Rust in power

[jcw1970]

Have a couple of cans that have rust dust in them. Anyway to clean it? Powder burns fine. Just don't want to put it in the measure.

[AggieEE]

Run a magnet over the "rust dust" I'm pretty sure it will not pick up. I think your powder has gone bad. Give your lawn a snack. Better safe than sorry, just my $0.02.

[Forgetful]

That red dust is a burn inhibitor, so while it appears to burn fine, it is actually burning faster and that makes it unstable. If you really want to use it, pour it through a dry plastic tube so that the static charge retains the red dust. Clean it out and pour it through again until it's gone. Or pour it into a dust pan or something from a couple of feet on a windy day.

It's basically decomposing and creating acidic salts. There should be a strong odor, stronger than smokeless usually is.

[jcw1970]

dust is not red. it's brown and a magnet sucks it right up. The powder cans have rusty tops. There is no stronger smell than usual. i have 2 cans of 4350 that are the same lot and one of the cans has a rust patch on the top of the can. Same thing with 4 cans of 4064. All same lot only one has a rust spot on the top of the can. 121201121202121203121204

[Bayou52]

Have a couple of cans that have rust dust in them. Anyway to clean it? Powder burns fine. Just don't want to put it in the measure.

I believe, if you research the issue, that opinions are such that rust in powder could very well be a sign of degradation, along with an odor, as mentioned in an earlier post.

Safety first. I would not use the powder myself other than as a firestarter in a trash bin......:) But that's me.......

Bayou52

[Forgetful]

If no unusual odor then go ahead, probably safe.

[JASON4X4]

rust on the outside of the can should be fine

[Bent Ramrod]

I used several pounds of old 4831 that had fine rust powder in it but had no nitrous smell, clumping, or any other evidence of deterioration. It was in one of the old cardboard kegs with the crimped on metal top and bottom. There was evidence of rusting on the metal ends but no deep pitting, and no degradation in the cardboard side.

I took the stuff outside on a breezy day and poured it out of the keg into a dishpan. The breeze blew the rust away. The rust didn't come back and the powder functioned like any other sample of 4831.

[UNIQUEDOT]

It isn't uncommon to get rust in powder with the old metal cans. The remedies in older loading manuals was to do something similar to what bent ramrod did.