Anybody store powder in their freezer?

[Elkins45]

I have some extra room in my freezer (no 3rd deer this year) and I also just got a good deal on an 8lb jug of Promo. It's not been opened and won't be until I finish the jug I'm using now. Is there any reason not to just drop it in the freezer rather than storing it on a shelf? My thinking is that the inside of a 0 degree insulated container would be an excellent spot to prevent powder from somehow being involved in a fire until the whole place would already be a lost cause.

 

[rcmodel]

I wouldn't.

Yes, it would be a fire-proof storage.

But you will get moisture condensation on & in the can when you bring it out into a warm room to use it.

rc

 

[ReloaderFred]

Powder is meant to be stored in a cool, dry place, not the freezer. Condensation would be a problem when it was thawed out, and moisture is an enemy to powder.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Elkins45]

I don't think I did a good job of explaining. It would be stored in the factory unopened and sealed container until I needed it the first time. After that it would go on the shelf with the other open bottles. The freezer is just for storage until first opening. Since it's sealed the only moisture that could condense inside the jug is whatever moisture is there already, and presumably there shouldn't be any.

 

[zxcvbob]

Promo is a good powder. If you bought it to load handgun cartridges, you now have a lifetime supply I would not store it in the freezer, just put it in the basement if you have one.

 

[dsm]

I wouldn't. Store it in your basement in a metal cabinet or something. I have kitchen cabinets in my basement that I store powder in.

 

[jack44]

No I never herd that before..........STRANGE

 

[357Shooter]

NOT a good idea, you will get alot of frozen condensation in there, your freezer has "thaw" cycles for frost free operation. Take some rice and seal it in a mason jar with a rubberseal and leave it for a year, half full, like your powder would be...it'll surprise you.

 

[Elkins45]

NOT a good idea, you will get alot of frozen condensation in there, your freezer has "thaw" cycles for frost free operation. Take some rice and seal it in a mason jar with a rubberseal and leave it for a year, half full, like your powder would be...it'll surprise you.

That actually sounds like an interesting experiment, assuming I cam get the rice as dry as factory sealed powder.

The freezer in question is a chest freezer, not a refrigerator. It doesn't self-defrost.

 

[Hondo 60]

presumably there shouldn't be any

Not sure why you'd presume that.

Powder is not vacuum sealed, so certainly will be atleast some moisture.

As others have said, I wouldn't.
Powder can last for decades when stored in a cool dry place.

 

[Leadhead]

Freezers are best for food.

 

[Recruit]

I think the key to Elkins45 question isn't whether the freezer provides increased storage life compared to a cool basement.

He's concerned about providing an increased degree of fireproofing that would not be detrimental to the powder.

 

[Leadhead]

If your house is burning down your freezer is toast. Powder is not really an explosive if it isn't contained in a strong enclosure.

 

[Drail]

There is absolutely no reason to store powder in your freezer. It won't help it last any longer. Store it on a nice dry warm shelf away from water heaters and furnaces or electrostatic air cleaners in the original factory package.

 

[RugerBob]

I thought powder was supposed to be stored in a strong ,yet breathable type container.
I will have to check local codes again. I went through that about 10 years ago.

 

[J_McLeod]

I store mine in the garage, it's about the same thing right now.

 

[kingmt]

Is it needed? No.

Will it hurt it? No.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I don't think I did a good job of explaining. It would be stored in the factory unopened and sealed container until I needed it the first time. After that it would go on the shelf with the other open bottles.

Think of is this way. Take a frozen steak out of the freezer and open it. It will immediately frost over from the moisture in the air getting on the steak and freezing to it.

If you take the powder out of a freezer and open it it will do the same. The powder will be below freezing and the second it is opened the it will make frost. When the frost melts, moisture-water is now is mixed in the powder.

To make matters worse, even if it is sealed, the air in the bottle of powder will shrink from the cold in the freezer and the plastic jug will collaspe, the plastic will get very brittle and crack from the stress and let the frost in without you knowing anything is happening.
Then your powder expensive powder is ruined.

If the jug doesn't collaspe then the seal has leaked and has sucked in frozen air and that's even worse.
Either way you will be out a jug of powder.

 

[thump_rrr]

If you want to protect the powder from going up in a small fire you can build a wooden box out of 3/4" plywood and line it inside and out with 5/8" type X fire rated drywall.

 

[klausman]

I wouldn't do this. When in doubt, contact Alliant. Their technical people are top notch and most helpful.

 

[higgite]

If this was a good idea, someone would already have an "Acme Fireproof Powder Freezer" on the market.

 

[Drail]

Factory powder containers are not "breathable". They are designed to rupture at low pressure so there will not be a high pressure "explosion". They are airtight to protect the powder from moisture. Just put it on a shelf at room temp in a dry place with nothing that can spark or create heat. You are kind of overthinking this. If you are going to store powder in your home you need to be very concious of any possible fire hazards.

 

[kingmt]

There has been several people on here that has put powder in the freezer & after everyone jumped on them they reported back no problems.

Wish you guys would either state facts or make it clear your just saying what you think. Just because you believe it doesn't make it fact & we have enough disinformation on here.

 

[Magnum Shooter]

Well I see absolutely no benefit from doing it, and it could cause condensation inside the container upon opening, so why do it?

 

[Elkins45]

As long as the powder is allowed to come to temp before opening the only moisture that could condense inside the container is the moisture that is already there. This assumes, of course, that the container isn't compromised.

I'm just doing a thought experiment here, but how is this functionally different than shipping an uninsulated tractor trailer load of powder across the midwest in February? Surely the powder inside the trailer (at least the jugs closest to the outside) drops below freezing on a multi-day truck ride from Kansas to North Dakota. Wouldn't it suffer the same problem when the driver hauls it out of the back of the truck and drops it off at a 70 degree gun store?