Best Powder Container

[jimkim]

I had a friend give me a pretty good bit of unopened powder. I've had it for a little over a year now, and have begun to worry about the cans rusting. There are no signs of rust in the inside of the cans, but there is a little bit on the tops. I want to transfer the powder to modern plastic containers. I have collected enough HDPE bottles that would probably do the job, but I want to be sure. I really need to do something with the BL-C(2). The "cocoa" can is nice but I really don't think it seals all that well, and I'm tired of putting duct tape over the lid.

http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq267/jimkim_bucket/OldPowderIhaveknown004.jpg

http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq267/jimkim_bucket/OldPowderIhaveknown005-1.jpg

[Hickory]

Boy;
I haven't seen BL-C in years.
I had a Sako once in 222 Rem that loved that powder.

[jimkim]

If you look close you'll see it's Lot #2. I can't find any lot number on it at all. I'm guessing it was written on the top. The Dupont IMR-4227 has a '71 lot number. I'm guessing the BL-C(2) is even older.

[454PB]

From my experience.....

I wouldn't worry about the ball powders, I've got cans of it older than yours and they are fine.

However, those IMR powders can go bad rather quickly, I had an unopened can of 4064 go bad in about 10 years of age. I have no scientific proof, but I think it's accelerated by the metal containers.

The cans of Hercules powders that I have are also holding up well......but the only metal the powder actually touches is the bottom.

About 40 years ago, my grandad gave me a very old can of Unique. It actually had a pour spout like you see on salt containers. It had to be 30 years old, and it performed perfectly.

More recently I buy powder in bulk (usually 8 pound containers). If I need to put it in a smaller container, I use empty plastic laundry soap bottles. Rinse them well, dry completely, and mark them well.

They even have a pour spout built in!

[Hickory]

If you look close you'll see it's Lot #2. I can't find any lot number on it at all. I'm guessing it was written on the top. The Dupont IMR-4227 has a '71 lot number. I'm guessing the BL-C(2) is even older.

I guess I did not see the #2

[jimkim]

I just thought it was neat how they wrote (Lot #2) in small letters under the BL-C. I didn't mean any offense by it.

[burntpowder]

Gunpowder nitro cellulose will react with some plastics,The soap cotainers my be ok.I have some unique and 2400 in the first original containers and there fine. I know some plastic must be ok.The last pound of H335 I bought was in a black colored plastic container.

[Mooseman]

Put the whole can in a gallon ziplock bag with a pkg of dessicant...
Rich

[Jim]

I have four 24 ounce 7-Up bottles that I use for bulk powder. I've had 'em for ten years. They're easy to handle and dispense from and the powder does not affect the plastic. The triangle number is 1.

[RayinNH]

Brass casings make excellent powder containers.:kidding:No really they do...Ray

[Jim]

Brass casings make excellent powder containers.:kidding:No really they do...Ray

And the powder keeps indefinitely if the casing is sealed with an interference fitted lead stopper. Right, Ray?

[RayinNH]

Exactly Jim...Ray

[Reload3006]

I certainly can be wrong but I think its storage conditions more than the container. I have a lot of powder stored in the IMR metal cans that is still good and very old. I must also admit that I am cautious and constantly look at it for signs of degradation.

[1Shirt]

:coffeecomI agree with storage conditions being the key. Fairly cool and dry storage, and I like plastic containers rather than metal.
1Shirt!

[LUBEDUDE]

I have a freind that keeps all of his powder in original containers kept in an old broken refrigerator

Nice, cool, and dry.

[Arnie]

I have recently shot IMR 4350 out of a can dated from 1953 and loaded it exactly as i had some IMR 4350 that was only a few years old and it shot to the eaxct same point at 500 meters . Arnie

[jimkim]

These were stored in an old fridge. He wouldn't part with his !!!BIG!!! can of Bullseye. Trust me. I tried. Funny thing is, he doesn't even use BE anymore. His "go to" powder is Promo now. The only IMR powder I've heard of going bad was made within the last 10-15 years. I think they may have stopped using a preservative of some type in the formula. This stuff smells new.

[dale2242]

I would reccomend you keep them in the original containers in a cool dry place.
I will not use powder that is not in the original containers.
I have been given cans of powder that have been tranferred to other containers and have hand written powder designation on them.
Trying to ID powder by sight is a very bad idea.
If the cans are bad enough to toss, the powder may be bad also....dale

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
BLESS THE MAN WHO GAVE YOU THOSE POWDERS IN YOUR PRAYERS.
I just finished up a 30 lb. keg/steel barrel of IMR 4198 last year. Bought it in 1974 when I got married. worked just fine.

[leadman]

If you do decide to put your powder in other containers make sure it is not clear plastic as sunlight can affect the powder. I use old bleach bottles and store it in a wooden cabinet per fire code.
The mil-surp bulk powder I have purchased from suppliers is always in white bottles. Don't know if that is because they are readily available or some other reason.

[405]

Don't know how smokeless goes bad but as others have posted it may have more to do with environmental conditions than with the type of container. Never had any powder go bad in any original container but I have always lived in a cool and very dry climate.

Personally, I like the older steel cans with the smaller screw-on lids for pouring powder out and the newer plastic cans with the wider screw-on lids for pouring powder in. For powders like Trailboss the plastic containers accumulate static charge and "fling" the low density Trailboss everywhere when pouring. :)

[22Short]

The original containers are clearly marked. You can generally tell how old they are. They are uniform and recognizable. Engineered for the specific purpose of holding that powder. And really expensive! :eek:

[XWrench3]

IF you are interested, i have a bunch of old plastic powder bottles that i have been keeping around, that i have not found a use for. i would be willing to trade you for some of the metal cans.

