Storing Primers in a Vacuum Bag

[jim4065]

Not sure where this thread belongs - probably not here.........

Bought one of those vacuum pack machines at Sam's for storing bulk foods in smaller quantities. I was putting some primers into a little refrigerator when I noticed the frost on the freezer compartment. I know that heat is bad for primers, but what about water vapor? A brick of CCI Large Rifle primers vacuums down really well - but will a vacuum rob them of needed volatile gases which are trapped in the priming compound at standard temp and pressure? (Given time?)

Should I just save the money and put 'em in zip-lock bags?

It's good for food - but is this machine worth anything for the stuff that really matters? Before I pull down the rest of these primers I'd really like to know.

[44man]

WHY? I use primers that are around 46 years old and they work great. Just store cool and dry. These primers are for guns I don't have anymore but I need to test someone elses gun now and then and run out of the primers they bring. I'll dig in the box and load them. They shoot as good as new ones. I have some powder as old or older and it is still good. I have a big, red keg half full of red dot I bought when I was 18 or so and I am going on 70. It still makes good shotgun shells.

[buck1]

The best way I have found to ruin primers is to put them in a plastic bag.
I trashed two bricks two diff times. NO MORE!
Forget the freezer , I think it will just cause you greif ,just put them inside your house and that should be fine. a paper bag/cardboard box is fine.
44man is 100% corect on primer life. I just finished up a bunch a RWS primers my dad gave to me 25 years ago with no probs. I must add when he gave them to me (25 yrs ago) he said shoot these up first, theyre real old.
I have swamp coolers and live in the desert. It works fine.
Store them in a open to the air enviorment away from outside summertime heat.
FWIW....Buck

[Bad Flynch]

When you seal primers in vacuum bags with a vacuum sealer, you essentially hermetically seal them. Once in the bag, they will not absorb air, water, chemical vapors, or anything else.

Primers, as far as I am aware after seeing the chemical composition, do not depend on volatile comounds to work, so that should not be an issue.

The one issue of note is that of the solvent in plastic bags that makes the polymer flexible. Modern plastics depend less on this than did the old plastics and the food grade bags that you buy for a vacuum sealer are very good in this respect.

Go ahead an seal them; it should not hurt a thing. Once sealed, you should store them at a cool room temperature, away from moisture sources, and in the dark.

[TAWILDCATT]

when I move to SC I brough the refrig I had just bought.the heat was amazing here so I put my primers in the frig.works for me[the frig not turned on]

[454PB]

I agree with 44man, keep them cool and dry and they will last a long, long time. I'm still using some that were produced in 1974, and they are perfect.

[catboat]

If you live in a humid area, or you store primers in a damp envirnment (ie. loading bench in basement), there may be a benefit to modify your sealed bag approach.

I've wondered about it myself. I'm thinking of putting a brick of primers in a good zip-lock style bag with some desiccant (moisture absorber). I am wondering if something like kitty litter or speedy dry would do the job (desiccant links below). I'm thinking of putting a handful of speedy dry/kitty litter (or desiccant) in a knotted off section of wife's old pantyhose, and sealing that in the bag. I'd probably heat the speedy dry/ kitty liter in the over first to dry it out/warm it, then put it in the pantyhose, then in the bag. It may not hurt to use an electric hairdryer on the bag before you seal it up. Not to heat it up, but to put some warm dry air in the bag. Then seal it all.

Just sharing some thoughts. Haven't done it yet. But thinking hard about it. I don't want to lose a ~$20 brick or primers to moisture. My loading bench IS in the basement. Even with the dehumidifier on, there is some dampness. No problems yet, but....

http://www.brent-krueger.com/silica.html

http://www.agmcontainer.com/desiccantcity/

[3sixbits]

I think of the greedy stares my new in the box 35 year old Coleman all metal ice chest gets when I pull it out to get primers out. This is not a good thing for fellow outdoors men to see. I've got Frankford arsenal primers from the 1930's that still work just fine.

But hey, we all get new toys to play with, have fun with it!

[fecmech]

I shot the last of some 35 year old primers a couple years back with no problems. They were stored in their original boxes in a spare bedroom closet, the total amount was in excess of 10,000. No misfires , no problems. As far as moisture I don't think I would worry about it, I believe (not 100% sure) that priming compound is a water based slurry when it is put into the cups. I would try and keep them cool, ie. not stored in a hot garage or attic. My $.02. Nick

[Junior1942]

Here in hot & humid Louisiana, primers and powder must be stored in artificial cool dry conditions. I store mine in an operating frost free refrigerator. They stay at 36 in the fridge section and at 20 in the upper, freezer section. "Frost free" means the refrigerator sucks moisture from the internal air and keeps it at low humidity.

