Reloading and Storing Powder In Unheated Garage?

mkrainc

mkrainc

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Due to space issues, I reload in my unheated garage. I figure this is fine in the summer, but I'm looking for any thoughts and/or advice for storage and doing this in the winter.

Will the moisture content in the air adversely effect my powder during the cold winter months?

Cheers all
 
mkrainc said:
Due to space issues, I reload in my unheated garage. I figure this is fine in the summer, but I'm looking for any thoughts and/or advice for storage and doing this in the winter.

Will the moisture content in the air adversely effect my powder during the cold winter months?

Cheers all
Click to expand...

Not so much as moisture in the air but more of temperature change.

If it is constanty changing, ie one week warm next week freezing, it can effect the powder. I would reccomed storing it in your house as long as you donot have very much, legal limit is 22lbs inside an occupied residence.
 
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I hadn't even thought of the amount of powder stored being a legal concern. I better not buy any more. lol

Thanks all so far. I haven't had an issue with where I do my reloading and temperature/MC yet, but my local sport shop proprietor had expressed concern when he found out where I stored my powder. So I had to put the question out there (here).
 
Would cold be an issue?
I suspect screaming hot temps like AZ or TX in the summer would harm the powder more.
 
If the containers are airtight, and you don't open them in a warm room when the powder is still cold, condensation shouldn't be a concern.
Now the question is, how airtight are regular powder containers?

Alliant's all plastic containers seal pretty well but I don't know how well the Hodgdon/IMR metal caps seal.
My all plastic Goex black powder containers aren't airtight at all. I can squeeze them lightly and I hear the air escaping.
Could try putting the jars in an airtight container (like military .50 cal ammo cans) but I don't know if that's kosher with the storage regs.
 
I've stored powder in an unheated building for more than twenty years (some of the powder is that old too) and have never had a problem. This is with the old metal IMR cans and the cardboard type Winchester containers. The newer style plastic ones I also store that way, but for not as long of course. As far as I can tell, as long as it's kept dry and out of direct sunlight, it's not affected at all. I think heat would be more damaging by far.
Our temps get well below -40.
 
As mentioned above, I would not be worried about the cold. There was a time not that long ago when it was suggested to store powder in sealed containers in the freezer.

Heat would be my big concern. I remember an old story about surplus powder bough by Hodgdon's where they would buy up several tons at auction. That was the stuff that you could buy a 50 pound heavy cardboard drum of for $30 or $1 per one pound scoop if you didn't have that kind of money.

Anyway, they got into some that had been stored in a metal building somewhere in UTAH for over a decade. When it arrived, it had all gone bad. None made it to the public. Hodgdon used to store all of their surplus offerings in what we call "open haysheds" in the west. Buildings with open sides and a roof. I was at their storage facility when this lot came in back in the seventies. It was all in big wooden crates with painted markings describing what was in it. I didn't get to see any of the contents but they weren't even bothering to put it under a roof. The just left it out on a field with a tarp over it.

The fellow I talked to about it told me it had deteriorated from excess heat. I know some parts of Utah can get pretty hot. No idea where in Utah it came from but they do have government loading facilities there or at least back then they did.
 
tootall said:
Would cold be an issue?
I suspect screaming hot temps like AZ or TX in the summer would harm the powder more.
Click to expand...

There are one or two people in AZ that reload in the summer. Without AC, garages only get up to 100-105F in the summer.
 
When it's well below freezing outside the air is actually pretty darn dry. It'll be the same dry air that comes into your garage. So I wouldn't worry about it.

I would worry more about my tender and frail body sitting there in the cold. Pulling that lever isn't a whole lot of exercise so you're not going to be generating many BTU's. Is the garage insulated? Any chance of setting up an electric heater in there? And maybe rig up some tarps around your reloading area to tent off that portion so the heater is a bit more effective?

Cold doesn't bother the powder in terms of ruining it. But heat does speed up the aging process. So in the summer if your garage gets sauna like I'd plan on storing your powder and ammo sitting directly on the floor and use a wood box or even an old camping cooler without a lid on it sitting over top of the supplies. This will allow the ground temperature to come up through the floor and control the temperature of your supplies. The insulated cover will aid on holding out the heat from getting into the stuff from the sides and top.
 
My garage is insulated, and I do have one of those $75 dollar basement heaters in there that takes the chill off while I'm in there.

I guess what I can gather from the great info here is that I don't think I have anything to be really concerned about.

A manual from "Berger" bullets, did have a section that had mentioned slight differences in powder weight when reloading in the cold and then shooting the same ammunition on a hot day. But that was the only thing they had to say about it. For precision shooting that is a factor I do need to consider.

Thank you all. Cheers
 
That reference might be true if you're measuring the volume of the powder if the granules change size due to the temperature. But the actual weight cannot change. 100gns of powder weighed on a scale will be the same in winter as summer. But if the powder alters its density with temperature changes then you need to make sure you don't just assume that the same volume dipper is good for hot and cold days. Even that seems a stretch for me. But given the note from Berger it's worth checking.

Speaking of warnings from manufacturers my idea for keeping your powder cooler in an over heated garage came from heat related premature aging of the powders presented by one of the powder makers. I didn't just make that up about doing something to keep the powder cool.
 
I have been set up in my unheated garage for a few years. I did notice my brass was a little harder to resize when it was minus twenty the other week. Also my case lube was pretty thick but no problems otherwise. I also skied into our range and shot the cold reloaded ammo the next day in similar temps and no problem.
 
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