Would you prefer to store powder outdoors or load it and store ammo outdoors?

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CQB45ACP said:
What type of extinguisher do you have for powder fires? Not a typical homeowner one, right? I should know this, but don’t.
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Well, given the burn rate of smokeless, I figure it's all going to be consumed by the time I get the extinguisher and pull the pin so I just have the type for wood and plastic since that's what the powder will ignite on its way to becoming white smoke. IOW: I don't plan to fight the powder fire, I plan to fight the fire the powder starts and that's just roofing plywood. The closet the powder's in is concrete and green board.
 
Another option is to find an area in your house that has a constant temperature and will not get hot. one place could be under the inside stairwell that is sealed. Cut a door into it and store your goods there. An outside bunker is still a good idea. If there were a house fire, your powder and maybe some of your guns would be safe. My brother had a house fire and it burnt through his safes and everything was destroyed.
 
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I have not read past page 1;

if those were the shoes I was wearing, I'd probably dig a hole, line the inside with pallet wood or something, and then put the powder in ammo cans, and put them in the hole.
Or, put an old dead bar refrigerator in the hole, door up, with the powder in that
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Well, given the burn rate of smokeless, I figure it's all going to be consumed by the time I get the extinguisher and pull the pin so I just have the type for wood and plastic since that's what the powder will ignite on its way to becoming white smoke. IOW: I don't plan to fight the powder fire, I plan to fight the fire the powder starts and that's just roofing plywood. The closet the powder's in is concrete and green board.
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Water (or soapy water) extinguisher for powder fires. Powder is it’s own oxidizer so cooling and quenching is the goal. If you have water in the building your bench is in overhead sprinklers are easy.
 
No way I’m leaving My powder outside for any reason. Mine is stored in my loading room that doubles as the Wife’s laundry room. It’s in Cabinets next to My brass,Bullets and dies. Also there is a safe in there with guns and supplies . My Primers used to stay in there also until I put another safe in the bedroom closet that holds the rest of Our Guns. All are in the house in a controlled environment.
 
unopened I'd think storing the powder might save you some problems. later if you load with it, you can inspect it for problems, there are ways to inspect and observe for signs of deterioration, and you could also do test loads with it years later, and develop a load based on actual performance. there might also be some already known science to this, and I only read through page 1 of comments, but - question being, does a volume of powder start to decay at a different rate than smaller amounts that are loaded.
 
enine said:
This implies that storing powder in a house in another method is unsafe. But then adding a sturdy latch turns your refrigerator into an unsafe storage container (same as with a safe that is latched/locked)
Remember powder burns really fast, it doesn't explode, its need containment to build up pressure, that is how it propels the bullet down the barrel, the pressure build up behind it. So storing powder in a latched container or gun safe would allow it to build up pressure to possibly unsafe levels.

But go to the source: https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Info-Doc-Smokeless-Powder.pdf

Anyway for my two cents on the original question, storing it outdoors either in the container or loaded will most likely require being placed inside another container which is sealed/latched which could then allow pressure build up and rupture the container with explosive force. The safest place is, as the saami.org document from the manufacturers indoors in 1" thick wood container which is allowed to open to allow pressure to escape so it will only burn and not build pressure. If your most worried about fire put your powder box near an outer wall/corner where it can burn somewhat outward should the house catch fire.
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My “take away” was his wife won’t allow him to store it inside.

That negates all of the science, kinda like CoVid.

Seemed the OP understands the science, but it has fallen on deaf ears.citing the science doesn’t help him.
 
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kalielkslayer said:
My “take away” was his wife won’t allow him to store it inside.

That negates all of the science, kinda like CoVid.

Seemed the OP understands the science, but it has fallen on deaf ears.

Mao, citing the science doesn’t help him.
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Sitting cross legged on his mountain top, incense burning, swami sees all and delivers wisdom;)
 
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Ironicaintit said:
I have not read past page 1;

if those were the shoes I was wearing, I'd probably dig a hole, line the inside with pallet wood or something, and then put the powder in ammo cans, and put them in the hole.
Or, put an old dead bar refrigerator in the hole, door up, with the powder in that
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Same, but tried to catch the OP's replies, sure I missed some.

If my options are limited to a not climate controlled space, I would find a new hobby.

For the life of me I can't see why storing inside the house is a no go.
 
TLDR: But where you live it's hot and humid as can be... all Summer long. I think a garden shed there for storage is a non starter. But given the restrictions you have, I would keep powder in an insulated cooler on the floor of the shed. Good luck.
 
The other part of the question... Load it all or store it 'as is' is simple for me. I like to store the components so I can load whatever I want. Also, components can easily be inspected, sold or traded. Loaded ammo is a mystery. You can't inspect inside. And, if you need to dispose of it, its value is greatly diminished because people don't like taking risks on other peoples' reloads.
 
Funny part of all this is he has an extension cord running to one shed, that has already been chewed through.....and yet there is no risk there.
 
Could always try a styrofoam cooler with a can of Damp Rid and blue ice inside, you'll have to change the blue ice everyday. Keep the canisters inside a plastic bag inside the cooler.
 
WeekendReloader said:
The other part of the question... Load it all or store it 'as is' is simple for me. I like to store the components so I can load whatever I want. Also, components can easily be inspected, sold or traded. Loaded ammo is a mystery. You can't inspect inside. And, if you need to dispose of it, its value is greatly diminished because people don't like taking risks on other peoples' reloads.
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Yes, I’ve already discarded the load it all idea for the reasons you cite.
 
CQB45ACP said:
“Had” an extension cord. Once chewed through ended that approach.
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Yup, and yet knowing just how dangerous that approach is you went and did it anyway. Far more dangerous over having powder in your house. Whatever you do you might want to get all types of aerosol cans out of the house, very dangerous. And those "household" chemicals, watch out there as well.

Nothing wrong with risk management but doing it under limited information is usually not a good thing.

Like other posters have said, done here, ideas of leaving a running fridge and running off propane are just fantastic, nothing gets hot on a fridge ever.
 
Remington1911 said:
Yup, and yet knowing just how dangerous that approach is you went and did it anyway. Far more dangerous over having powder in your house. Whatever you do you might want to get all types of aerosol cans out of the house, very dangerous. And those "household" chemicals, watch out there as well.

Nothing wrong with risk management but doing it under limited information is usually not a good thing.

Like other posters have said, done here, ideas of leaving a running fridge and running off propane are just fantastic, nothing gets hot on a fridge ever.
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If you were to another thread I wouldn’t miss you:)
 
Does she park her car in the garage? If so that's more of a fire danger than smokeless gun powder. You might show here how hard powder is to light off. Gasoline, Lithium batteries are far more dangerous than gun powder.

Think of all the fires caused by charging our cel phones. Now with the electric car there will be some major house fires.
 
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