How close to furnace is too close?

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Norincoman

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Hi all,

My father in law gave me all of his reloading equipment for christmas, several dies, Lee press (don't know model), brass, powder and a few other items. Just need to add a scale and caliper.

In my basement where my bench will go I have two options a 32" space below the elctrical panel and abou 5 feet from the furnace, or backing the water heater (gas also) about three feet from bench top to tank and seven feet from furnace. The furnace runs a pilot.

I worry about the powder causing a problem by drifting over to the pilots and igniting.

What do you guys think? I have never reloaded before but want t o get some other folks thoughts on this before deciding as I will be custom building the bench to fit.

Thans All!

Kevin
 
well i wouldn't put it under the electrical panel as it would make accessing it a #####. i wouldn't worry to much about the furnace/hot water tank. my bench is about 3 feet from the furnace and i have powder on the floor all over my gun room. never a problem.
 
The space between my bench and the furance its about the width of your average chair... I have to many presses and its getting hard to walk by... I mounted my magma sizer and then realized after I burnt the skin of my arm when I bumped the hot chimeny pipe I should have mounted it over more... lol... funny thing is we got a new and smaller furance so it was really cramped before that...
 
Neither of those places sounds great but the water heater location is the lesser of the two evils.

You will not want to store your powder near a heat source. Cool and dry is the key here or it will degrade faster. Store your powder in a wood box somewhere else in the basement, then move it to your bench when you reload.

Keep a (reasonably) clean loading bench. Sweep up your spilled powder after every reloading session and dispose of it outside, its good fertilizer or if your a pyromaniac :) , burn it

HTH,

Craig
 
being close to the furnace may not be a problem, but what will your insurance company have to say about the setup. using a flamable solid near a heat source will not make them very happy. i am an ex firefighter and know how the insurance companys think, it does not take much to get them excited these days.
 
I'd keep looking for another place.

That said, I bought a house a couple of years ago, and while cleaning it, my wife came ot me with a dist pan and said "what is this?"

She had been cleaning the furnace room, and there was a fair bit of spilled powder down there. Mostly between the wall frame and the floor. Seams one of the previous owners was an Albertan.
 
the other problem is air ducts
if there is a air duct near bench never weigh when the fan is on or you will get high/ lows because of air flow across scale
 
Put it anywhere that you can put your hand. If it's cool enough that you can put your hand there, then it's cool enough for powder and primers. That being said, keep in mind that accidents do happen. If there's a chance that you could spill powder that could possibly find it's way into the furnace, you might want to think twice about it. Most furnace combustion chambers are pretty well protected though. You'd almost have to dump a whole can of flake powder on top of a standard gas furnace before you'd get a reaction.
 
If I had a better Idea of your quarters it might help . . . Otherwise your choices in my order are . . . dining room, living room, kitchen, then bedroom!
 
Thanks all, good tips.

My powder will be stored in a wood box once I get it made and rolled under the crawl space away from heat sources.

My palce is a 4 level split so the basement is narrow and only 400 sq feet. I thought about the kitchen etc but with a pair of young boys (4 and 7) there is just way to much distraction -hence the basement laundry room/ workshop.

I think I will go with a 4' bench over by the hot water tank. Hard to explain the set up but once its done I will post a pic - seem theres always a "bench" thread on here...basically it will be my back to the tank and the front of the bench about 4 feet from the water tank.

MG34 good point about the insurance folks - might give then a call on the general info line and see what they have to say.

Thanks all - great info on here for the new reloader! Can not wait to get started.
 
Insurance

MMM.. Insurance agents, there's a pot to stir. It seems the more info you give them the more ignorance about firearms they get. You may just want to limit your info to them or not inform them at all. You may just find your insurance cancelled.
 
Both your gas furnace and water heater have open flames. While I have not been in firefighting business, common sense tells me having propellant close to open flames is hazardous.

Everyone’s ability to accept risk is different. But I am not sure if there is any reason to take the risk. Keep in mind that that you are not only putting yourself at risk but also your family and perhaps your neighbours. It is better to play safe than sorry.

In addition, store your powder far away and have them locked. The locked storage part is required by law. Don’t flash pictures of open powder storage in any forum as it gives the law makers in Ottawa reasons to make wave.
 
