Powder Inventory

Walkalong

Walkalong

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I check all of my powder from time to time, and when I moved last March I actually opened every bottle. I have looked over all it it a couple of times since then, plus just opening the wooden cabinet that most of my powder lives in to look though it to see if I had something.

Yesterday when I walked into the reloading room I smelled a pungent odor in the corner where the powder sits......not good.....so I opened up the cabinet and looked in to see a one pound jug (the last half pound of an 8 pound jug of N-133 that I acquired used around 25 years ago), with the top popped up, melted in spots, and brown stuff spilling out.

Damn.

Powder looked OK, but had obviously been gassing off nitric acid fumes. It couldn't have been more than two weeks since I looked in there and it hadn't popped the lid yet. It was close to the front and in easy view, so I would think I would have noticed.

So, check your powder more often, looking inside recommended.......Yes, Wiley Coyote is my hero. :)
Bad N-133 Pic 1.jpg
Bad N-133 Pic 3.jpg
Bad N-133 Pic 4.JPG
Powder Storage - Closed.JPG
Powder Storage - Open.JPG
 
Wall alkalong said:
I check all of my powder from time to time, and when I moved last March I actually opened every bottle. I have looked over all it it a couple of times since then, plus just opening the wooden cabinet that most of my powder lives in to look though it to see if I had something.

Yesterday when I walked into the reloading room I smelled a pungent odor in the corner where the powder sits......not good.....so I opened up the cabinet and looked in to see a one pound jug (the last half pound of an 8 pound jug of N-133 that I acquired used around 25 years ago), with the top popped up, melted in spots, and brown stuff spilling out.

Damn.

Powder looked OK, but had obviously been gassing off nitric acid fumes. It couldn't have been more than two weeks since I looked in there and it hadn't popped the lid yet. It was close to the front and in easy view, so I would think I would have noticed.

So, check your powder more often, looking inside recommended.......Yes, Wiley Coyote is my hero. :)
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All I'm saying is your zip container is the way forward. What makes me most curious is that's a ramshot container so having to label it baffles me.
 
Walkalong said:
I check all of my powder from time to time, and when I moved last March I actually opened every bottle. I have looked over all it it a couple of times since then, plus just opening the wooden cabinet that most of my powder lives in to look though it to see if I had something.

Yesterday when I walked into the reloading room I smelled a pungent odor in the corner where the powder sits......not good.....so I opened up the cabinet and looked in to see a one pound jug (the last half pound of an 8 pound jug of N-133 that I acquired used around 25 years ago), with the top popped up, melted in spots, and brown stuff spilling out.

Damn.

Powder looked OK, but had obviously been gassing off nitric acid fumes. It couldn't have been more than two weeks since I looked in there and it hadn't popped the lid yet. It was close to the front and in easy view, so I would think I would have noticed.

So, check your powder more often, looking inside recommended.......Yes, Wiley Coyote is my hero. :)
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Something I’m curious about: What does the E. stand for in Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius? :thumbdown:
 
Walkalong said:
I check all of my powder from time to time, and when I moved last March I actually opened every bottle. I have looked over all it it a couple of times since then, plus just opening the wooden cabinet that most of my powder lives in to look though it to see if I had something.

Yesterday when I walked into the reloading room I smelled a pungent odor in the corner where the powder sits......not good.....so I opened up the cabinet and looked in to see a one pound jug (the last half pound of an 8 pound jug of N-133 that I acquired used around 25 years ago), with the top popped up, melted in spots, and brown stuff spilling out.

Damn.

Powder looked OK, but had obviously been gassing off nitric acid fumes. It couldn't have been more than two weeks since I looked in there and it hadn't popped the lid yet. It was close to the front and in easy view, so I would think I would have noticed.

So, check your powder more often, looking inside recommended.......Yes, Wiley Coyote is my hero. :)
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That is crazy. Was that a plastic lid? It looks like it was close to self ignition?
 
Crazy.
I would assume a powder that looks in that condition would take a period of time to get in that state. But from what you're saying, it was basically GTG for 25 years, then all the sudden in a period of less than or equal to about one year......poof. Junk.
That's a bummer, and makes me a tad nervous about my powder inventory....
 
Does the powder look ok? I mean in the pictures, the powder looks ok and the lid looks like the only problem. Did you throw the powder out already? How does it smell when separated from the original container and lid?

Did the threads of the bottle get contaminated from something on your hands last March when you inspected the powder? Seems weird to go bad so quickly.
 
Here in dry ole NW New Mexico, I have some dating to 1974.....and still smells sweet. Must be the Alabama humid heat? Or is the old metal can superior storage? I've heard of what you had happen happen before, but never seen it.....thanks for the heads up!

Wonder how my old cardboard cans are doing? Will check all mine tomorrow!
 
Some powders are more stable than others. I have some surplus 30-06 powder I bought in the 80's that is still good. It was manufactured in the 70's before being sold as surplus. It was sold in gallon jugs for $59.00, approximately 8 lbs. I think I will check it more often now.
 
Zygodactyl said:
Some powders are more stable than others. I have some surplus 30-06 powder I bought in the 80's that is still good. It was manufactured in the 70's before being sold as surplus. It was sold in gallon jugs for $59.00, approximately 8 lbs. I think I will check it more often now.
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I got a jug of that stuff too, in the 80s also. I think mine was in the $80 range. I only keep it for extreme emergencies.

I only open my powder when I’m gonna use it. If it’s an open container, I do a visual and smell it.

Every time I start a new work up, I start with a new container. If that bleeds over to a second container, it’s one from the same lot. But once I’m done and have a sufficient quantity of loaded ammo, I’ll probably never use it again. So I have dozens of partials. But I never open them to check how they’re doing.

H414 is a prime example. I have 2 pounds, unopened, 3 partials. Those ones may be the only ones I ever get into the “old” powder since I can’t get it anymore.

I know, “W760 is the same powder.” I haven’t tried W760 in my H414 loads. But I have tried it in new development recently and my results were poor. That said, I did invest in a sufficient amount of W760, just in case.
 
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To add, I do not have any powders there are "real" old. But they have been around for several years and many are still sealed from the factory.

While I feel that powders that are still sealed from the factory are less likely to have deterioration problems, I would not exempt it issue. It all depends on the conditions that the powder is stored in.

My opened powders are stored in a cabinet in my reloading room. The air is controlled by the house HVAC system.

My bulk storage of powder is stored in a shop separate from my house and from my reloading room. When I am not using the shop, the temp is set low in the cooler times (60 deg F) and warmer (80 deg F) in the summer timers.

Walkalong's experience has made me to be more cautious with checking powder before loading it into cartridges.
 
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