Powder storage questions

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Hockey7711

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2020
Messages
249
I recently moved to AZ, and I'm using part of my garage as a reloading area.
Once the weather starts to heat up, I'm sure it will get warmer in the garage.
I was wondering about powder storage and temperature..how hot is too hot?
I do have a working refrigerator/freezer in the garage. Can I use that for storage?
How about already loaded and factory ammo and heat sensitivity?
 
Heat is bad, and warmer is worse; it accelerates degradation of the retardents (that regulate combustion rate) and preferentially oxidizing preservatives in smokeless powder.

I wouldn't freeze it, for the risk of condensation damage.

Powder belongs in the house, in the air conditioning.
 
Stagnant heat, like a garage in the AZ summer, is not good for powder, for sure. You don't have humidity... but I'd not store powder in the garage.

When I still had my reloading setup in the garage, I had a big Tupperware bin for the powder... it went in my master closet.
 
put it in a food grade Walmart 5 gallon bucket and lid. Bring it in the house!
 
I store reloading powder in the original container in a picnic cooler in the basement of the residence. We also store powder not in use in an out building in a larger cooler that also contains several one gallon water jugs.
 
"Store in a cool dry place" is what the label says. Basements work real well for that. And consistency is key. having said that....
How long do you intend to store any individual container of powder in the garage? Years? long term storage in the heat, see above. But if you're going to shoot it about as fast as you buy it, there is not a problem, IMO.
 
I have not experienced a summer in this house yet, so I don't know how hot the garage will get. It's a fairly new home and probably has insulation.
I guess it's best to bring the powder and finished ammo in the house.
 
I store my powder in the garage in a non-operational refrigerator. It is insulated from the temps in the garage and you don't get much moisture in there unless you leave the door open. If the frig is operational, you can leave it at it's higher settings (warmer, not cooler) and it will remove the moisture also while still being insulated
 
You know your powder went bad when you remove the cap and a red-orange gas comes out and it stinks. Spread it on the lawn or garden and water well.
I have been handloading in my (insulated) garage in Chandler, AZ for 20+ years without issue. I had one old partial bottle of VV N133 go bad 12 years after opening. There was only a couple ounces left so no harm done. Spread it on my wife's garden patch. The peppers were hotter than usual that year.

Powder should be stored in a well ventilated area and any cabinet should be loose fitting and should not be air tight. Cool and dry is best.
I hope this helps.
 
Hockey7711 said:
I have not experienced a summer in this house yet, so I don't know how hot the garage will get. It's a fairly new home and probably has insulation.
I guess it's best to bring the powder and finished ammo in the house.
Click to expand...
I'm in PHX. Garages here regularly reach 120+ in summer. They are already hot when it's 110 outside, then add the hot engine(s) you just pulled in, shut the door and you have an oven. Store powder in the house all year. It will also be too hot to load in, starting in a couple weeks. I just bought a 14k BTU portable AC unit for my single car garage loading room. If your garage is 3 car size, that won't be enough (I tried), you will need a full sized AC unit. That is why I converted the 1 car garage to my loading room.
 
It's already too hot for me! I moved almost everything into the laundry room, and I've been reloading there for the past week.
One of my garages has A/C, But I don't want to keep it running all the time, so It's easier to keep the supplies and reload in the house for now.
 
Hockey7711 said:
It's already too hot for me! I moved almost everything into the laundry room, and I've been reloading there for the past week.
One of my garages has A/C, But I don't want to keep it running all the time, so It's easier to keep the supplies and reload in the house for now.
Click to expand...
When I am at the outdoor range for 6 hours in 110+ degree heat, I wrap one of these around my neck, it keeps your core temperature down. It stays at about 60 degrees, plus I wear a wet baseball hat, and a wet Tshirt; I barely sweat.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NGSB96/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_874D642EED1K83Z2S1MY
 
Honestly, the degradation is measured in years....and you can smell it when it goes bad. I have lived in AZ my entire life, and am the only person I know who actually had powder go bad from sitting in heat..a forgotten lb of AA#2 left in a box in a shed. It was about 10 years old at that point, and stunk to high heaven. It did wonders for my tomato plants though. I'd only be concerned if you have big jugs that take you a couple of years to go through. Keep the big jugs in your bedroom closet or somewhere in the house, the stuff you use a lot of and go through pretty fast.....don't even sweat it.
 