Danny Boy said:
Both your gas furnace and water heater have open flames. While I have not been in firefighting business, common sense tells me having propellant close to open flames is hazardous.

Everyone’s ability to accept risk is different. But I am not sure if there is any reason to take the risk. Keep in mind that that you are not only putting yourself at risk but also your family and perhaps your neighbours. It is better to play safe than sorry.

In addition, store your powder far away and have them locked. The locked storage part is required by law. Don’t flash pictures of open powder storage in any forum as it gives the law makers in Ottawa reasons to make wave.
Click to expand...

I would not worry about it being near an open flame, just do not throw it into the furnace or water heater burners. This is not like flammable liquids such as gasoline, acetone, lacquer thinner whose fumes can explode when enough fumes hit a flame. Spilled powder is only going to burn, not explode, if a hot enough spark or a flame should hit it, and you would have to have a lot piled together to cause a problem. If it is scattered like a normal spill probably only a few grains would burn, the grains would have to be in contact or extremely close for the flame to progress or travel. Take a little bit outside, pour it on the ground or pavement and give it a try and you will get an idea of what will happen. It will burn fast but will stay in the confines of the pile you make. Just use a very small amount and you will be safe. I have disposed of some very old contaminated power in this means with no safety problems.
 
mg34 said:
being close to the furnace may not be a problem, but what will your insurance company have to say about the setup. using a flamable solid near a heat source will not make them very happy. i am an ex firefighter and know how the insurance companys think, it does not take much to get them excited these days.
Click to expand...

Do you invite your insurance agent over for coffee regularly?
 
Thanks again for the comments.

Talked to the general inquiry line of my insurance company, they said as long as it is stored legally and not used negligently (ie dumped out on open flames by the can or used for illegal purposes) they have no concerns.

I know undersrtand better how the powders work from all this thanks to you folks. I was thinking that some would be airborne etc (fumes like) and be a problem. Clearly not in a normal use scenario anyways.

Setting the bench up soon I hope. I have some wood and an idea of what I need/want from some other threads on here.

Chat later all.

Kevin
 
Unless you go dancing around your workroom throwing gunpowder around like rice at a wedding you won't have any problems.:D Just use common sence...
 
msg.drew said:
Unless you go dancing around your workroom throwing gunpowder around like rice at a wedding you won't have any problems.:D Just use common sence...
Click to expand...

When you do that voodoo dance you HAVE to throw powder around. The accuracy gods demand it.

Just remember to turn the furnace off first.....
 
I agree with jkingrph, i have done what he talks about before, when people think that the powder is unsafe. I have only smokeless powder, which is a propellant , not an explosive. Hollywood has baked peoples minds with powder exploding and blowing a banks safe door off, after dumping it on the floor beside it. Then the crook takes the money and runs, right, we have all seen it before.
I know black powder is explosive, so where you store it shouldn't be near open flame.

I personally would look at a different place to store it, as if you store it near your water heater, what are you going to do with it if the tank springs a leak and sprays down your powder, primers etc. Your powder is in a can yes, but are yooou going to use it? The next thing to think about is if you are in your basement, is it damp down there? Keep this stuff upstairs in your bedroom closest on the top shelf, that is if your closet is not a heat factory.
Remember that your powder does not have to be stored an arms length from your press, though it is handy there.
 
Wow, I can't believe all the bad advice being given. Check the label on your powder, there is a warning label for a reason. I happen to know of one shooter in Calgary who has a new home thanks to an unintended home renovation. All I can say is make sure you have a fire extinguisher near by and don't move in next to me.
 
Neither site sounds great. I'd probably stay away from the electrical panel for another reason as well. The EM field...even flourescent lights, for that matter generate an EM field that can actually affect your scales. Often the impact is minimal, but it bears consideration, especially if using scales that are more sensitive.

If you have a spare bedroom or are able to convince your wife to take a part of the master bedroom, I would much rather go that route than the areas you descrive. I know of one guy who converted his closest in the master bedroom into his reloading station. When finished, he simply closed the double folding doors on the station and to all outward appearances it was nothing more than a closet.
 
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