Keeping your powder dry.

I keep my powder in 2 places, 1 bottle on my work station and the rest in the garage in 5 gallon HD bucket. They have rubber gasket on the lid

I keep my entire house dry. Does that count?
(Installing second A/C unit directly in new loading room and man stuff storage facility, this spring. Right now, Brrrr!)
(That’s not a smile, that’s my teeth chattering…)

I meant, “No, I do not at this time”.

I don’t, but mine is stored in the living room where I do my loading.

Mine is kept in the original containers on a shelf in an insulated garage. I don’t recall ever seeing any condensation inside of them.

Stay safe.

I keep my powder in the original containers and in my house. Call me crazy?

Mine is stored in the living space where I reside. Good enough temperature stability and humidity control for me and my reloading supplies.

My powder is stored in some climate controlled area. Powder that has been opened and "in use" is stored in my reloading room that is part of the house HVAC system.

Bulk storage of powder is in a detached shop that I keep climate controlled with its own HVAC system. Besides keeping my powder dry, I keep the humidity at a level that prevents rust forming on my tools.

My 1" wood powder magazine is in a damp basement. Only issue was old IMR metal powder cans containing 4198 & 4895. Takes over 10 years to form rust in the can or the powder goes bad?


*Edit- Move powder to plastic before any signs of deterioration.
The new plastic containers should solve any problems. Any HDPE marked bottle in black should be ok to use. HDPE is on the bottom of some Hodgdon smokeless bottles i have. Black is to keep the sun off the powder. Transfer powder from metal cans to HDPE plastic.


The 2 other cans of IMR 4895 had no issues. But may have been a different lot number? Age?

243winxb, I'd be real leery moving powder from a can with that much corrosion into a new plastic bottle.

The powder may well continue to deteriorate in its new quarters and could possibly start a fire.

Check it out carefully for proper appearance and smell before you repackage it into HDPE containers and put it back into storage.

Swampman said:

243winxb, I'd be real leery moving powder from a can with that much corrosion into a new plastic bottle.

The powder may well continue to deteriorate in its new quarters and could possibly start a fire.

Check it out carefully for proper appearance and smell before you repackage it into HDPE containers and put it back into storage.

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Ya, that is one corroded can!

Stay safe.

Not a desiccant user. Powder is kept in a temp and humidity controlled environment.

Granted, I don’t have anything left in metal cans or cardboard, but I think tightly capped in a reasonable storage area out of the elements works fine. Not a big fan of storage in a non-temp or humidity controlled garage, etc.

kidneyboy said:

Not a desiccant user. Powder is kept in a temp and humidity controlled environment.

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^

This, my stuff is stored in my safe room under my garage. It's on it's own zone for the geothermal system and in the summer I run a dehumidifier. I keep the room right at 50% as I've also got some pretty nice wood stocks, so I don't want to go to low.

AJC1 said:

With all the testing and discussion surrounding keeping your powder dry, is anyone using desiccant or something else to keep your powder dry.

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Our coastal retirement location reaches 100% humidity during winter rain season.

All the powders are kept in factory original plastic containers and any powder remaining in the hopper is dumped back into containers.

Going on 7th year and no moisture issues.

AJC1 said:

majority of issues come from leaving powder in the [dispenser/measure] long term.

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No one I know uses desiccant in the powder hopper.
If humidity is a concern, once reloading session is done, unused powder in the hopper NEEDS to return to factory plastic container where it was intended for long-term storage.

You can consider running dehumidifier in the reloading area also but I do not recommend leaving powder in the hopper of a measure long term.

243winxb said:

My 1" wood powder magazine is in a damp basement. Only issue was old IMR metal powder cans containing 4198 & 4895. Takes over 10 years to form rust in the can or the powder goes bad?


*Edit- Move powder to plastic before any signs of deterioration.
The new plastic containers should solve any problems. Any HDPE marked bottle in black should be ok to use. HDPE is on the bottom of some Hodgdon smokeless bottles i have. Black is to keep the sun off the powder. Transfer powder from metal cans to HDPE plastic.

View attachment 1040274
The 2 other cans of IMR 4895 had no issues. But may have been a different lot number? Age?

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I see a lot ot cans in my line of work. Paint cans to be specific. 15 years ago, the cans were absolutely phenomenal at lasting forever. Nowadays, or pre-covid, cans would come in with rust on them. Seen them rust out in under a year. Yet cans we have from 1990 are still perfect, in a heated, but not air conditioned warehouse in the eastern KS heat and humidity. Its all about the steel quality.

Back before the 2015 shop fire, I kept my powder in a mini wine fridge at 55 to 60° in a heated but non air conditioned shop. I had plastic, metal, and cardboard containers in there. All were fine, and due to keeping it at the 55-60°F range, there was no condensation when removed unless the outside temps were near 100°.