what neutralized gun powder?

[trigga]

i know that humidity and moisture will likely cause powder and primers to fail over time but what will neutralize gun powder almost instantly? detergent? baking soda? not that i want to but in case i needed for clean up or disposal. couldn't find a specific answer through web search.

 

[blarby]

Toilets.

Fire.

Gardens.

All work equally well.

 

[trigga]

what will neutralize gun powder almost instantly?

thanks for the comment but that wasn't quite the answer i was looking for.

as an example, if i spilled it on the rug and vacuumed most of it out, what can i use to neutralize what may be deep in the carpet. yes i understand it can be used as fertilizer and all but that was not the question.

 

[cfullgraf]

A more detailed question yields a more detailed answer.

I would think one of those rent-a-carpet-cleaners would do a good job of picking up kernels deep in the pile of the carpet.

 

[sauer1911]

How about a rug master rental from the local market? Get it wet and suck it up!
Throw the gunpowder dirty water in the grass and watch it bloom!

Be safe

 

[rcmodel]

+1

There is nothing you can put on your rug that will neutralize smokeless powder except oil, or water.

I'd probably pick water.

But on the other hand?
After I had vacuumed the rug, I would no longer worry about it at all.

But on the other other hand?
That's another reason I don't have shag carpet under my reloading bench!

rc

 

[Reinz]

I think RC is right about water.

Think about it- if you are you looking for a chemical to neutralize GP, then look at how it is made. It is chemical components compounded and the put into a DRYER to DRY. Thus, if you did find a chemical to neutralize the GP, you would need some liquid bonding agent if that chemical was not already liquid.

So- you may as well use water!

 

[jinxer3006]

if i spilled it on the rug and vacuumed most of it out

I would think the most dangerous part of having gunpowder in a rug would be the chance of it igniting in the vacuum cleaner, so if you already vacuumed it there would be no need to neutralize it.

 

[blarby]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh Much clearer now.

Vacuuming large amounts of powder can be a disaster if you dont have a very fine filter in your vacuum.

NEVER VACUUM PRINTER TONER WITHOUT A SPECIAL FILTER> EVER EVER EVER.

I'd recommend a steam cleaner. If you use vinegar as the "soap", it will rapidly break down anything organic left in the carpet- like granules of powder, or in my case, lots of fine flax seed.

 

[Salmoneye]

There is nothing you can put on your rug that will neutralize smokeless powder except oil, or water.

Oil, maybe...

Water?

Only when wet, no?

Pretty sure I remember reading that nitro-cellulose is just as volatile after it dries if wetted with water...It may clump etc., but pretty sure it will still ignite violently after drying...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=482779

 

[Potatohead]

After I had vacuumed the rug, I would no longer worry about it at all.

For real...your looking way to far into this.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

Won't powder still go boom after it drys?
I started off using a hand vac to pick up spills. I put a nylon hose over the end and left the vac run until I was over the trash can. Now I just use a $40 cyclone vac from WalMart and thus far, never have an issue. I empty it when I feel like there is enough uncompressed powder in it that there would be any real issue should there be ignition. "Enough" would be less than 10 grains or so.
Don't follow this process as there is no scientific basis behind my decision to do it this way. If I spill a large quantity, which has been only once and how I came up with the nylon over hand vac, then I'd revert to this method because I have no whole powder smaller that the whole in the nylon.

 

[loose noose]

I have indoor/outdoor carpeting in my garage where I do all my reloading, if I spill any smokeless gun powder on the carpet I've used my shop vac to vacuum it up, however I make sure the vacuum has a clean filter, and then put the powder on one of my desert bushes. I know your not supposed to use a vacuum to sweep up gun powder but I've been using it for years without any problem. Go ahead and correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[trigga]

i was hoping something like detergent would neutralize it, but again i think its such a small amount from the spill left that it wouldn't really matter. thanks for the input guys.

 

[jaguarxk120]

Alliant keeps a jar filled with water and Bullseye powder. About once a year they take a sample of the powder, dry it and then load a cartridge and shoot it.

The Bullseye gun powder is over 100 years old. The powder performs just like the current production powder.

 

[oneounceload]

But on the other hand?
After I had vacuumed the rug, I would no longer worry about it at all.

Yep, vac up what you want and light it up to start your BBQ

Alliant keeps a jar filled with water and Bullseye powder

My understanding was that it was Unique, but nonetheless, they pull a sample every year as mentioned, and it works just fine

One way to remedy your situation would be to either get : an area rug you can take outside and shake/rinse off, or get a hard plastic office chair mat and place it under you can easily vac it up

 

[gamestalker]

Water will most certainly render powder instantly inactive. I spilled a good 1/2 lb. in my shag carpet once, what a mess. I cleaned it up as good as I could by hand using a wet rag, and then finished it off with a carpet shampooer.

GS

 

[gamestalker]

So powder will still function once it has dried completely, hmm. I'm going to give that a try with some Longshot and 38 spcl..

GS

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, it will.
Don't waste your time proving it.

So will primer compound.
It is a wet paste when they squeeze it in the primer like toothpaste.
Then it is dried afterward.

Smokeless powder is soluble in either or acetone solvent, and that is what it is wetted / dissolved with during the manufacturing process.

But in simple terms, cellulose fiber is 'nitrated in nitric acid, the boiled in water several times to get all the remaining acid out of it.
Then pressed to get the water out of it.
Then dissolved in an ether/alcohol bath to further dry it and make it into a 'plastic' paste.

Then it is extruded into pellets, granules, or balls, and the remaining solvents dried out of it.

So water is no longer a solvent that will melt or dissolve the resulting nitro-cellulose powder.
All water will do is help keep it from burning from a spark, etc.

My earlier reference to water, was in relation to using a carpet cleaner to wash & suck it out of the OP's rug. It is safer wet then dry.

And water is preferable to oil on your rug!

rc

 

[Mohave-Tec]

Extruded/extrusion is usually a wet process, less molten products, come to think of it.

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, but smokeless powder is extruded wet with ether/alcohol solvents.
Not water.

rc

 

[IM391]

I believe mineral spirits or kerosene will do the job nicely, however, I like a match on the 4 of July or the lawn in your backyard. High nitrogen in a garden will produce a lot of leaf but no fruit.

 

[jinxer3006]

I think I'd rather have a rug with a few grains if gun powder in it than one soaked in kerosene or mineral spirits.