Rant about powder cans

flintyboom

CGN Regular
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I picked up some powder recently, and among them was this older can of H110. The size and design of this can is almost perfect!! There's no wasted space, they're rectangular and they stack nicely. If you have a square box, you could fit a lot of powder in it so neatly. The only improvement would be plastic vs steel and cardboard. Modern cans, especially Alliant powders are so big, and awkward. You could almost fit 2 lbs in one. All of the cans in the pic are "1lb cans".
I am getting tired of trying to fit the short, fat, tall, skinny, round, square, rectangle cans all together. Imagine if this size was the standard.
 

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I am ancient and ill go take some pics of the old powder cans that I have used or collected. I like the plastic but round is much easier to manufacture than rectangular when blow moulding. Round are definitely a PITA
 
IMO I prefer the VV 1 lb containers, they're not oversized like the majority are. Small, rectangular, and the caps are big enough to allow stacking. The only upgrade I could recommend is a preformed bowl in the bottom, to allow a solid stacking easier.
 
My users stock is in a 6gal milk crate on casters under my reload bench.
I prefer the Alliant tall round plastic bottles as 2Lbs of powder will fit in each one.
A double stack of Dupont IMR rectangle steel cans from 4227 to 7828 are included in the crate.
A double stack of Accurate Arms rectangular plastic bottles.
A double stack of W-W quart size "F" bottles.

35+ Lbs at my disposal.

8Lb's depending on manufacturer/configuration will hold 12Lbs of powder.(W-W & Alliant)
 
Yes the newer ones are about twice the size they need to be to fit 1 lb powder, lots of wasted space, I bought some RL25 a couple years ago all the same lot, opened them and filled them full, got 3.7 lb into 2 bottles, takes up wat less space in the cabinet.
 
Questions
1) If stored properly, how long is the shelf life of gun powder
2) Should I check it every now and again - and if so, what am I looking for ? ( evidence of an explosion is not a good answer ) !!
All of my powder is stored in plastic containers in a dark cool room.

Thanks
 
Questions
1) If stored properly, how long is the shelf life of gun powder
2) Should I check it every now and again - and if so, what am I looking for ? ( evidence of an explosion is not a good answer ) !!
All of my powder is stored in plastic containers in a dark cool room.

Thanks

1) Decades.

2) Sure, but as long as it's a cool, dry, room then everything should be ok. Signs that powder has gone bad include a discolouration that looks like rust and a acrid odour.
 
Well, the unfortunate news (maybe good in this very particular instance) is that Alliant's entire lineup has been all but MIA in the last few years so those tall cans are less of a problem than they once were
 
Well, the unfortunate news (maybe good in this very particular instance) is that Alliant's entire lineup has been all but MIA in the last few years so those tall cans are less of a problem than they once were
Yes, I'm hoping they come back to our market (I've burned a lot of their powder over the decades). - dan
 
Round bottles don’t seem to stack well. The Alliant bottles will hold most of 2 lbs of powder so less space. I keep all my larger bottles and pour the 1lbs into them. I keep finding win 571 so everything goes into a 5lb can. I try to reduce the amount of bottles I have and larger bottles take up less space.
Don’t ask as I cleaned him out. Found 4 bottles of Alliant 2400, 4lb. Just sitting on the shelf. Friend picked it up and bringing it down in a couple weeks.
 
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