If I Go The Route Of Reloading... How Can I Safely Store The Flamables?

[George P]

I store my powder and primers indoors in a controlled environment on a shelf in a closet.

 

[hdwhit]

GB Expat wrote:
For the benefit of any non-(USA)Southrons reading this Thread,
Chester Drawers = Chest of Drawers.

Huh.

I had always thought it was a case of so many drawered chests being made in Chester, Pennsylvania, that the place name became associated with the product rather than a linguistic corruption

 

[rskent]

he propane tank for your grill, and gas for your mower, are more hazardous than a few pounds of powder and a few thousand primers.

There was a local guy on the news a year or so ago. He had two BBQ tanks in his garage when the fire broke out. The explosion must have been spectacular. There was nothing left of that place.

 

[sbwaters]

Keep the powder in a locked wooden box and the primers apart from the power in original containers. You want them safe from prying hands and eyes.

 

[Walkalong]

He had two BBQ tanks in his garage when the fire broke out. The explosion must have been spectacular. There was nothing left of that place.

Interesting. While having lived in Texas (Born there, did another "tour" there), Japan, and Alabama for my whole life (Alabama since I was 10), I was raised by northern parents (NY&Oh) and that, IIRC, is where I picked up Chester Drawers. Maybe not though, could have been here...

 

[jmorris]

A couple 20 lb tanks wouldn’t be as spectacular as the 500 gallon one next to my house (and lots others around the country).

If you don’t let them build pressure, gun powders just burn. Odd timing but there have been a few NG explosions around Dallas recently https://www.dallasnews.com/news/fir...ies-reported-northwest-dallas-house-explosion

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dal...nvestigating-house-explosion-northwest-dallas

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/New-Dashcam-Video-Shows-House-Explosion-Hurst-480142943.html


Back to answer your question, I keep a usable amount of all of them up off my bench in my reloading room, the rest is stored separately in a climate controlled environment.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Cool, Dry, away from sparks & flames .... In their original containers ...

^^This^^

Use common sense when storing it and don't worry about it.

 

[George P]

A couple 20 lb tanks wouldn’t be as spectacular as the 500 gallon one next to my house (and lots others around the country).

If you don’t let them build pressure, gun powders just burn. Odd timing but there have been a few NG explosions around Dallas recently https://www.dallasnews.com/news/fir...ies-reported-northwest-dallas-house-explosion

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dal...nvestigating-house-explosion-northwest-dallas

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/New-Dashcam-Video-Shows-House-Explosion-Hurst-480142943.html


Back to answer your question, I keep a usable amount of all of them up off my bench in my reloading room, the rest is stored separately in a climate controlled environment.

View attachment 787070

Why aren't you buying in bulk 8# sizes? Much cheaper than 1# containers

 

[mdi]

Use common sense. Don't store powder or primers on your stove. Don't put primers in glass jars "to keep them in one place". Don't store powder under your leaky kitchen sink in old mayonnaise jars. Don't keep your components in the tin shed where temps, reach 120+ degrees.

I lived near the Pacific Ocean all my life and reloaded for 40+ years. When I lived 2 miles from the beach/port, I kept my components in their original containers, in a metal cabinet in a non-climate controlled shed. I now keep my powder in the original jug in a Craftsman cabinet it a stick built shed (less than 1,000 from the beach, in rainy, wet So. Oregon) and my primers are kept in their original containers/bricks and sleeves in a 12"x24"x8" plastic clothes/socks container on a shelf above my bench. In all my reloading I have not had any powder go bad from environment issues and not one primer failure that wasn't my fault....

 

[rskent]

A couple 20 lb tanks wouldn’t be as spectacular as the 500 gallon one next to my house (and lots others around the country).

Man, you got that right. My in-laws have one. Its on the other side of the yard. It must be 150 ft or so from the house. I guess I though it was code.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

My 250 gallon tank is about 20 feet from my house.

 

[Tilos]

OP:
And others worried about reloading "Flammables", go buy a pound of the powder you intend to use, pour a little pile of it in you driveway and (try to) light it off.
Watching it burn, the way it burns, will answer most of your concerns...

 

[Walkalong]

Be careful, don't pile it deep, spread it out thin. And again, be careful. While, as posted, it won't explode unless contained, it is highly flammable and can get funny on you if you pile it deep.

Y'all be careful out there.

