Smokeless Powders

C

Cherrywood

Guest
I have many brands and varieties of smokless powders all of which are at least 6 or 7 years or older. They have been stored in one of those typical storage units without climate control for over two years. They were just stored in a box in their original containers and have been subject to all climatical conditions. I live in southeastern massachusetts where we are subject to all extremes of temperature and humidity. My question is; "Are they still ok to use or should I deep 6 them?" What's your opinion?

Chuck
 
In general powders 6-7 years old will be good. There are several tests that are good to test the viability of smokeless propellants. They involve the human eye and nose. Open the powder and look at it. If it looks black or dark gray it is probably good. If it is red or orange it probably is bad. Look at the lid of the powder. Is it eaten away or intact. Eaten away= bad. The most sensitive test is your nose. Does it smell like acetone, ether, or any other organic solvent. If so it is good. If it smells like acid it is bad. This is not a subtle difference. You will know for sure at the first whiff. If you open the powder and a red cloud puffs up from the container do not sniff it. Throw it away. The best way to dispose of old powder is to burn it or bury it. DO NOT store bad powder with your other powders. It is prone to spontaneous combustion. Get rid of it NOW. Tim
 
Exactly

'specially the old GI 322. It becomes self igniting. Ive never had any problem with any other but it has been properly stored. I have some of the very old 2015BR and 8208 that gets better but had to dump the GI322
 
Tim Oltersdorf said:
In general powders 6-7 years old will be good. There are several tests that are good to test the viability of smokeless propellants. They involve the human eye and nose. Open the powder and look at it. If it looks black or dark gray it is probably good. If it is red or orange it probably is bad. Look at the lid of the powder. Is it eaten away or intact. Eaten away= bad. The most sensitive test is your nose. Does it smell like acetone, ether, or any other organic solvent. If so it is good. If it smells like acid it is bad. This is not a subtle difference. You will know for sure at the first whiff. If you open the powder and a red cloud puffs up from the container do not sniff it. Throw it away. The best way to dispose of old powder is to burn it or bury it. DO NOT store bad powder with your other powders. It is prone to spontaneous combustion. Get rid of it NOW. Tim
Click to expand...

hmmmm, nice breakdown. I'll find this examination to be easy to remember, these are exactly the same criteria the doc suggested I use to monitor condition of my delicate area.

some mornings it's hard to get my nose down there........

al
 
alinwa said:
hmmmm, nice breakdown. I'll find this examination to be easy to remember, these are exactly the same criteria the doc suggested I use to monitor condition of my delicate area.

some mornings it's hard to get my nose down there........

al
Click to expand...

excuse me..
more like hard to get your head out of that delicate area....


sorry al could not pass it up

mike in co
 
Thanks to all that replied. I checked all my powders and they all stood the test of time.
 
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