EricBu said:
Honestly, the degradation is measured in years....and you can smell it when it goes bad. I have lived in AZ my entire life, and am the only person I know who actually had powder go bad from sitting in heat..a forgotten lb of AA#2 left in a box in a shed. It was about 10 years old at that point, and stunk to high heaven. It did wonders for my tomato plants though. I'd only be concerned if you have big jugs that take you a couple of years to go through. Keep the big jugs in your bedroom closet or somewhere in the house, the stuff you use a lot of and go through pretty fast.....don't even sweat it.
Click to expand...
I get it...AZ, don’t sweat it.
 
I had an old friend that stored powder in his garage. He was in to surplus everything, and had large 50 & 100 lb kegs of pulldown powder. And large volumes of commercial powder.

He went out to grab some powder one day out of a 100lb drum of Unique, and when he popped the lid off of one of the big drums, there was an acrid smoke coming out of it.

So he drug it (quickly) out in to the driveway and backed off rapidly.

About the time he closed the door to get inside and call the fire department, it went.

That 100 lb tub, however much was left in it (70, 80 lbs?) went in a hell of a hurry.

It melted all of the siding off his house and garage on that side.

It *melted* a cast iron fence along the drive.

It *melted* an aluminum frame patio set that was 5 yards away.

it did ignite part of his home, neighbors lawn, garage face, etc. The fire department quickly got it all put out.

They also hosed the living hell out of that garage, ruining all remaining powder in it (several hundred pounds worth), along with a drenching a huge assortment of milsurp stuff he had in storage in there.

The good news is no one got hurt.

The crazy thing?

Alliant sent him another drum. Free of charge. I bought 10 lbs of it off him at some ridiculously low price (something like 2.50 a pound) and it took me years to shoot through it! :)
 
Trent said:
I had an old friend that stored powder in his garage. He was in to surplus everything, and had large 50 & 100 lb kegs of pulldown powder. And large volumes of commercial powder.

He went out to grab some powder one day out of a 100lb drum of Unique, and when he popped the lid off of one of the big drums, there was an acrid smoke coming out of it.

So he drug it (quickly) out in to the driveway and backed off rapidly.

About the time he closed the door to get inside and call the fire department, it went.

That 100 lb tub, however much was left in it (70, 80 lbs?) went in a hell of a hurry.

It melted all of the siding off his house and garage on that side.

It *melted* a cast iron fence along the drive.

It *melted* an aluminum frame patio set that was 5 yards away.

it did ignite part of his home, neighbors lawn, garage face, etc. The fire department quickly got it all put out.

They also hosed the living hell out of that garage, ruining all remaining powder in it (several hundred pounds worth), along with a drenching a huge assortment of milsurp stuff he had in storage in there.

The good news is no one got hurt.

The crazy thing?

Alliant sent him another drum. Free of charge. I bought 10 lbs of it off him at some ridiculously low price (something like 2.50 a pound) and it took me years to shoot through it! :)
Click to expand...
This is scary. I didnt know oxygen could trigger anything when it hits fumes.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

W
  • Locked
Component storage.
Replies
9
Views
825
The Bushmaster
The Bushmaster
R
  • Locked
ammo and powder storage temperatures
Replies
5
Views
718
brickeyee
B
G
  • Locked
Loading in Houston.
Replies
12
Views
514
tommyintx
T
A
  • Locked
Powder storage in garage?
2
Replies
25
Views
15K
CU74
C
S
  • Locked
Where to build my reloading bench??
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
cfullgraf
cfullgraf
Back
Top