Freezing powder

[FROGO207]

Heat will degrade propellant at a much more rapid rate. This has been proven. So if you store it at a lower temp it *might* extend the life of it. I am old enough that it does not matter to me at this point. Some on here might try this as an experiment. Just sayi'n!

 

[film495]

High School?

From the grammar I see, most are “elementary school” challenged!

you are been too kind

 

[Alaskamike]

Heat will degrade propellant at a much more rapid rate. This has been proven. So if you store it at a lower temp it *might* extend the life of it. I am old enough that it does not matter to me at this point. Some on here might try this as an experiment. Just sayi'n!

Yep--if it's convenient and free, then it's worth it. If it's inconvenient, and/or costs money, then it really isn't worth it.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I dont know why you would hassle with freezing you powder, seems ridiculous. That said, think of all the Russians in Siberia or watch Life Below zero, none of their ammo seems to care if its 50 below.

Russians in Siberia aren’t worrying about ammunition—it’s all in Ukraine.

 

[Catpop]

Powder?
But at sawmill, we used to store our welding rods in an old non working refrigerator located in the shop. Did a good job there keeping them protected from high humidity days- Eastern NC.

 

[Palladan44]

Take fridge to the junkyard and forget about it

 

[bigpower491]

Sounds like a good candidate for a half barrel setup. Drill a hole in the door for a tap spigot and take all the shelves out you should have plenty of space for a half barrel of choice and a small CO2 cylinder.....

 

[Slamfire]

Cool and dry, those are the best storage conditions.

Freezing? I just don't know enough about low temperature affects on the physical state of gunpowder to know if it is good or bad. Certainly water condensation is bad. I have read of phase changes with gunpowder at very cold temperatures, such as minus 40 F. Polymers have these glass transition temperatures, which is why ironing cotton fabrics work, and gunpowder is a very complicated mix of components. I would believe that if you can keep the stuff above freezing that would extend the lifetime of your powder.

I would not put gunpowder in an non operational freezer. If it auto combusts, that freezer will allow the pressure curve to spike before the door blow open. Then will become a big, badda, boom!

Heck, its only fertilizer, now what bad can come from that?

 

[Bcwitt]

Is important to blanch it before freezing. Prevents mold growth & spoiling. Be sure to pick out any pieces that have gone to seed.

 

[Bcwitt]

Powder?
But at sawmill, we used to store our welding rods in an old non working refrigerator located in the shop. Did a good job there keeping them protected from high humidity days- Eastern NC.

I do the same. An old reefer isnt hard to come up with.

 

[Bcwitt]

I dont know why you would hassle with freezing you powder, seems ridiculous. That said, think of all the Russians in Siberia or watch Life Below zero, none of their ammo seems to care if its 50 below.

Thats the plus side of super hot corrosive primers. They always work.

 

[LarsUlmann]

Good to know guys that storing the power is OK even in lower temps. But what applies to primers? Can these be stored either at lower temps, without degradation, assuming they are kept in a dry environment?

 

[__steve__]

The average High School physics grade represented so far is not so encouraging.

I have a chem minor, I struggled tremendously, was good at the lab’s though. High school physics equivalent is almost an accurate statement

 

[AJC1]

I've gone to every powder manufacturer/distributor I can think of and they all recommend 68 degrees and 55 percent rh and below. They elude to high temperatures being bad but nothing about cooler. I imagine that cooler reduces chemical reactivity but how that directly applies to powder is unknown to me. I'm sure the military has tested every imaginable senerio so if you can find their research I'd go by that.

 

[__steve__]

I reckon it might be good to somehow minimize relative humidity inside container just as you tighten the lid and seal it. Since inside kitchen freezer the rh is below 5, in theory one can place it in there a few minutes and seal the lid and pull it out to go back to ambient °F. Will have to bleed off the now pressurized dry air to prevent container from bursting on kitchen table.

 

[Slamfire]

Good to know guys that storing the power is OK even in lower temps. But what applies to primers? Can these be stored either at lower temps, without degradation, assuming they are kept in a dry environment?

Un necessary and I don't know what cold weather will do in terms of material cracking. Lead styphnate Primers have an "infinite" lifetime compared to gun powder. Hot will apparently dud them out because I read a document where high temperature primers were developed for aircraft.

Priming compound dissolves in water. So there is the shellac or some other more modern coating over them, to keep them dry. It takes a combination of an organic solvent to dissolve the shellac and then water to dud out primer cake.

I have no idea about the lead free primers, one should call the manufacturer about freezing primers, who will no doubt reply: "SAY WHAT!"