Rotate powder containers?

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TexasDon

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Does anyone else turn their containers of powder thats not in use upside down from time to time?
The old Handloader that helped me back when I started said he rotates his powder every few months if it's not in use.

I seem to remember reading that somewhere long ago.
I do it anyway, It's suppose to help...:)
It only takes a short time to do.


TxDon
 
TexasDon said:
Does anyone else turn their containers of powder thats not in use upside down from time to time?
The old Handloader that helped me back when I started said he rotates his powder every few months if it's not in use.

I seem to remember reading that somewhere long ago.
I do it anyway, It's suppose to help...:)
It only takes a short time to do.


TxDon
Click to expand...
Help with what? I have never heard of such a thing. Powder is not a bottle of wine for goodness sake lol. It probably can't hurt anything but I see no reason to do so and don't know what it's supposed to help with?
 
Not needed.

Our ancestors used to have to turn dynamite frequently to keep the nitroglycerin from coming out of the clay or sawdust. Even modern dynamite requires special handling and has a short shelf life.

But modern smokeless powder is pretty much chemically fixed and doesn't need turning. It can go bad, but turning won't help. See SAAMI website for details on powder storage:

http://www.saami.org/specifications.../download/SAAMI_ITEM_200-Smokeless_Powder.pdf
 
If you rotate your powder containers, should you rotate your ammunition?

What moxie said.
 
Maybe an old wives tale.

That's why I bring it up here, more collective knowledge.
I did a quick Google search and didn't turn up anything...So????:uhoh:

Thanks guys
Don
 
I rotate the stock, storing oldest containers to the front and using those first. But rotating the contents? nah, I don't see the point.
Maybe the old timer misunderstood what stock rotation meant.
 
Don't you realize all that tumbling of powder might cause the powder granules to break into smaller pieces, thus increasing the burn rate and pressure? :neener:



Sorry, I just had to. No, never heard of that.
 
cfullgraf said:
If you rotate your powder containers, should you rotate your ammunition?

What moxie said.
Click to expand...
Oh no, am I going to have to teach my ammo to "roll over"? :D

I really don't see how it would help anything to shuffle powder about in a can.
 
Don't forget to turn the containers right side up before you open them. ;)
 
Never heard of it in 50+ years of reloading.

But it makes perfect sense.

It would make all the upside down powder grains in the can right side up before you dump them in the powder measure upside down.

Now what was it again?? :confused:

I only turn then upside down and shake them when I mix two or three different rifle powders together to load .25 ACP.

rc
 
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It was just a simple question....

I'm sure glad I didn't ask if anyone turns their primer boxes over every month to keep the compound from dripping out.:D

( NO ) I've never done that.


Thanks
TxDon
 
I've never heard of it either, but it has me wondering if what happened with some Longshot recently, might some how be related?

Remember my post about the Longshot sticking to the sides of the container? It wasn't a case of static, the powder was sort of eating into the container, maybe what's referred to as etching, don't know though, never had anything like this happen with powder before.

It wasn't old powder, maybe a year, year and a half-ish, and some on the shelf is definitely older, and it didn't do it. I scraped it off the sides with a spoon, loaded it up, all the ammo functions completely normal.

GS
 
That's a new one on me as well. Like some others have said, the only rotating of powders (& primers) I do is to put newly purchased containers at the back of my storage cupboard, whilst bringing older ones forward. I also date the packages with the month/year of purchase.
 
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