Reloadron
Contributing Member
Rule 3:
Duh and my bad for not seeing you had already posted the SAAMI link. Sorry about that.
Ron
Duh and my bad for not seeing you had already posted the SAAMI link. Sorry about that.
Ron
Primer storage idea
- Thread starter Reefinmike
- Start date
- Status
WestKentucky
Member
Just don't pour them all into a glass jar.
In these days of (sometimes necessary) hoarding, I'd be more worried about concentrating large numbers in one place. A cooler full? Wow.
A sympathetic or other explosion under those circumstances would be particularly bad. Think lightning strike, plain old house fire, accidental impact (garage), you name it. Think about first responders to a house fire, and yourself.
A sympathetic or other explosion under those circumstances would be particularly bad. Think lightning strike, plain old house fire, accidental impact (garage), you name it. Think about first responders to a house fire, and yourself.
adcoch1
Member
If an ammo can is good for loaded ammo, why not for primers? Have I been missing something? I store my primers in the original package in an ammo can away from my powder. Seems safe...
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Reefinmike
Member
Bad idea! a can full of ammo will slowly cook off in a fire. Usually cases will split and primers may fly out but there isnt a chain reaction set off due to the fact that each individual primer is kept safe in a case. A can full of primers(even in their original packaging) in a fire will very likely detonate in a very fast chain reaction and quite literally explode the ammo can throwing shrapnel around.
adcoch1
Member
Ok, let me ask a different way... if i have my primers sitting in there original boxes inside a sealed ammo can, wouldn't that be safer than on a bench next to the ammo can? Remember that non moving air is literally one of the best insulators there is, and a sealed box will protect whatever is inside better than the box not being there. Eventually everything exposed to fire will ignite if temps are high enough, but i doubt that the flash point temp of every primer in a case would be identical, or even close enough to cause a chain reaction of explosion that would blow the entire can up. Yes, blow the seal on the can, but once a fire in my reloading room has reached that point that a whole ammo can of primers can instantaneously detonate because of temperature the whole structure would be totally unsalvageable if not gone, and i doubt that the can shrapnel would be an issue. I went through a house fire a few years ago, and the only thing that survived of my reloading stuff was my primers in an ammo can...
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A sealed ammunition can is a fairly tough container. It is a bad idea to store either gunpowder or primers in something that contains pressure and when it finally stops containing pressure, what gets out is at fairly high pressure.
My recommendation is to store primers in tough cardboard boxes not thick steel containers.
As all the previous information has stated, primers deteriorate if exposed to heat, the sealant over the primer cake is pretty good at keeping moisture out, but it the sealant fails, primer cake will absorb water.
I asked an Insensitive Munitions expert the shelf life of primers and he said "infinite". I think the lifetime of primers is infinite compared to gunpowder. Gunpowder deteriorates quickly and it really should be shot up by the time it is twenty years old. If the stuff is kept in 90-100 F storage, it will deteriorate in years. If stored at 150 F, it will go bad in months, if not weeks. Primers deteriorate at a slower rate than gunpowder. And unlike gunpowder, primers dud out. Gunpowder becomes more dangerous with age and in bulk, old gunpowder will auto combust.
au_prospector
Member
Put steaks in your vacuum bags, not primers.
Rule 3:
Duh and my bad for not seeing you had already posted the SAAMI link. Sorry about that.
Ron
No worries.
One thing about the internet reloading forums is constant reinforcement!
I'm 69 years old. I have never had a house fire. None of my neighbors have had a house fire. No homes on my block(s) have had a house fire. None of my relatives, in Compton, Dallas or Mass. have ever had a house fire. Worrying about keeping primers/powder safe during a house fire is sorta a "tin hat" reaction...
In the last decade there has been two house fires in my neighborhood. One across the street.
Roof burnt through.
