Where Do You Store Powders?

[Usmc1968]

NO, why would you think that???????

They obviously do it, because they also own stock in lumber companies, so want to increase the amount of lumber being sold. There is NO other reason for them to specify this.

BTW, for others, we are not talking about fine cabinet making work, a simple BOX of 2 layers of 1/2 plywood will work. To make it EASY to build, use 2x2 for the corners. One side is loose, with hinges and a hasp.

Resurrecting old thread,
Just get a bunch of good used Pallets and make a large box out of the boards! Maybe cover with a layer of drywall.

Semper Fi

 

[Harrys]

Each manufacturer posts their MSDS sheeta on their page.

 

[platekiller]

Always store in ORIGINAL containers, in a cool, dry place.

My powder is stored on an open shelf, in my reloading room.

I started reloading in 1979. I've always kept a fire extinguisher in my reloading room. Always.


YMMV.

That’s a great idea. I need to get one for my reloading area

 

[Usmc1968]

Each manufacturer posts their MSDS sheeta on their page.

Good info, thanks

 

[lazarus]

That’s a great idea. I need to get one for my reloading area

I've got one of the mini-hand fire extinguishers. I know it is less than ideal, but frankly if it is anything other than a very, very small fire that is going to be easy to extinguish with some benchtop 16oz (12oz?) fire extinguisher for some reason it is probably much better that I am running and getting everyone out of the house than trying to fight a fire in a room with powder, primers, ammunition, solvents and oils.

I have a much larger fire extinguisher in the next room, which is where my oil boiler is located. So if I did think a bigger extinguisher might be the best bet, I am about 6 steps away from one.

As for storage, all of my powder is in an old Czech dynamite box. It does not seal perfectly, but the air gaps are pretty tiny, it is in very good shape, and the wood is about a good inch thick on it. It isn't going to keep it from catching fire in a real inferno for more than a few minutes at best. But it is also "weak enough" that the moment anything on it catches fire it is going to lose containment and just be a RAGING fire rather than a BOOM.

My primers are just sitting on a shelf. At some point those are going to go into some wood cabinets. Which won't provide much fire resistance, but still provides a little.

 

[jr355]

Hey guy's remember the fire exstingusher is for putting a fire out BEFORE OR AFTER powder ignites and burns out. Powder fire pretty much can't be put out because it has it own oxygen built into it I believe.

 

[lazarus]

Hey guy's remember the fire exstingusher is for butting a fire out BEFORE OR AFTER powder ignites and burns out. Powder fire pretty much can't be put out because it has it own oxygen built into it I believe.

Yup. I mean, you could if you could quench it (temperature wise). But realistically no fire extinguisher is going to put out a pile of powder cans that are lighting off already. They'll burn too fast for any fire extinguisher to cool them off enough to stop them from continuing to burn (that and, a lit powder cannister is probably going to burn up in single digit seconds). Now I want to go look for someone igniting a powder cannister and see how fast it burns.

But yeah, the powder has the oxygen built in. So all you can hope for is to remove heat faster than the combustion can add it, to prevent further combustion. Which isn't going to happen.

 

[lazarus]

There we go, fun to watch. Not how it would work in a large structure fire, but still instructive.

The confinement for the 6N test will cause it to burn faster, but probably still an entire cannister is going to burn in 1-2 seconds at a guess.

BIG heat impulse, but not explosion. And it will also burn out in that couple of seconds. So I can see if you ignite a drum of it, if you are close buy, you are dying in the fireball, but there isn't a blast. It can certainly aid the fire too, but in terms of energy, 30# of smokeless powder has less energy than 30# of gasoline and likely less energy than 30# of wood. It has to contain its own oxygen, where as fuels do not. So there is more energy released as a result of combusting them.

Of course, unless you make an FAE, gasoline doesn't all burn up in 1-2 seconds, nor does wood. So you have like 100x the heat impulse, for 1/300 the time compared to wood, and probably 10x the heat impulse, but 1/30 the time of the same volume of gasoline.

Check the bonfire test later. COVERED in gasoline/lighter fluid first. Just looking at the 20# test, I would NOT want to be in a small room when that happened, but if your face wasn't in it you'd probably get away with some burns. It would certainly make the fire worse, but it would not blow up your house or make the fire SUBSTANTIALLY worse. My 550 gallon heating oil tank if it ignites is going to be 1000x the damage and risk as my smokeless powder.

 

[J1911]

Maryland graciously allows a person to possess 5lbs of smokeless powder and 5lbs of blackpowder kept in the original containers without a license.

Thanks Maryland legislature, for making reloading more dangerous.

If you wanted to buy more than 5 pounds who sells these licenses?

State? County? Fire department?

 

[K31]

If you wanted to buy more than 5 pounds who sells these licenses?

State? County? Fire department?

It's the State fire marshal and it's more than just pay for a license.

Since it's a per-person limit each adult person can possess their own 5+5 pounds, as long as it is not a multifamily dwelling.

https://mdsp.maryland.gov/firemarshal/Documents/Maryland%20Code%20%20Public%20Safety%20Article%20Title%2011%20-%20Explosives.pdf