rabid wombat
Member
So, I'm guessing a cardboard box on a shelf is a bad idea?
better than ammo cans….
Explosive power, 1 lb black powder
- Thread starter orpington
- Start date
better than ammo cans….
Rustmangler
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I store mine in a Cannon pointed in a safe direction 
Jackrabbit1957
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Find an old fire rated paint and hazmat locker, they have blowout plugs built into them and are self closing.
woodnbow
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Not necessarily… if you don’t have any concerns with unauthorized access it might be just fine… I don’t really have any such concerns so I’m ok with that footlocker. If I did, I’d consider @Jackrabbit1957 suggestion of a paint locker. Pretty good idea actually…So, I'm guessing a cardboard box on a shelf is a bad idea?
Okay, I never liked the idea of storing black powder in the ammunition box except when purchased at auction that’s how it came and whomever owned it before boldly marked it “BLACK POWDER”. And, I couldn’t think of another option.
The best option for now, which I have engaged, is that I found an old 1960’s hard suitcase that would never be used. I placed it along the back wall of the basement with all 9 containers, some partially full, lying in the bottom of the suitcase, a few inches between each one. Serves the same purpose as a wooden box, which I didn’t have. I could certainly construct one, but this was a good use of an otherwise disused hard suitcase.
It will have to do until I exit the suburban misery when I retire in a few years.
This is the huge problem with regulation & over regulation. You are forced to stockpile, if I had run out, I could go to Powder Valley. Goex powder, several choices, all out of stock. Last at $22.95. When back in stock, will it be that price? Probably not. When will it be back in stock? That’s anyone’s guess.
This is an excellent example of the political agenda of a political party (to be unnamed) getting in the way of safety and practicality. I, and probably most others, would rather keep a full container of Fg, FFg, and FFFg in stock, plus one of each, in use. When one runs out, order a replacement, low cost, lower ke $22.95, low or free shipping, no Hazmat fees.
Hazmat fees are to discourage purchase. Lack of availability discourages purchase. This, when one needs more black powder, it forces one to stock up, and keep more around than is sensible, as one has to plan for the future, in case it is out of stock when you need it, and then order more than is sensible due to uncertain availability in future as well as ordering enough to make the unit cost reasonable when you add in Hazmat fees and shipping.
I was given the 4 Fg powder and purchased the rest, mostly unopened, maybe 12 or 14, at auction off of an estate about a decade ago for maybe $60 or $70. When I run through the remainder of what I have in another decade or so, I’ll have to make a bulk purchase and have more around than I’ll want. By then, I should be out of living in a suburban neighborhood, I should think.
Regulation and control of anything usually doesn’t work and has unintended consequences.
The best option for now, which I have engaged, is that I found an old 1960’s hard suitcase that would never be used. I placed it along the back wall of the basement with all 9 containers, some partially full, lying in the bottom of the suitcase, a few inches between each one. Serves the same purpose as a wooden box, which I didn’t have. I could certainly construct one, but this was a good use of an otherwise disused hard suitcase.
It will have to do until I exit the suburban misery when I retire in a few years.
This is the huge problem with regulation & over regulation. You are forced to stockpile, if I had run out, I could go to Powder Valley. Goex powder, several choices, all out of stock. Last at $22.95. When back in stock, will it be that price? Probably not. When will it be back in stock? That’s anyone’s guess.
This is an excellent example of the political agenda of a political party (to be unnamed) getting in the way of safety and practicality. I, and probably most others, would rather keep a full container of Fg, FFg, and FFFg in stock, plus one of each, in use. When one runs out, order a replacement, low cost, lower ke $22.95, low or free shipping, no Hazmat fees.
Hazmat fees are to discourage purchase. Lack of availability discourages purchase. This, when one needs more black powder, it forces one to stock up, and keep more around than is sensible, as one has to plan for the future, in case it is out of stock when you need it, and then order more than is sensible due to uncertain availability in future as well as ordering enough to make the unit cost reasonable when you add in Hazmat fees and shipping.
I was given the 4 Fg powder and purchased the rest, mostly unopened, maybe 12 or 14, at auction off of an estate about a decade ago for maybe $60 or $70. When I run through the remainder of what I have in another decade or so, I’ll have to make a bulk purchase and have more around than I’ll want. By then, I should be out of living in a suburban neighborhood, I should think.
Regulation and control of anything usually doesn’t work and has unintended consequences.
Here's link to Richard Hammond and a documentary of what the Gun Powder Plot might have done-
www.youtube.com
Cliff Notes version- recreate a version of the Parliament and blow it up with 1 ton of gun powder. They actually made the foundations from very thick concrete to simulate the foundations of the original Parliament building. One ton of black powder was packed under the end. Note at the end of this clip, the foundations are blown out. Watch the full video on Utoob to see the assessment of damage to the surrounding buildings had Fawkes been successful.
Gunpowder Plot reconstruction
We all know the gunpowder plot was foiled, but what if it hadn't been? Would it have worked? In 2005 a team tried to find out. They built a replica of the pa...
www.youtube.com
Cliff Notes version- recreate a version of the Parliament and blow it up with 1 ton of gun powder. They actually made the foundations from very thick concrete to simulate the foundations of the original Parliament building. One ton of black powder was packed under the end. Note at the end of this clip, the foundations are blown out. Watch the full video on Utoob to see the assessment of damage to the surrounding buildings had Fawkes been successful.
