STORING POWDER

[jtmattison]

i guess that means my 10 lbs of 3f will come in a bag.

aint that hoot. :cursing:

It should come in cans. I don't know who sells it in bulk bags.

HD

 

[Birddog6]

Some of the cheap powder comes in bags because it is brought into the US in bulk as fireworks lifting powder & rebagged or put in plastic bottles & sold as gun powder.

 

[MikeChapin]

My last purchase was 25 lbs of bulk GOEX 3F. It was $9.00 a pound as opposed to the $12 pound for it in cans. I had plenty of empty cans to put it into. I store mine in a cabinate in my workshop along with lead ingots and bulk patching materiel.

 

[roundball]

My understanding from Goex is that bulk purchases in plastic bags are for over the counter local pickup only...they can't ship bulk BP in plastic bags...has to be in some sort of container like a can, etc.

 

[Denny/Oh]

Some time ago the community I live in wanted to adopt the {complete} "International Fire Code".

If I remember correctly the amount of powder you could legally store was real low, like one pound.

I got through to them at the time and later they accepted and passed only parts of the code. So for now that part does not apply to me BUT if it would be brought up again it would only take two votes to accept the whole code.

If any firefighters or fire inspectors are on the forum maybe they could clear it up.

 

[Ken Rummer]

The research I did suggested black powder needs to be stored at less than 150 F. Cold temps don't cause any harm. I keep mine in an unheated shed in the back yard. It is in an insulated ice chest. My thinking was that due to the insulation, the highest powder temp in the summer would be closer to the average of the days high and low. This keeps the powder temp further away from a temp where deterioration will begin.

 

[sproulman]

so cold is no problem but a lot of heat is.

i was thinking of the shed too but it gets to 10 below in winter and about 80 degrees in shed in summer.

think this will be ok or and i better in my closet in bedroom.

 

[paulvallandigham]

As long as the powder is kept both dry and cool, you are okay. If you are going to store it in a shed, use an old cooler to put it in. That will keep the inside temperature cooler than the shed temperature in the summers. Even those cheap Styrofoam coolers sold at every Stop and Rob will insulate your powder better than just sitting them out in the air. And, you can put the powder in a couple of garbage bags to keep the powder dry in places of high humidity.

Having said that, I have a back bedroom that is largely unused, and I store my powder in a dark closet there. The house is Air-conditioned, so humidity and heat are never a problem.

 

[roundball]

Barring an asteroid smashing into my house, my decision that it was very safe to store BP on the floor of a closet is because there is no traffic to disturb it, there are no ignition sources anywhere near it, the house would have to completely burn down to get to it, and then still have to ignite it.

Given those conditions, I can only think of three scenarios, none of which pose a BP safety issue:

1)We're away from the house when it burns to the ground so we don't care if the BP ignites or not;

2)We're at the house but awake...or get woken up by smoke detectors...we get out before the house burns to the ground, and then don't care if the BP ignites or not;

3)We're asleep at the house, we don't wake up in time, we die from smoke inhalation and/or flames long before the house burns to the ground, and then can't care if the BP ignites or not;

By contrast, I’d always be worried about BP being stolen or tampered with if I had it stored out back somewhere...example, sooner or later, somebody would "pattern" me always locking up a shed or something and come back after dark with a pair of bolt cutters.

That's just my .02 cents...others mileage may vary of course

 

[Ridge]

The military ammo cans will vent & not explode. They are fine.

Exactly. The sides come apart, the can goes flat. It will not "shrapnel".

That's why the military stores ammo in them...

 

[agill]

The military ammo cans will vent & not explode. They are fine.

Exactly. The sides come apart, the can goes flat. It will not "shrapnel".

That's why the military stores ammo in them...

Good to know. I'll continue keeping powder in them.
Thanks, Allen

 

[rabjr]

I like the big 1500 round machinegun ammo cans chock full and buried at strategic points around the "back 40". :grin: :thumbsup:

 

[Poor Private]

I pick up one or two when every I go to a gun show. You can store all kinds of stuff in them like bandaids, Koolade, tools, motor oil. I store them inside where they are locked up. Ohh NOo I never store ammo in them. I don't have any guns or ammo or powder. :wink: :wink:

 

[ohio ramrod]

If you live in a rueal area and your septic system is less than thirty years old. You have the ideal storage place. Just vacum pack your cans in plastic to seal the can from moisture then lift the cement cover to the septic. There will be an area about 18 inches square between the top cover and the actual lid to the septic.With a cement "riser ". Powder encased in cement away from sparks and who would try to steal anything out of a septic tank?

 

[boondocker]

If you live in a rueal area and your septic system is less than thirty years old. You have the ideal storage place. Just vacum pack your cans in plastic to seal the can from moisture then lift the cement cover to the septic. There will be an area about 18 inches square between the top cover and the actual lid to the septic.With a cement "riser ". Powder encased in cement away from sparks and who would try to steal anything out of a septic tank?

Now that idea just stinks!! :rotf:

 

[sproulman]

:rotf:

 

[wetpowder]

If you live in a rueal area and your septic system is less than thirty years old. You have the ideal storage place. Just vacum pack your cans in plastic to seal the can from moisture then lift the cement cover to the septic. There will be an area about 18 inches square between the top cover and the actual lid to the septic.With a cement "riser ". Powder encased in cement away from sparks and who would try to steal anything out of a septic tank?

And hope it don't go crapboom

 

[MikeChapin]

My understanding from Goex is that bulk purchases in plastic bags are for over the counter local pickup only...they can't ship bulk BP in plastic bags...has to be in some sort of container like a can, etc.

Could not tell you. I had a friend of mine who lived in the same town as the distributer pick it up for me and bring it to a rendezvous we both attend. This distributer will deliver powder to a customer at a rendezvous or state meeting if he is going to be there. Saves on shipping and Hazmat fees.