[jimkim]

After talking to a chemical engineer, I have transferred the powder to the big "pill" bottles. They are made of the same type HDPE as the newer powder jugs. They are also a lot thicker. Thanks for the replies. I'm probably going to hold onto the cans and give them to my kids one day.

[John Boy]

Gunpowder Tips for Reloaders ... http://www.shoothunt.com/reloading/gun-powder-tips.html

Discussion topic how to store powder and container types ... http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=391523

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
DO NOT use glass bottles. Saw some of the old surplus 4895, we used to be able to buy in paper bags. The:Fire::Fire: powder in bag was still good ,while powder transferred into a canning jar had turned into a solid 1 lb mass in just a few years.

[alamogunr]

For those powders that I have 8 lb containers, I use empty Ensure(or generic equiv.) bottles so that I don't have to keep the whole jug on the bench. I write the powder ID on the bottle with a Sharpie. If I'm not going to be using that powder for several months, I empty the bottle back into the 8 lb container. To be honest, I never considered whether the powder was compatible with the plastic. Does anyone have any info?

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Unless the rust goes through to the inside of the can, I would not worry about it.

I have several one-pound cans of Hercules/Alliant powder that was given to me that had the outside of both the top and bottom completely rusted. Inside, no rust. It shoots just fine.

[MT Gianni]

I bought some H4831 in 93 when there was a run on components due to the Brady Bill. I have kept it in 2 liter coke bottles since with no difference in velocity.

[shotman]

I know this is old thread But some of the new powders will eat up some plastic. The 5477 will eat a powder measure reservoir up I have the steel cans from the same vintage and all are still good.

[Rocky Raab]

I may have posted this before, but it bears repeating.

If you use just any old plastic container, the powder may react with it. By the time you discover it, both the plastic AND THE POWDER are changed. You have just ruined both.

[sunnywayne]

needs to be hdpe 2 for powder

[largom]

I save my empty 1 lb. plastic powder bottles. I then use these [relabled] when transferring powder from a 4 or 8 lb. container.

Larry

[kavemankel]

Last year I loaded some 4350 that I had since 1990 in the original metal can and it shot a 5 shot sub moa group out of a bolt gun at 100 yds. Figured I should use it up sometime and justify buying another can to last another 23 years.

[kavemankel]

Forgot to add a comment on the cans. Great looking cans I have the same 4350 can and several others. make great decorations in my reloading area.

[uscra112]

Residual solvents would react badly with styrene.

NRA has warned about using dessicant in powder storage. Dried out powder gets faster.

I use empty white pill bottles, too, but only for holding smaller amounts taken from 8 lb. jugs. Just for convenience. Careful to label of course.

I think it likely that plastic powder containers (e.g.Hodgdon's) today are anti-static, like gas jugs, for what that's worth. I do save them, but won't use them for anything but the powder they are labelled for.

Phil

[Bent Ramrod]

I tried a Swiss plastic powder canister on our shoe tester when I was still working and found the plastic was conductive. A Triple 7 canister was definitely not conductive. I wasn't able to try one of the Hodgdon round plastic jars as there wasn't one available.

It takes some washing and airing out time for the sulfur smell to disperse from the Swiss canisters but they seem to work for smokeless storage after that. I have only had the powder stored in this manner for a year or so though, so long-term testing is by no means complete. I have started using them although I prefer to leave the powder in the original container unless the container is one of those ridiculous tall cardboard cylinders or a large round jug or jar.

To my mind, the ideal powder storage container is rectangular in cross section, so it can be stored in a large ammunition box with no wasted space. It should be easily available so a lot of containers of the same size can be accumulated, which makes the box size needed a simple calculation. The container should have a top which slopes from all four sides to a central mouth so you don't have to shake the last little bit of powder back and forth endlessly to get it out. (This last criterion seemed to be resisted to the end by the powder companies with their metal and cardboard containers.) The Swiss canisters, except for the time it takes to dissipate the residual traces of the black powder, are pretty much ideal in size and shape, and seem to work as far as unreactivity and static dissipation goes.

[reg293]

The best one I have found are probably in your medicine cabinet, Hydrogen peroxide bottles. They are thick HDPE2 and light proof just like factory powder storage bottles.

[Fluxed]

The other thing to consider is that if the powder is getting old, a very good idea is to use it up now.
Go shoot it.

[gnoahhh]

I was gifted a half-dozen cans of DuPont IMR-4064 several years ago, which dates back to the early 70's. The cans were pretty funky looking but not rusty and at first I thought they would at least make good lawn fertilizer. Upon opening the first one I was greeted with the standard 'ether smell' and perfectly normal look to it. Test firing proved it was A-OK, shooting to same POA as new powder. I have since used most of it with no ill effects.

My dad and I bought a 25 pound keg of WWII surplus 4831 back in 1968 (for around $15 as I recall). When the level got down to just a couple of pounds, we decanted the remainder into some odd screw top tin cans that were laying around. I still have a can of that powder and load a couple shells now and then for 'old times sake' with it. Works as fine as it always did.

It all boils down to how well it's stored.

[David2011]

A friend stored all of his powder in his garage in the area between Houston and Galveston- very high humidity year 'round. He was very ill and would obviously never be in his shop again so I was helping out. Some of the cans of powder had been there a long time, possibly over 25 years, and showed quite a bit of surface rust. I picked up one that was kind of stuck to the shelf and the entire top of the can separated from the sides, rusted all the way through. After checking everything, several pounds of powder had to be burned because the contents were contaminated with rust. The old Hercules cardboard and metal cans were all in good shape.

David