Only thing special to do is don't open a container until it is allowed to slowly come to room temperature.

The powder & primers fridge also gives me a place to store extra beer and quartered deer.

[Lee]

3sixbits. "All metal 35 year old coleman ice box" I've gotta go look at mine and see if it's a Coleman. Mine..aluminum, textured surface(so it don't show fingerprints, right! ) aluminum snap latches on the end.
(It might not be a Coleman but it's at least 35 years old. I really don't want to calculate just "how" old it really is. Outlasted my parents, and will outlast me.)

Anyways I keep my primers in a Army footlocker with rubber seal, in the basement. Rough dimensions are 1'x 2' x 3' with room for a lot of primers. It stays reasonable temperature, and the seal keeps the humidity from getting to 'em.

......................................Lee

[1hole]

Kept cool, any chemical out-gassing from the primers is minimized. Any good vapor block will prevent moisture absorbion.

I think I would store any primers I wanted to store for long periods - 10 years or more - by tightly wrapping several layers of alum foil around them and seal the edges with a clear plastic packaging tape. Then put them in a reasonably cool place - a frig should be fine but not neccessary.

[50 Caliber]

I dont know what heat is being from Michigan and all, Today it was 91 with a humidity of 99.9%. and my primers all go bang when asked to do so and are not put in refridgeration and stored in my HOT, HUMID, work shop and have been for years.

[Bear4570]

Out of habit I store mine in a couple of large water tight sports boxes I got from Gander Mtn. on sale for $5 each.

I have a pretty humid basement in my 100 yr old farm house and have had no problems.

[jim4065]

OK, I think the meat of it all is that heat is kinda bad, but not moderate amounts of water vapor. Unfortunately, the primers will be shot up before they get really old - and I'll be dead before they get really old, for that matter. So it looks like there's no good reason for storing in a vacuum, even a cold vacuum.

What about guns? If someone wanted to bury a revolver and a hundred rounds of ammo "just in case", would a vacuum pack be a good idea? Seems like it would be iceing on the cake for a sealed PVC tube.

[jonk]

You know, I hear about how bad humidity and heat are, but I've yet to see it. I do most of my loading in my folks' basement. However, I do have a small setup in my apt. storage room, i.e. attic, right under the roof. Thermometer says 125 in the summer. Easily 95% humidity. Down to -10 in the winter as the attic isn't heated. Damp. So....I have some primers that have been in this hellhole for over 3 years now and still work perfectly.

Ergo, I choose not to worry anymore.

[MGySgt]

What about guns? If someone wanted to bury a revolver and a hundred rounds of ammo "just in case", would a vacuum pack be a good idea? Seems like it would be iceing on the cake for a sealed PVC tube.

FWIW

A friend of mine in TX stores all of his guns in vacumn bags that he is not going to use for a while. No problems noted todate and he has been doing it for about 10 years now.

Drew

[mingol]

Back in 2000, a hurricane came thru here and we had a pretty bad flood. Nasty brown filthy water, it got two feet deep in the daughter's house. I had a couple ammo cans of empties stashed under her house, and one of them was not closed tightly. It got full of water. It stayed full of water for a year or two, and then I discovered that it had leaked. There were a couple hundred 30-06 primed (CCI and/or Herters primers) empties in there along with some handloaded 38 and some commercial 38 and 357 ammo.
After rinsing the crud off and letting the cases dry out for a couple weeks, I tried a few (no powder, no bullet) to see how they'd do. 3 out of ten fired OK, 3 out of ten did not fire, and the rest fired weakly. These cases and primers had been submerged in water for well over a year. About half the reloads failed to fire, caused by wet powder and weak primer. I pulled the bullets and recycled them thru the casting pot, dried out the wet powder and used it in new reloads with no troubles. I deprimed all the wet primers and they are saved for future use when desperate - they're all dry now, and 9 out of ten fire OK.
The point of all this is to demonstrate that primers are almighty hard to deactivate. Any reasonable storage should be just fine.
John

[fiberoptik]

P.S. the new crystal cat litter is made of.............DESSICANT!