Just passing by and took picture
Worth looking at the statistics at the National Fire Prevention Association
http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-resear...fires-by-property-type/residential/home-fires
Home Structure Fires
http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-resear...roperty-type/residential/home-structure-fires
An average death toll of 2470 per year is between 6 and 7 people dying per day. You know, there is a reason we have fire departments fully manned 24 hours a day.
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TimSr
Member
Yep, like a piece of iron pipe with two end caps.
I've still got some primers from the 80's that have been stored a few years in a NOT air conditioned house in southern CA, a basement in PA for a couple years, and attic in OH for a few years, the garage in OH for a few years, and then back in the house a few years later. (Incidentally I have some power that went through the same thing). I suppose it won't hurt anything to vacuum pack them, but it's kind of about as practical as blow drying your drain pipe every time you run water so as not to corrode the pipes.
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,211
Imagine how much work the shipping dept would have to go through if they only shipped a few thousand primers at a time together.
If you take advantage of the 48 lbs per hazmat fee a single order won't fit inside a normal cooler.
I had a friend give me some primers a few years ago vacuum sealed, I left them alone, doesn't hurt anything except the way they stack. That said I have primers older than a lot of folks here and they still go bang, just stored in a drawer indoors.
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Reloadron
Contributing Member
Well at 69 years old you have me beat by about three years.I'm 69 years old. I have never had a house fire. None of my neighbors have had a house fire. No homes on my block(s) have had a house fire. None of my relatives, in Compton, Dallas or Mass. have ever had a house fire. Worrying about keeping primers/powder safe during a house fire is sorta a "tin hat" reaction...
My powder is stored on shelves and for years my primers and bullets have been stored in an old lockable file cabinet. This winter I hope to have my reloading room and gun room finished. Currently I have one large gun safe and plan another as soon as I get the area cleared for it. The safe is not only home to my guns but also all of our important documents as well as my wife's jewelry collection. All of this got me to thinking.
Before I retired we added a new section to the plant areas I worked in. This included a sprinkler system. The crew gave me a few sprinkler heads and I can get a few more from McMaster Carr Supply. The pendant style run about $30 EA and I only need a few more. The materials would run well under $200.
So while I also have never had a fire I have seen the damage done and figure the damage can be easily minimized. One over the safe, one over the file cabinets and the shelves.
Ron
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Reefinmike
Member
I've never been in an car accident but I still wear my seatbelt all the time. It would just be nice to get half the potentially hazardous items out of the living quarters in case there ever is a fire. S#!^ happens. Yes, I realize that primers stored in open air in a controlled environment are going to be just fine for many many decades. I don't think temp swings will really do much on a primer, especially if only stored for 5 years. BUT I have seen what a piece of brass will look like when sitting out in my garage unprotected from the humidity for 5 years. I don't want this happening to my primer cups and anvils hence the vacuum seal bags.I'm 69 years old. I have never had a house fire. None of my neighbors have had a house fire. No homes on my block(s) have had a house fire. None of my relatives, in Compton, Dallas or Mass. have ever had a house fire. Worrying about keeping primers/powder safe during a house fire is sorta a "tin hat" reaction...
Jim-
You must have some really tough teeth!
Zeke/PA
Member
I keep primers in their original boxes in my reloading arena.
No problems , no mix- up!
What is the issue ?
No problems , no mix- up!
What is the issue ?
When I posted the "never had a fire" post I figgered some would not understand my meaning. I use normal shop safety practices for my reloading room. I don't have any oily rags lying around. I don't leave any electrical equipment on when I'm not in the shop. I have GFD wall plugs for every outlet. But I don't do these things in case my powder and primers may be in a fire, I do them because it's common sense to keep the shop "fire safe". I've seen hundreds of posts of "I keep my powder in a ___ incase of fire". I keep my whole shop safe in case of a fire and keep my components stored neatly in my shop with no extra precautions for fire. I believe more common sense would alleviate a lot of the "in case of ____". If you wanna keep your powder in a wooden cabinet in an underground bunker in case of incendiary bombs, cool. If you wanna use plain old common sense to store flammables, cool...
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