Storing Goex cans in outdoor shed

[ebiggs1]

If there was a fire, it would possibly cause the black powder to blow and ”¦

Unless the black powder is the cause of the fire, I don't see it as an issue. Why would it be any different than storing gasoline or any other “explosives” in the house or garage? :hmm:
This is a topic for Mr. Vallandigham.................hey Paul? :wink:

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Can anyone that has posted they have large amounts
in there house READ!It's called house fires.

A small amount well fine but if you don't get
what I'm saying Mmmmmmmmmmmm O well!

Fly :shake:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Sure. The difference between losing everything in one big pile of ash or losing everything in a spread out pile of ash.

I have 550 gallons of fuel oil in the basement, lots of cans of spray paint. Jugs of methanol airplane fuel. Six oil lamps in the living space (we lose power a lot). 10 gallons of gasoline & propane tanks in the attached garage with two cars there with fuel tanks. Spam cans of surplus ammo in the basement. Five powder horns, four flasks. This place is a Roman candle anyhow.

 

[paulvallandigham]

You are dealing with different issues. The plastic bag around the can(s) is to protect them from getting wet, and keeping moisture away from the cans.

Where you keep the powder in a shed depends on what weather conditions you need to confront. Hot and cold would indicate that you keep the powder in that rubber container on the floor, as heat rises, and of the two, Heat vs cold, Heat is the more likely to cause problems.

Unless that she has ventilation in the eaves, to allow air to circulate under that metal roof, it can get to be way hotter than any outside temperature. I want a vent on the north side, and then on the south side, so that the cooler air on the north side of any building can be drawn into the building while the hot air moves out of the southern vent. If the building can be shaded by trees during the hot summer months, better yet.

If you can find an old freezer or refrigerator, put that in a storage shed, with a hasp and lock, for security, and store your powder in the box. The double walls on any refrigerator or box freezer with the insulation material between the inner and outer walls, will keep the inner box temp. fairly even regardless what is going on outside. I have seen material survive a house fire as long as the doors were closed. The rubber insulation around the door might melt, but the stuff inside survives the fires. There are now spray can foam insulation available at your hardware store, that can be used to ADD insulation to an old refrigerator or freezer, too.

 

[russecv58]

i had two pounds that i stored in a military ammo can and forgot i had them. they were in there for little over 20 years. since the ammo cans have a rubber gasket on the lid, they're air/water tight. the powder cans looked as good as the day i put them in there, no rust what so ever. the powder itself fired with no problems.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Couple of things not raised so far.

Low temperature is not a problem for BP storage, but high temperature is. IIRC, the Mad Monk said that the sulfur will start to mobilize at something like 130F, and eventually will start reacting with the potassium nitrate.

There have been discussions of powder/ammo storage and safety on various lists and fora, and a point has been raised in some of these by a volunteer firefighter and by other emergency personnel (that I cannot recall specifically - some may have been firefighters, too). After an ordinary house fire, the contents of a freezer are generally intact, and often still frozen. They recommended using an old steel-bodied chest freezer for a magazine - many of them even have a lock built in.

Normal ammunition cooking off in a fire is a low-grade hazard - the case is usually moving faster than the "projectile", and neither has much penetration. Without the confinement of a chamber & barrel, even sealed & crimped military ball can't build up much pressure before the bullet releases.

To make it personal, I don't have a spare freezer, or a place to put one, so my modern ammo is secured in a store-room and my horns, flasks, etc. are with the rest of my shooting gear, but my "spare" powder is bagged with desiccant, and stored in a corner of our freezer, next to the remaining venison. When I need a can, I try to remember to get it out so that it has time to warm up to room temperature before I take it out of the bag.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Well I will say one last thing on storing large
amounts in your home.One reason it's hard to find
black powder in sporting good stores in for
insurance reasons.

So does that apply to you home?You do what you
think is fine & safe :shake:.

Fly :rotf:

 

[Valley Forge]

Thanks, Paul, et al. I've got this old stand up freezer in my basement, was there when I bought the house. Never used it for freezing, but i use the shelves for storing stuff. Anyway, I don't know how I can get that thing out of my basement and up the stairs, but if I can manage to do that, the freezer could go in the corner of the shed and I could use it, door closed and locked, as a place to store the powder and some of my ammo. Thanks for the ideas !

 

[larry wv]

I store on shelves and in a 20mm ammo can. No problem or difference either way. This is unheated in -20 to -30 and prob way over 100 in the summer. Larry Wv

 

[BrownBear]

My biggest concern is insurance. If those miserable adjusters can get a fingernail under anything, they'll rip your hide off. If any reg prohibits it or there's a tiny clause against it or that can be fingernailed against it in your policy, you're toast.

I have as much regard for insurance companies as I do for congressmen. Self-serving and trying to sell you a bill of goods about how they're working for YOU. Balderdash. I work to avoid giving insurance adjusters spots for fingernails, just like I watch lips on a congressman- If the lips are moving, they're lying.

 

[sc45-70]

I store mine in an unheated insulated shed, in a BATFE approved type 4 black powder storage container.
SC45-70

 

[hanshi]

I keep most of the cans in old military ammo boxes but also have three or four cans sitting on the shelf. Everything is kept in my basement gun shop room along with smokeless powders, flinters, etc. I still have a can of Dupont black (unopened) that I've had since the late 1960s and it's fine.

 

[Ken Rummer]

I looked into this same problem years ago. I found a reference that black powder is stable as long as it stays less than 160 F. I store mine in my shed in an insulated cooler. I used insulating material to fill the space between the powder cans and the walls of the cooler. This minimized the temperature swing the powder will see as the sun rises and sets. I set a thermometer on top of the cooler and it never vent over 110 on the warmest day here in western PA.

So.... Outdoor storage for me never got near the temperature where deterioration would start.

I don't worry about BP in my house.

 

[Rat Trapper]

i had two pounds that i stored in a military ammo can and forgot i had them. they were in there for little over 20 years. since the ammo cans have a rubber gasket on the lid, they're air/water tight. the powder cans looked as good as the day i put them in there, no rust what so ever. the powder itself fired with no problems.

I store my black powder in old GI ammo cans in an unheated outdoor shed. No problems even with the can that have been openned.