I was going through a metal filing cabinet that I store a lot of powder in, looking for some gadget stored in there. I happened to notice what looked like rust on the drawer around the bottom of a powder can. Picking up the can (very old Hodgden container of 4831) I could tell the rust was really bad and it was also starting on an old can of Dupont 4831. In fact, rust was eating into the side of the can. Carefully removing both cans outside the house I did the old smell test and poured out some of the powder. No solvent smell at all, and a couple of flecks of orange in the powder.
Dumped both cans into the woods to fertilize the trees and breathed a big sigh of relief. This made me want to check around all the other powders I have stored in the basement for signs of problems. Makes me want to consider storing this stuff out in a building away from the house, but then the changes in temp would probably not help shelf life. I guess my takeaway is don’t hang on to old stuff too long! Glad all I got out of this was a scare.
Dumped both cans into the woods to fertilize the trees and breathed a big sigh of relief. This made me want to check around all the other powders I have stored in the basement for signs of problems. Makes me want to consider storing this stuff out in a building away from the house, but then the changes in temp would probably not help shelf life. I guess my takeaway is don’t hang on to old stuff too long! Glad all I got out of this was a scare.