Storing Powder and Primers??

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74man

74man

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Nor. Cal.
How do the member hand loaders store their Powders and Primers? I have read in many reloading magazines and reloading books to store all powder separate and don't store primers where you have the powder stored. Are they just being over cautious or is there a real danger when storing our powders and primers in the same areas.
I recently bought a two drawer, locking metal cabinet and I store the primers in the top drawer and the powders in the bottom drawer. The cabinet is stored in side the house in a bedroom closet. The cabinet is fire safe with the walls insulated with drywall. The Cabinet weighs about 70 lbs. empty and it is about 18 inches tall, 24 inches deep and about 14 inches wide and on casters and if you lock the top drawer it locks both drawers. If you open one drawer, you can't open the other drawer until you close the one you opened. I live in Nor Cal about half way between San Fran and Sacramento. Humidity never gets above about 40%. Should I store the primers in another closet or somewhere else away from the reloading powder? Do I have to separate the powders? How much space should there be between stored powder and stored primers? I think mine will be ok, stored the way I have them stored. How does everyone store their powders and primers??
 
SAAMI provides a copy of the NFPA's magazine specification here, along with real guidance on fire hazards.

In short, you want a small amount to burn, and at low pressure. No massive cabinets, and nothing sturdy enough to build pressure.
 
I've always stored my powder and primers on open shelves in my loading room. Out of direct sunlight and temperature controlled.

In our new house I have them on open shelves in a large walk-in closet. powder on one side and primers on the other side. About 6ft apart.

You might want to search fire codes. They have some language about this.
 
I store powder in an ice chest and primers in another location... there are federal state county and possibly city requirements.... just use common sense.
 
I used to keep everything in the same cabinet. Then bought a couple safes. One In loading room. One is in bedroom closet. Guns are in both. Primers in one safe. Now the powder has the cabinets to itself. I never worried about storing them together. Still wouldn’t . But things changed when I acquired extra room for storage.
For those that say I should worry if they are stored together. I figured if the house is on fire. Powder and primers are the least of My worries.
R-
 
edwardware said:
SAAMI provides a copy of the NFPA's magazine specification here, along with real guidance on fire hazards.

In short, you want a small amount to burn, and at low pressure. No massive cabinets, and nothing sturdy enough to build pressure.
Click to expand...
The SAAMI video (at the link provided by @edwardware) demonstrates a box of powder buried in a hole in sand and then covered with a 20 inch pile of sand and then ignited by an electric match…all the sand is “blown” away as if there was an explosion! But of course smokeless doesn’t explode it just burns really darned fast and looks and acts like a explosion to the lay person. It walks and quacks like a duck.
 
As to smokeless powder from our friends at Alliant. My powder is stored in a cool dry place in its original shipping containers. My primers are actually upstairs from my powder in a steel filing cabinet. Just where they ended up, not like I had a plan. As has been pointed out state and local laws may apply if they exist. I have used powder stored for over 20 years as well as primers and the powder and primers have worked just fine.

Ron
 
I keep primers in the gun safe... which is equipped with a dry rod.
Powders I use regularly are on the shelf. Powder bottles in storage are placed into sealed containers.

This being said, everything is in a heated/air conditioned basement that sees no moisture. No worry about dies rusting, etc.
Should last a very long time, as it's under ideal conditions.

What you want to AVOID is damp spaces and large temperature swings that create condensation. Like the labels to various things often say... Store in a cool, dry place.
 
74man said:
I recently bought a two drawer, locking metal cabinet and I store the primers in the top drawer and the powders in the bottom drawer.
Click to expand...
Kinda thinking what you're describing is a bomb.

I keep powders in a cardboard shipping boxes, in a green board and concrete closet, in an unattached store room. Primers are in cardboard shipping boxes in a wood foot locker in the same store room but on the other side of a wood door from the powder. The closet the powder's in has a ventilated door.

74man said:
Do I have to separate the powders?
Click to expand...
Free country. You don 't have to do anything you don't want to do. As long as it's not illegal. You *might* want to check the local fire regulations and make sure you're not violating some ordinance. Not saying you have to, just a suggestion.
 
If it isn’t in a pressure vessel and the primers go off, you’ll have a heck of a fire, but it won’t blow up.

The good news is primers are very safe to store, just keep them cool, dry, away from heat/ignition sources and don’t store them under a hanging rock that might fall.

Powder as well, cool, dry, check it for deterioration every six months.
 
Defective smokeless powders have been known to self combust. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2020/02/take-notice-recall-of-accurate-2495-4064-4350-powders/
“The use or storage of this product may result in combustion, fire damage, and/or possible serious injury or property damage.”
Click to expand...

Place an alarm close buy to the powder magazine.
" Combined smoke alarms contain multiple sensor types (heat detection, optical smoke detection and carbon monoxide detection) generally reducing the amount of detectors needed. Some combination smoke alarms also reduce the risk of false alarming or increase the speed of fire detection."

There is a smokeless powder, with a high nitroglycerin content that will detonate. Its been tested.

Found this in my powder magazine years ago. IMR4895_20090928_1.jpg
 
I keep powder and primers in old kitchen cabinets I repurposed for my loading room. It’s in the basement so concrete floor and concrete block wall so an “explosion” would go up into the house.

But, even today when it was 80 outside, it was 53 in there.

I am not worried about it at all. My only concerns are electrical, and wildland fires.

And I may have a little more than federal fire regulations permit. But really, what’s the difference if 50 lbs go up in smoke, or 150 lbs?
 
Primers are stored in the reloading room, as well as powders I'm using or expect to use. They are stored in a repurposed wooden kitchen cabinet with no lock.

Excess, unopened powders are stored in another kitchen cabinet in the basement, where it stays dry and roughly 65 degrees most of the year, and a bit cooler in the winter.

I do check all my powder once or twice a year for degradation.

chris
 
Son in Law keeps his powder out in the barn although the temp swings might get him sooner or later he doesn’t seem to mind, I use a safe these days to keep my expensive primers and powder.
 
I get powder inspection but there is a realistic time frame in which to start... I would not bother less than 10 years and single base at 15 or so...
 
Who was the member who had a tagline of I store my primers in a glass jar? Was it the late RC Model? He was a really great member and had a good sense of humor.

Ron
 
Yes, I believe it was RC. The story of dropping the jar was a eye opening on how explosive primers are.

I store my primers and powder separate from each other. The powders stored in an approved cabinet, where my primers are in another storage cabinet 15' away. None are stored in my house, all in my shop, 40 yrds away from my house. My shop is climate controlled, even has a dehumidifier in it.
 
Powder stored in my rolling reloading bench, which has storage space enclosed with 1" thick wooden doors. No locks, so pressure won't build up in the event of powder ignition.

Primers stored in the drawer of a wooden desk on the other side of the room. Again, no locks or latches so no pressure build up.
 
I built a storage box. Sides, top, bottom are at least 1 1/4 thick. No metal was used in construction. It will hold up to 50 lbs of Goex on two levels or various amounts of smokeless. It sits on a mover's dolly and it is stored in an outbuilding away from the house. The lid is not locked down so that it can vent in case of a fire.
Primers are stored in another building in original packaging on shelves.
storage box 012 (Large).jpg
storage box 010 (Large).jpg
 
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