.

Less chance of a spark to plastic than metal, I would guess.

Still, I like the old metal cans, so I "recycle" my remaining metal ones (a 4F and a 3F) by refilling them from the plastic ones.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

One summer I worked at the Hershey Choc plant in PA, in the sugar mill, where they made confectionary sugar. The dust came down on everything and hung in the air like a fog. Even just breathing you could taste the sweetness. (No masks back then. There were major signs everywhere against smoking. he equipment was made of non-sparking material and even the light switches were covered and operated by push button through a covered case.

Then one night the union boss, who I hated immensely, walked in with a lit cigarette in his mouth. It was caught by the security guard at the plant surveillance office. Bells whistles, and alarms went off. The guy was escorted from the plant and fired. So just as Labor day came round and on my last day, I took a jar full of the dust from the base of the machine (would have been thrown away anyway) At camp that weekend, my buddy, who was convinced that sugar was not explosive, threw a handful up in the air and as it came down around him he flicked his lighter on. The massive flare up lasted about a half second. His hair, eyebrows and lashes were all singed. And he had minor burns to the face.

I have no doubt that black powder dust will ignite even easier.

 

[Jim C]

"The massive flare up lasted about a half second. His hair, eyebrows and lashes were all singed. And he had minor burns to the face."

:haha: ......
Has he ever been known to test the flammability of any other kinds of dust since then?

 

[Rick Boylan]

Just like we read about grain bin explosions every now and then. Dust from the grain will find an ignition source and BOOM. Many people have been killed by them.

There are videos on YouTube showing controlled dust explosions using everything from flour, sugar, etc.

Seems that pretty much anything in dust form can become dangerous under the right conditions.