store ammo in chimney?

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wild cat mccane

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hello,

I know it sounds like a terrible idea, but hear me out. We don't light fires as our Utah air is horrible. The flue can be easily locked. Locked, out of sight and hands, and surrounded by protective brick...

So, is there any reason I am not thinking of for not stashing ammo in the chimney? Too cold? Possibility of moisture (I don't know..)
 
Mark Twain told about how some residents of Nevada, fearing an Indian attack, stored powder in an old stove.

They forgot about it, and later on an Indian who did laundry, lit a fire in the stove: "Hmph! Damn' stove heap gone!":what:
 
1. We don't have fires.
2. Legally we don't have many days you could, due to Salt Lake's horrible air quality.
3. We don't have fires.

That said, one would first check to make sure the flue was open. One would be stopped from starting a fire upon noticing the flue is locked shut by a combo lock.

Our two chimneys brick are stepped inside. I don't know if this is standard. It would be easy to construct a shelf inside the chimney and put ammo cans on it.
 
wild cat mccane hello,

I know it sounds like a terrible idea, but hear me out. We don't light fires as our Utah air is horrible. The flue can be easily locked. Locked, out of sight and hands, and surrounded by protective brick...

So, is there any reason I am not thinking of for not stashing ammo in the chimney? Too cold? Possibility of moisture (I don't know..)
Click to expand...
1. Storing in the flue (ductwork) or the firebox itself?
2. Is there no other place you can store ammunition?
3. Who are you hiding it from?
4. Is there are problem locking it in an ammo can in the garage?
 
My biggest concern would be temperature fluctuations. Ammo does best when it's in a stable room temperature environment, especially in the long term.
 
What is the exact purpose of using this location? If it is because you want to hide the ammo from thieves who have broken into the house in your absence then suppose it makes some sense.

Other than that don't see much positive about the chimney. It's open to the elements and not environmentally controlled like other areas of your home would be. In theory with sealed USGI ammo cans that shouldn't be a problem so long as the cans are dry and don't rust. Still would have to check it regularly to verify no water/condensation forming on them causing rust. Same goes with dirt/crud/animals/etc. getting into the chimney and covering your ammo with gunk.

Which side of the house is the chimney located. If it is a southern exposure with full sun have you checked how hot the inside gets during the summer on a hot day at 2-3pm? Although temps would not be likely to get hot enough to set off ammo, long term exposure to temps over 100 degrees can degrade ammo.

Of course there is the real possible danger of somebody lighting a fire (obviously low assuming you are the only person living in the home and would theoretically know to remove the ammo first). But still, things do happen. What if sometime down the road you are incapacitated (hospitalized, institutionalized, dead) without the opportunity to either move the ammo or tell someone else to do so. Yes some new occupant may be confused by a locked flu, but that is no guarantee the person will actually look up inside the chimney after cutting the lock off.

Obviously all in the land of what-if's. But let's assume it's a safe place to hide/store some ammo cans for a moment. Just how accessable is it to you after you set this up? If the point of using this location is secret hiding place, then if you need to get to the ammo for any reason doesn't that mean pulling out whatever logs and other stuff you placed into it to make it look normal, crawling in, unlocking the padlock, opening the flu, then crawling back in there and rummaging around in a tight space to retrieve heavy steel boxes? Seems like an awful lot of hassle for you.

Some insight into WHY you want to use that location would be helpful in suggesting alternate locations if the chimney isn't ideal for your purposes.
 
Huh?

Why? Just why would you ever store ammunition in a place where you MIGHT build a fire. What is wrong with a desk drawer or a safe or a loose floor board. I think about every place I have every lived and think about where I could store ammunition and the chimney never comes up.
 
You out of closet space?

I can see it now.... years pass and you pass, house is sold and someone lights a fire. Your in the news and everyone would be trying to figure out why on earth anyone would place ammo in the chimney.

Dry and a stable temp is best.
 
Several years ago I bought a small used Jobox at a garage sale. Refinished it with Rust-Oleum and bolted it to the floor joists in my loading room. For about $30 I have a strong, vented ammunition box I can secure reasonably well.
 
There are so many possibilities that COULD happen that would lead to an explosion in your chimney if you stored ammo/reloading components there that it's just not a good idea. Chimneys are made for fire, not ammo. I'd figure something else out rather than make a lot of assumptions for a bad idea.
 
If you are storing it in the flue pipe I would say bad idea. Unless you jam insulation above the ammo the temp will swing up and down. Humidity might also be hard to control. Also, ammo is heavy. Has the piece that will be taking the weight been designed to hold it. 1000 round can weigh over 50 pounds.
 
What's wrong with your garage? When I lived in northern NV that's where I kept it, along with the safe. If you want to "hide it", go to Lowe's/Home Depot and buy some new empty paint cans and put it in there and place them among the paint cans your garage
 
In the chimney? That's nuts IMO, talk about hard to get to! I'd put it in the wall first, but I also have no qualms about storing it where I can easily get to it either.

If you REALLY need to secure it, get something to lock it up in. One of these will hold a lot of ammo, and can be bolted down if necessary.

jobox.jpg
 
That's what i use. The company i work for bought new gang boxes and gave the old ones to the staff. Little bit of body work and paint = safe,secure ammo storage....lots of ammo storage :)

These things can be found pretty cheap in the want ads

Fire isn't an issue with me, my house has a fire sprinkler system.
 
They are not airtight, more ventilation could be provided with a 1" holesaw if needed. Ammo cans are a far greater pressure hazard.
 
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