Reloading in the Garage - Powder Storage

[bsdubois00]

Hey guys,

So I think the wife is finally about to win the battle and the reloading bench is going to be moved out to the garage in our new house. The question / suggestion that I need is what to do with primers / powder. Here in Houston the humidity can get pretty high and even though the garage is insulated I'm wondering what's the best option.

Is there some sort of container I can buy / build and put a dehumidifying rod in? Should I stand my ground and take over some closet space? Is it OK and I'm just over-reacting?

Thanks!

 

[Walkalong]

Powder and primers need to stay inside. Put up a hazmat sign like comes with primers and powder that firefighters will recognize if it is any quantity.

 

[nettlle]

I reload in my garage but I keep the powder and primers in the house.

 

[X-Rap]

I don't know that I'd worry so much about powder as long as it's in the original container with seal intact. The primers should go into a sealed container and those plastic ammo cans with rubber seals are probably best so your not constructing something that would contain to much pressure. Temperature is a concern but you say your insulated so hopefully the extremes would be avoided.

Sent from my VK410 using Tapatalk

 

[Walkalong]

Powder starts deteriorating as soon as it is made. heat accelerates that.

 

[LeonCarr]

I load in my garage, store powder and primers in my garage, and run a dehumidifier 24 hours a day. I have never had any reliability issues in the 27 years I have been loading.

Is is truly amazing how much water a dehumidifier pulls out of the air a day, about 2 gallons a day in my garage.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Shaq]

I heard it gets very hot & humid in Texas. I'd be more concerned about reloading in a 90-100 degree garage than powder or primer deterioration.

Is your wife concerned about space or safety? Powder & primers are no more dangerous than any other flammable material (paper, linens, etc) when stored in their original containers.

 

[bsdubois00]

It's a space thing - you know - trying to make rooms for babies and stuff

 

[Blue68f100]

Keep the powder in the house. The primers will be fine out in the garage if need be.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I keep my powder and primers in an old frig in the garage...primers in the freezer, powder in the cooler section.

Constant temp and dry, plus the doors don't seal well enough to create a explosive container.

It really doesn't get that humid in this part of CA, but if it did, I'd just run a Golden Rod in there

 

[joem1945]

I guess you don't have a basement. Bummer!

 

[thomas15]

I reload in the garage. And I keep everything in the garage. The only problem I have is keeping metal parts from rusting.

Powder comes in a plastic water proof container. If you want, find a water proof container for your primers or zip lock bags. Does anyone here think that powders and primers are kept in climate control environments from the day they are made until the day they are scooped up by you? They are packaged the way they are for a reason. Obviously you don't want to put them next to a leaking water pipe.

 

[Rule3]

Heat is the enemy of powder.
I live in never ending heat/humidity. I keep powders in the back bedroom closet under air conditioning. Heck in the Summer I do not even want to be in the garage more than 5 minutes. I load inside also.

That said, Babies/Family are more important than reloading,

 

[fouled bore]

I load in an insulated shop in a barn. The insulation keeps the temp swing to a minimum. I have a lot of humidity in the summers also. I keep the powder out of the sunlight and on a low shelf. If you are worried about heat breaking down the powder you can set it on the floor, concrete will stay fairly cool. I just keep primers in a ammo can. I was more conserned about the primers but what i have read about what they can go through and still fire I am not too conserned anymore. There was a thread here discussing how to deactivate primers. Someone wrote something about getting them wet but once they dried out they were still active and would fire. There was also someone discussing how they primed some brass and left them for years open and they fired fine. You should be more conserned about the dies rusting. That is the only issue I have had. I keep them coated with barricade now.
Seen someone on here, I believe, that made a reloading bench from an entertainment center. You could have that in a bedroom or family room. Close the doors and no one would even suspect it was a reloading bench.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Store your powder and primers in a cool, dry basement. If you don't have that, get an old refrigerator and store them in it.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

If you are comfortable in the storage area, your powder and primers will be, too.

 

[bluetopper]

I'm in NE Texas, 15 miles from Oklahoma. I keep all my reloading components and presses in a small room attached to the garage. I have a propane heater in there for winter and I cut a hole in the wall and put in a window unit A/C for summer. The only time either is on is when I'm reloading and deem them necessary. I've done this for 15 years, no problems.

 

[Da Yooper]

Store your powder and primers in a cool, dry basement. If you don't have that, get an old refrigerator and store them in it.

IF I may

also store them in military ammo cans ( 50 cal ) with descant & you should be good to go.

 

[41 Mag]

I'm in H-town as well. I would bargin for closet space to store your powder and primers and go from there.

While I admit to leaving a jug or two of powder out in my shop, which is similar to a garage, no heat or AC, I do not do it for periods of more than a few days when I am loading batches.

So far the only time I have had powder go south on me was when I stored it out there. When it wen't it went big time and I ended up dumping close to 15# worth. As for primers, I really haven't had an issue with them being out there. I store the remainder of the 1K bricks in a small wooden cabinet. Those prefab jobs you see at Lowes or Home Depot. Nothing fancy at all. THey have been shooting fine like that for over 25yrs. Some I go through faster than others, but I haven't had issues with some that were there for a couple of years. In fact we just shot up some shotgun primers that were in there since the late 80's.

 

[Gun Geezer]

I've seen the studies on powder stored over the years in heat. Without question, heat degrades powder as demonstrated by velocity drop with identical loads. That being said, I've not really "noticed" much change in my reloads that used powder stored in the garage. I shoot mostly shotguns and pistols for which minor velocity changes make no difference to me.

However, I recently began reloading rifle for accuracy and so decided to store primers and powder under the AC. I never have more than 10# and only 5000 primers, so it does not take much room in the house.

The reloading equipment will rust if I don't keep it oiled.

 

[SARuger]

I weld and use a plasma cutter in my garage building Jeeps for off-road use so that wouldn't work for me.

I have a reloading room/gun vault in the basement with a de-humidifier that runs 24-7. It always humid in VA unless its the dead of winter, in which case the static electricity is like a miniature lightning storm when you touch something.

 

[Patocazador]

I keep my powder and primers in an old frig in the garage...primers in the freezer, powder in the cooler section.

Constant temp and dry, plus the doors don't seal well enough to create a explosive container.

It really doesn't get that humid in this part of CA, but if it did, I'd just run a Golden Rod in there

This is what I do also ... for 30+ years

 

[bluetopper]

When you guys speak of an old refrigerator in the garage, do you mean a working refrigerator?

 

[9mmepiphany]

Mine isn't working. It died and I'd push it aside for its replacement.

I was going to recycle it until it occurred to me that it was better than storing powder/primers in a cabinet...cheaper, insulated, more discreet, safer as to pressure if the powder should ignite

 

[Patocazador]

When you guys speak of an old refrigerator in the garage, do you mean a working refrigerator?

Mine is a working refrigerator. I turned the busted one into a smoker for jerky ... outside.