Powder left in the dispenser

[Jeff H]

I've seen many threads over the years about leaving powder in the hopper or not and what issues you could have. I never really subscribed to the theory that the powder was hurting anything or degrading by being left in the hopper between reloading sessions (weeks?) so I never bothered to remove the left over powder unless I was changing calibers.

I've read that the nitro can etch the hopper as well as other damage but I never really saw anything myself in my Lee dispensers except a little graphite colored staining on the plastic. Finally after several years of leaving various powders in the hopper most of the time, my hopper is finally stained/darkened to the point that I can't see the powder level once it gets lower than 1/2 full.

Real issue huh?

Well as I was thinking about this, I put my hand in the hopper and scratched at the discoloration with my nail and to my delight, it scraped completely clean. Later, I tried to wipe it clean with a dry rag, but it wouldn't budge, but a bit of Hoppe's #9, and the hopper came completely clean. I can't see any permanent damage at all and the red plastic is just about as clear as when it was new.

Just thought I would share.

 

[FROGO207]

Yeah I have a Lee powder measure and it seems to be immune to etching the hopper with the propellants I have tried. On the other hand I have a 30 year old Lyman 55 and in less than 12hours the inside was all yellowed and as rough as sand paper with Unique imbedded in it. I did not leave any propellant in my measures after that to keep a repeat of that disaster from happening. Now there is one less thing to have to worry about when reloading here.

 

[Mike 27]

Good info. I stopped leaving powder in the hopper for these reasons but guess if it cleans up well I won't feel so bad if I leave some in every once in a while.

 

[kelbro]

Nitro based powders do not get along with the plastic in RCBS Chargemasters.

 

[BossHogg]

I never know what I'll be loading next. So it always get dumped.

 

[osprey176]

I sometimes leave powder in my old Lyman 55,and have a trick to keep me out of trouble.My work can take me away from home for a couple days,or several weeks with no notice.So when I return home to my loading bench,I may not remember what powder is in the thrower.I use Post-it notes denoting the powder on each can in my powder cabinet.When I fill the thrower with a powder,I wrap the Post-it note around the powder hopper with a rubber band.Then when I get home a week or three later,I have no question as to what powder is in the thrower.Beats dumping a full hopper,or much worse,loading 2400 thinking it was BL-C 2.

 

[rodregier]

Not all plastics are the same in resisting solvents and acids.

Probably the most compelling argument for emptying out powder hoppers at the end of a reloading session is to avoid confusion or mixing similar-appearing propellants.

 

[wingman]

Powder comes in opaque cans for a reason,powder will degrade in light over time also it will etch most hoppers,I return mine to the original can after each use otherwise just an accident waiting to happen why take the chance for a few minutes of work.

 

[Mike 27]

I should have clarified I do have a Lee dispenser. I never noticed any issue with but started dumping it. My Hornady I left some in for a few days and it seemed to start deteriorating so I don't leave it in that one at all.

 

[gamestalker]

The only press I use a powder hopper for is my Mec. but I always empty it back into the powder container just to prevent an inadvertant identity mishap. I don't really worry too much about damaging the hopper, or the powder going bad. It's just a good safety precaution in my opinion.
GS

 

[James2]

My rules for safety:
No more than one can of powder on the bench at a time.
Always empty the powder measure back into the can after a session.

If you think this is too much to ask, think about accidently loading the wrong powder.................

 

[Crashbox]

One of my Hornady dispenser hoppers wrinkled pretty good after I left some TiteGroup sit in there for a few days. Now I dump it back into the original container after my session is done, to avoid more wrinkles.

 

[Jeff H]

Probably the most compelling argument for emptying out powder hoppers at the end of a reloading session is to avoid confusion or mixing similar-appearing propellants.

Solution: Don't leave more than one container of powder on the bench while reloading.

 

[cfullgraf]

My rules for safety:
No more than one can of powder on the bench at a time.
Always empty the powder measure back into the can after a session.

If you think this is too much to ask, think about accidently loading the wrong powder.................

I agree.

 

[Otto]

One of my Hornady dispenser hoppers wrinkled pretty good after I left some TiteGroup sit in there for a few days.

That happens. I replaced the hopper on mine with heavy walled Pyrex...problem solved.

 

[1SOW]

I have one of those meeting nametag holders with a clip at the top for a nametag. I clip my cartridge box load data in it. It's immediately behind the press and obvious.

When I change loads, I replace the load data info. I also color code my load data.

VIT n320 4.0 grs 125 JHP 1.10

VIT n340 5.8 grs 124 GDHP 1.142

Win 231 4.4 grs 124 CMJ 1.130 Etc. Etc

I also only have ONE powder out/available at a time.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I used to always leave the can of the powder I'm using right behind the powder measure so when I get back to reloading I didn't have to wounder what was in it.

I left some titegroup in my Uniflow for about a month one time, when I tried to dump it out, some of it was stuck to the inside so badly I had to use an old tooth brush to get the easy part of it out.

The rest is embedded in the plastic and won't come loose.

My powder gets returned to the bottle now immediately now when I'm through using it.

 

[beatledog7]

I stopped leaving it in after noting the same etching/wrinkling/discoloration. Good thing I figured out what was going on before Bullseye ate right through the cylinder wall.

 

[Jeff H]

Can we get a list of dispensers that are negatively affected by the powder?

I know my Lee stuff doesn't do anything more than get discolored and that is easily cleaned at I wrote in the OP. Hornday powder dispensers get eaten up as noted in posts above. How about the rest?

 

[kingmt]

I have never had a problem with the red Lee hoppers. My SR ISD will etch after a few hours with one of my powders.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My LNL and RCBS Uniflow have each been discolored/etched from powder being left in them. The damage is nothing more than cosmetic.

 

[Hondo 60]

My RCBS Uniflow is very, very stained, etched embedded with powder.
I've used Tite Group, Universal & Varget in it.

But my Dillon measure is just a bit dark.
I've used Tite Group, W296, 2400, AA5, Lil Gun & Varget in it.

 

[1SOW]

Lee Pro Powder hopper started to show a few darkened (slightly) places after a few years of powder being in the hopper most of the time. I think it might clean up.
I mostly use single based powder (no nitro) Vit n320, n340. Also AA#5 and Win 231

 

[MachIVshooter]

I never know what I'll be loading next. So it always get dumped.

This.

Imagine a small amount (something like 50 grains) of AA#5 in the bottom of the hopper from the last time you were loading .40 S&W. A month and a half later, you get all set up to load .308 and pour your H335, which looks just like AA #5 and a number of other pistol powders, into the hopper. After all, it looked empty.......except for the bottom, below the level of the semi-transparent plastic. You adjust your measure and sling your charge into the scale pan and then trickle until you get what you're after, then pour it into the case and seat that shiny 165 gr. spitzer. 49 more and you're done. That weekend you head off to the range with the chronograph and go to town. You're getting just the velocity you expected and no pressure signs. You load up the rifle for the 4th time. Bang! cyle action. Bang! cycle action. KA-BOOOM! You're off to the ER with half of your face looking like hamburger and two fingers in a baggy, leaving behind what used to be a rifle until that one little oops that you thought could never happen, happened.

Empty the **** measure! And if you forgot to last time you were loading, throw away whatever is in there. A few cents worth of powder is simply not worth the risk.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

My rules for safety:
No more than one can of powder on the bench at a time.
Always empty the powder measure back into the can after a session.

If you think this is too much to ask, think about accidently loading the wrong powder.................

I could not agree more. Just how hard is it to dump the powder out of the measure and put it back into its original container at the end of a loading session? How much time does it really take?