 

[jmorris]

Why aren't you buying in bulk 8# sizes? Much cheaper than 1# containers

I have kegs of a lot of stuff, just don’t like to keep them in front of my face. I keep the “grab bag” handy.

 

[Ireload2]

To the OP you are the first person I have ever seen to ask that question. There are many things already in your house much more dangerous.
Anything can burn your house down.
Don't be careless or you can burn your house down without propellants.

 

[Stew0576]

Found this under the general discussion forum

Sporting Ammunition and the Fire Fighter
http://www.saami.org/videos/sporting_ammunition_and_the_firefighter.cfm



(Thanks to 1KPerDay for the original post.)

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

My 250 gallon tank is about 20 feet from my house.

Anecdote: On a recent, hot July day, we got a call of a house that had "blown up". I got there first and found the house to be fine, although the yard was littered with vinyl siding. Looking at the south side of the house, I saw that all the vinyl siding was gone from it, which was also where a smallish propane tank was located (100-gallons?) 5-feet from the house.

What happened was the propane company filled the tank to full-capacity while it was cool out, and when the weather got hot, the propane expanded to the point that the safety valve explosively blew. Neighbors said, "It sounded like a bomb went off".

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Anecdote: On a recent, hot July day, we got a call of a house that had "blown up". I got there first and found the house to be fine, although the yard was littered with vinyl siding. Looking at the south side of the house, I saw that all the vinyl siding was gone from it, which was also where a smallish propane tank was located (100-gallons?) 5-feet from the house.

What happened was the propane company filled the tank to full-capacity while it was cool out, and when the weather got hot, the propane expanded to the point that the safety valve explosively blew. Neighbors said, "It sounded like a bomb went off".

Well if they filled it full, yeah, that can happen. Propane tanks are only supposed to be filled to 80% max so there's room for it to boil off as a gas.

Anyway, back to powders. I'm curious if anyone here has ever had high temperatures ruin their powder? humidity sure, but it always says to store powder in a cool dry place. Can heat actually cause a spontaneous combustion, or ruin the powder?

 

[Walkalong]

My nephew, after getting out of the full time Marines and going reserve, is a firefighter. He nearly got blown up by a propane tank in a fire (Blew a few seconds after he unknowingly moved away from them) where the homeowner had them stored inside. I asked him and he cannot recall an incident, or stories of an accident, with injuries that involved reloading powder. Powder doesn't blow up, it just burns like heck. primers can be dangerous in a fire if the person is close to them, but still not nearly as dangerous as many other items.

 

[mdi]

FWIW, nearly every kitchen chemical, powdered soap, tooth paste, cat litter, you name it has "Store in a cool dark place" on the container...

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Just a note, the powder and primers won't cause a fire but they will burn very well so if you keep fire away from them you will be fine.

 

[George P]

Well if they filled it full, yeah, that can happen. Propane tanks are only supposed to be filled to 80% max so there's room for it to boil off as a gas.

Anyway, back to powders. I'm curious if anyone here has ever had high temperatures ruin their powder? humidity sure, but it always says to store powder in a cool dry place. Can heat actually cause a spontaneous combustion, or ruin the powder?

Flammable solids need an ignition source; so if by heat, if you mean sitting in the sun or oven, no. If you meat from a torch, absolutely.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Edit: my powder doesn't scare me, but my Christmas tree does!

My son took a Christmas tree to the mountain to burn in the fire pit at the old home place; it was a weekend after a soaking rain. When it started burning, it was scary. He had kept it hydrated while it was up, but it had dried out after being taken down and moved outside.

Fire and paint cans. Fire and sofas. Those are nightmares. Some folks don't even consider the danger.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Flammable solids need an ignition source; so if by heat, if you mean sitting in the sun or oven, no. If you meat from a torch, absolutely.

I just meant from ambient temperatures above 85 degrees. Was thinking more of a nitro cellulose breakdown situation on powder, not an ignition.

 

[doubleh]

I doubt that 85 degrees is going to bother powder at all. I have a couple of kegs of powder from the seventies that I'm still using from and the powder is fine. It gets pretty warm around here and 85 degrees is a very cool summer day. I have seen 114 degrees here and really don't want to experience it again. 100+ degree days are common though.

I keep my powder, except for the two partial kegs, on a shelf above my reloading bench. The kegs are across the room on a larger shelf. My primers reside on another shelf several feet from any powder. Everything stays in it's original container until the container is empty.