Questions about long term powder storage & preservation.

[Rachen]

I recently read that Pyrodex has a considerably shorter shelf life than it's cousin real black powder. Then are the forums. Some people claim that their can of Pyrodex deterioates less than 6 months after they have opened it, while others say that they have been using 10 year old Pyrodex, and it still works fine.

Which brings to mind, it is more about storage conditions, than about the quality of the powder.
Let's assume that Pyrodex has a nasty tendency of being inert a short time after it's can has been opened. What should I do to keep it fresh and reliable for a long time.
1. Should I take the stuff out and place them in special guaranteed waterproof containers? If so, what containers or jars sold on the market is best for this task?
2. Should I keep the stuff in the fridge on hot summer months?, because heat and humidity is the greatest enemy to any type of gunpowder.

 

[tkcomer]

While I'm by far no expert on this, I bought an 1860 Colt repo back in '99. Popped open a can of Pyrodex P and fired it just to make sure it worked ok. Wasn't really into shooting as I had a lot going on. Things changed and I got back into shooting a few months ago. Popped open that same can of Pyrodex and it seems to work as good as the day I first opened it back in '99. Smokeless powders and primers I bought in the early '90s worked just great. I kept all this stuff stored inside the house. I kept all my powders in their original containers and all had been opened. I was actually surprised that the stuff I bought years ago still seemed to work as well as they did when I first bought it.

 

[mec]

I have found clumps in ten year old pyrodex but broken apart, it worked just fine.

This is one of the first year's batch of pyrodex p. The owner bought it, shot a little but prefering black, put it in his garage where it remained since the 1970s in heat varying from -5 to +110 degrees and a full range of humidity. We found it last year or the year before. Note that the velocity is lower than new pyrodex but the extreme spread is virtually the same. Some published data gather by gun writers a few years ago showed pyrodex p to be virtually equivalent to goex fffg. The recent batches we have shot are more energetic and closely resemble the performance of swiss powder. So, the lower velocities here may be from formulation or it may be from changes over the decades or a combination of both. the powder is far from inert and remains useful

I would store the stuff in more consistent conditions than this can experienced and not take any particularly heroic measures with it.

 

[CZguy]

Should I take the stuff out and place them in special guaranteed waterproof containers? If so, what containers or jars sold on the market is best for this task?

A word of caution here---ALL gunpowder should be stored in it's original container. The container is designed to be airtight, but rupture gently rather than explode in the unlikely event of a fire.

 

[Rachen]

Good advice on the containers, if I store the powder,

in it's original container, with the lid sealed tight, in the fridge, would it be a good move?, because I rarely use air conditioning, and the summers here can be really nasty, hot, humid, hazy, muggy, and smoggy.

 

[CZguy]

with the lid sealed tight, in the fridge, would it be a good move?,

Sure, I do that with flashlight batteries also.