And this just reinforces my point about folks being forced to stock up. I’ve got enough for now, but it illustrates my point. Goex powder was $22.95. It’s now $27.99, the previous cost was 82% of what it is now. And that’s not including Hazmat fees and shipping.
www.powdervalley.com
GOEX
GOEX is the only U.S. manufacturer of black powder. GOEX Powder is used for numerous applications and found affordably at Powder Valley.
www.powdervalley.com
Jim Watson
Member
That is the first advertisement for Goex powder in stock I have seen since Estes bought out Hodgdon.
Enfielder
Member
A simple storage fix for you is to build a predictive failure vault. There are six sides to a box. If five of those sides are rugged and built out of, say, 4x4 pt and the lid it built out of 1/4” plywood, you have a distinct fail point. It acts sort of like a shape charge but you’re just steering the pressure rather than creating angry metal. Over the span of 7.5‘ to the ceiling of your basement, the expansion of black powder will amount to heat and smoke and less than the initial shockwave, albeit dramatic I’m sure. Adding a heat activated fire suppression device (bag sand or baking soda retained by plastic) over the fail point can add some fire protection. The odds of a kaboom are small but not zero. Making physics work for you will mitigate damage that you didn’t predict.
This idea comes from the old outdoor explosive vaults they’d build at the granite quarries I would prowl around when I was a kid. They would build them so a failure would redirect the blast in a safe direction.
This idea comes from the old outdoor explosive vaults they’d build at the granite quarries I would prowl around when I was a kid. They would build them so a failure would redirect the blast in a safe direction.
hawg
Member
Enfielder
Member
The room spiders grow in.Ummm, what's a basement?
hawg
Member
I think I've killed spiders in every room in the house. MS doesn't have basements. The water table is too high.
Eyrie G. Dogg
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I know several farmers and agriculturalists who say that ever since Timmy lit up the Murrah (April ‘95) they are very careful not to buy too much fertilizer at any one time.
woodnbow
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I wouldn’t sweat it if you have legitimate needs... Anyone buying it for nefarious purposes I hope they get hung before they can do anything… although I don’t have lots of confidence frankly.
The black powder should be stored in a wood container that has one or more loose sides. In other words build a wood box out of pine 1x4s that might be loosely glued together or without any metal fasteners. The idea is that if ignited, the wood box would absorb much of the blast, without creating more contained pressure.
Then that box would be placed in a locked shed of some kind, 50 ft or more away from the main house.
Another thought was I once tried to burn 3 ounces of black powder by bending over the tossing a lit match into a small pile on a brick.
I lost the hair on both arms and my eye brows in the 6 foot flash before I could even take a step back. If you have ever used gasoline to light a fire, black powder has to be 20 times faster.
Then that box would be placed in a locked shed of some kind, 50 ft or more away from the main house.
Another thought was I once tried to burn 3 ounces of black powder by bending over the tossing a lit match into a small pile on a brick.
I lost the hair on both arms and my eye brows in the 6 foot flash before I could even take a step back. If you have ever used gasoline to light a fire, black powder has to be 20 times faster.
hawg
Member
It's a wonder you didn't burn more than that. 3 ounces is 1,312 grains.
Ironicaintit
Member
oh yeah I did something similar, way back when I was more dumb than now. I lost hair, and had nasty blistering over much of my right hand and up my forearm.
Black powder doesnt burn.... every bit of it goes up RIGHT NOW.
Im still an idiot, but Im sure not dumb enough to do that again
woodnbow
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Reminds me of a story by Patrick McManus, “Poof, no eyebrows.” Classic.
If our house goes, the powder will burn. It won’t explode and the house itself is mostly 100 year old douglas fir so it will burn pretty fast. Fire Department is probably 35-40 minutes away anyway so… c’est la vie…
If our house goes, the powder will burn. It won’t explode and the house itself is mostly 100 year old douglas fir so it will burn pretty fast. Fire Department is probably 35-40 minutes away anyway so… c’est la vie…
At least you are not a dumb idiot and you lived by your mistakes, too just like me.
All I can say is it was in a open area, on a safe fire brick, very near my wife's flower garden, in the middle of summer and the flowers had quit blooming and were in need of water. I don't think she noticed. After all, I watered them after that which made her happy that I was so thoughtful. And I didn't burn anything down. Remember, Patrick McManus said "Real Horses don't go Oink!"
david58
Member
Being pedantic here, you can't detonate black powder because it doesn't. Deflagrates. Might be hard to tell the difference if you are sitting on top of it when it goes off....
What exactly is safe. I was told of a guy that built a cannon and thought it would be fun to take it up north to his cottage and shoot it on the 4 of July. Well, he did, thinking the cannon ball would make a big splash in the lake. Well,... it didn't. It went over the lake and landed in someone's front yard on the other side of the lake. The shooter was hauled in to the local magistrate, who fine the guy $50 for disturbing the peace. Then he said get that ($#%& cannon out of his district and never bring it back or he would lock him up and throw away the key!
