Ever just dump your powder and start over with a fresh batch?

[Walter Laich]

My powder doesn't seem to be covering as well as it did 6 months ago--seems thin.

thinking of trashing the current 'stuff' in the bowl and going with a fresh couple of Tbs.

has anyone else had a similar experience?

walt

[Recycled bullet]

Yes

[redhawk0]

Yes...if bought commercial...PC powders have an expiration date on the bag/can.

redhawk

[Wheelguns 1961]

I never leave powder in my containers. When I am done, I dump it in the trash. It is fairly humid around my way, and I have adjusted my procedure over the years. I have actually seen my powder starting to get lumpy before.

[Carrier]

I’ve got several bottles of Eastwood powder I’ve been using for last several years and have had no issues. They are kept in the original bottles in climate controlled room. Any powder left over from after bullets are coated is poured back into the original bottle. I’m in a very dry climate though.

[SiliconeSword]

I recently just ruined an entire bag of Eastwood by leaving it in my basement open for a week. Didn't stick at all even with warm boolits. I tried drying it by leaving the bag open in my car but now it's just a brick inside the bag, guess my dashboard is pretty toasty.

Looks like I'll be using glass jars or something better than a bag I'll probably forget to close again.
I'm wondering if this is why people have had bad experiences with Harbor Freight powders, myself included , could they just be wet?

[405grain]

I keep little packets of silica gel in with my powder so it won't attract moisture + I keep the containers sealed. I have some powders that are several years old and they all still work fine.

SiliconeSword: Naw! Harbor Freight powders are just lousy. If they attract moisture it will make them worse, but they weren't that good to begin with. Like everybody else, when PC was a new thing I cut my teeth on HF red, but the first time I uses Smoke's powders the Harbor Freight stuff went into the trash can. Eastwood Ford light blue is good stuff too. Eastwood powders used to come in a screw top plastic bottle, but now they come in a plastic bag. I transfer them into a bottle because it seals much better than a baggie.

[schutzen-jager]

jmho - no problems like that with any conventual, more user friendly + economical lube processes -

[Recycled bullet]

I prefer to store my powder tightly tied in the original bag that it came in then put that inside of a small freezer bag. I have powders that are years old that work excellent. Currently using Ultra durable glass clear and Ford blue from Powder by the pound seems to work fine.

When it's time to coat apply exactly the amount of powder that's needed then discard The Leftovers. I use a little measuring spoon to dispense powder into the casserole tray with the bullets.

For example I use six spoonfuls when I put a full load of H&G 50 wad cutters. I'm wasting a thimble full of powder to coat hundreds of bullets.

The spoon says 2.5 ml and half teaspoon

[atfsux]

I wonder if the powder that has degraded for use in dry application works any better in wet application (dissolved in acetone, applied wet and placed in oven after the acetone has flashed off and the boolits are sticky). Anybody have experience with that process. Rumor has it that this process allows for more even and better coating with notoriously bad colors like white, yellow and orange.

[Delkal]

I store all my powders with a silica gel desiccant pouch. I leave most of it double bagged in a ziplock and put enough for 4-5 sessions in a small mason jar (also with a desiccant pouch). It is much easier to take a spoonful out of a jar than opening two bags every time you use it then trying to squeeze all of the air out.

[Finster101]

I never leave powder in the container I use to swirl boolits. For one thing I add powder a little at a time to get coverage so is practically nothing left in the bowl. The bulk of it stays in tightly sealed and doubled zip lock bags inside an old non-working refrigerator with desiccant bags along with primers and gun powder.

[popper]

I tried 'wet' PC with an electric charge - didn't work. Tried a lot of different methods, tumbling is easiest and works. Trashed the static gun years ago.