Rusted powder

[abunaitoo]

I opened an old can of powder someone gave me. It looks like it was not open before. Seal was intact.
The inside of the can was rusted and there are rust flacks mixed with the powder. Powder still looks good.
Is it still good????

[jdgabbard]

Don't know whether the powder is good or not, but that is why I wont buy the powder (that you can still get in cans). I think IMR is still selling some. Noticed some on the shelf the other day when I picked up my H110 and 4227

[bedwards]

Smell of it, seriously, rust color is a sign of bad powder but also a sour smell. I had some go bad that would curl your hair. I burned it in small quantities to dispose of it and it was hard to ignite.


be careful
be

[dhoutfit]

I've got a number of cans of IMR 700x and 800x that are many years old keep at room temp. year round. If you have rust in powder I would not use becuase of possible ignition problems. Also smell of powder should be very rank. Check powder smell to other powders you have. Though you may have ignition problems.

[captaint]

If it were me, I wouldn't fool with it. I threw 2 cans of powder out a couple of years ago. If you really need it - try & just load a couple up and see what happends. If they work, load 20 and check them out. you might get a break. mike

[Wasilla]

I have encountered the same thing several times with DUPONT IMR. One with several cans of 3031 and I currently have a 4320 pound with the same issue. They both smelled fine but there was a rust powdery haze when you dump it out and the can has a rust look inside. I took a fine screen and went outside in a moderate breeze then poured it back and forth several times. It cleaned up well and I labeled the cans rusty and used it in non hunting stuff with no ill effects. It was like they didn't get the stuff properly dry before canning. It has not changed since I did the clean up so am assuming it's stable. If it smells good -- don't be too concerned, just put it on the fast track to use up in shooter class ammo. When powder goes rank there is no mistake in the smell.

[mike in co]

I have encountered the same thing several times with DUPONT IMR. One with several cans of 3031 and I currently have a 4320 pound with the same issue. They both smelled fine but there was a rust powdery haze when you dump it out and the can has a rust look inside. I took a fine screen and went outside in a moderate breeze then poured it back and forth several times. It cleaned up well and I labeled the cans rusty and used it in non hunting stuff with no ill effects. It was like they didn't get the stuff properly dry before canning. It has not changed since I did the clean up so am assuming it's stable. If it smells good -- don't be too concerned, just put it on the fast track to use up in shooter class ammo. When powder goes rank there is no mistake in the smell.


a great post from a new kid.

containers rust, powder does not. if it looks and smells like powder, just get the crude out of it.
pour slowly with a mild breeze going across. the lite rust powder will blow away.....small fan, air nozzle, or just blow( i know most of you can do that ...i've seen it here...LOL.)

mike in co

[recycledelectrons]

There was an article in Handloader magazine about this years ago. Basically, the can rusted and the rust attached to the podwer, making the powder fluffy. That changed the VOLUME of the powder, but did not alter it's weight significantly.

I'll try to dig up, scan, and OCR the article. In the mean time, test a few weighed charges and see if they shoot right.

Andy

[stubshaft]

Smell of it, seriously, rust color is a sign of bad powder but also a sour smell. I had some go bad that would curl your hair. I burned it in small quantities to dispose of it and it was hard to ignite.


be careful
be


+1 - Could be just the can or powder itself may be deteriorating.

[cast-n-blast]

Had it happen to me. Put a magnet in a plastic bag and run it thru the powder. Cleaned my can of old unique (which was given to me) fine.

Couldn't tell any difference when shot in .45 colt loads.

[abunaitoo]

Magnet in a plastic bag.
Now why didn't I think of that.

Powder smells fine. Just rust flakes mixed with the powder.

I kind of like the IMR flat cans. The take up less space than the round bottles. Couldn't they make plastic flat cans????

[Nora]

.
I kind of like the IMR flat cans. The take up less space than the round bottles. Couldn't they make plastic flat cans????

I do too. I also liked and miss the old OD green 8oz cans of GI rifle bore cleaner. Same issue, stored a lot nicer in less space.

Nora

[Jkeith]

I had some IMR 4831 years ago that was my dads it was in the square can with the really small pour spout/lid (about 1/2 inch), it had a rusty dust when you poured it out but it shot ok without any noticeable problems

Jim

We sleep safe in our beds at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would do us harm.
George Orwell 1903-1950

[Throwback]

I had this with an older can of IMR 4227 and figured to sift it and use it on some plinking loads for a camping trip where it worked fine. However, some of these loads were shot some time later and nearly all the cases split. I pulled the rest and noticed that the insides of the brass were blue with corrosion. I burned off the rest of that lot of powder and I don't recommend using rusty powder. I cleaned my rifles well so I cannot say if this corrosive effect translates to the bore also. I can only wonder what the effect of iron oxide dust has when blown through the bore.

[gnoahhh]

I personally don't fool with powder that is in anyway suspect. I figure that the cost of a new can of powder is cheap insurance. Why take a risk if you don't have to? Kind of like the old joke- "What were the dying redneck's last words?... Hey, watch this!"

Dump it on the garden or out on the lawn. High nitrogen content, makes a great fertilizer.

[mike in co]

I had this with an older can of IMR 4227 and figured to sift it and use it on some plinking loads for a camping trip where it worked fine. However, some of these loads were shot some time later and nearly all the cases split. I pulled the rest and noticed that the insides of the brass were blue with corrosion. I burned off the rest of that lot of powder and I don't recommend using rusty powder. I cleaned my rifles well so I cannot say if this corrosive effect translates to the bore also. I can only wonder what the effect of iron oxide dust has when blown through the bore.


i dont use rusted powder, but i do use powder that once was contaiminated.

remove the contaiminates and continue.

[archmaker]

I had the same happen to me and instead of taking a chance of injury or damage to my gun I threw it away. The tag on the can said $9.00+ and I bought it new, but many years ago.

I figure I will replace it with some $18 powder and it is still a bargin.

I was afraid the rust being iron would throw off my loads seeing how I use a scale, and Iron being more dense. Also it would act as a filler in the case reducing space.

Maybe just a tad to paranoid, but I rather be safe and know what is going to happen when I pull the trigger then wondering.

[mooman76]

Magnet in a plastic bag.
Now why didn't I think of that.

Powder smells fine. Just rust flakes mixed with the powder.

I kind of like the IMR flat cans. The take up less space than the round bottles. Couldn't they make plastic flat cans????

Last time I bought BP it came in flat plastic cans to my suprise. I have quite a few different powders and they are taking up twice as much space as need because of the tall round containers.

[largom]

After I had a can of IMR 4350 go rusty I took all of my powders that were in metal cans and put in plastic bottles.
Larry

[geargnasher]

I opened an old can of powder someone gave me. It looks like it was not open before. Seal was intact.
The inside of the can was rusted and there are rust flacks mixed with the powder. Powder still looks good.
Is it still good????

I wouldn't trust it. At best the "rust", if it is rust from the inside of the can, could damage your gun bores and at worse could be severely oxidized powder kernels which have dangerous burn characteristics. Remember that nitrocellulose powders are coated with all kinds of stuff to control burn rates and when these coatings are compromised you have, well DYNAMITE! Many powders get a slight brown dust on them (like ground cinnamon) when they are deteriorated so please take the sage advice several folks offered above: Powder is cheap, not worth gambling a possible real safety issue over a few dollars. (just think of the money you can save on 1 good treatment of lawn fertilizer!!)

Gear

[skeet1]

I had 5 Lbs. of H322 go bad. It had the rusty dust and was in a sealed plastic container. I called George Weber at Hodgdons and he told me to dispose of the powder because he said, you can get spontaneous combustion from deteriorated powders. He told me that the powder was an old surplus lot and made me promise to burn it! He then sent me powder to replace it. A good company.

Skeet1

[abunaitoo]

I'm cheap, and with powder here $30.00 a pound, it's killing me to throw it out. Even if I did get it for free.
I'm not going to take a chance with it. The plants will be happy.
Has anyone used powder in a vegetable garden????
I wonder if the vegetables will taste any better.

[defib]

it might give your peppers a little extra kick! LOL:mrgreen: