So I heard a good one today. BS or valid?

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plinker 777

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My wife is taking her PAL/RPAL this weekend and during the unrestricted portion the instructor discusses Black Powder arms. During the discussion he states that one should never store BP in tin containers due to the natural "separation" of the powder components with age. Glycerine will leach out of the powder with age and rust the tin (or so he claims).

My understanding is that the salts contained in the powder make it hygroscopic (drawing ambient moisture from the air) that can promote rusting, but I've never heard of glycerine leaching/separating from powder...your thoughts please.

BTW, my wife scored 196 points out of a potential 200 on her PAL today. Tomorrow is her RPAL.
 
As Tiriaq says, there is no glycerine in it. I've never experiemced black powder not working after being stored in their tins for sometimes decades. This past summer we got donated about 5 pounds of old goex Ffg and Fg (some of each) for our cannon shoot, all of which was from an old stash (25 maybe more) years. It all lit up. I started buying it myself in 89 and found some a couple years ago that had been Given to me (old) in or about '89, it also all went boom.

In the 80s my cousin and I found some old 45-90 and 45 Colt IN Bowron Lake where an old trapper or prospector cabin had collapsed. We pulled the bullets and found dry black powder and guess what happened when we hit er with a match? Yup. "Boom" (ok well it was loose so "flash" is probably more accurate but not as good a story)

I'd say you are right to be skeptical. And congratulations to your wife. Mine got hers finally last year.
 
Thought it was more to do with the containment a metal box has in an explosion.
Wood boxes won't hold pressure as well, so are safer.
 
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Sounds like he's been watching old movies that needed a plot twist so nitroglycerin leached out of its containers and ended up being carried around by the would-be hero.
 
Nitroglycerin will sweat out of old dynamite, there is nothing like that in black powder. The instructor is confusing his chemistry.
Your comment of the salts in black powder attracting moisture and promoting rusting would be more in line.
 
Charcoal, sulphur and potassium nitrate, no glycerine leeching is possible. As stated above me, old dynamite will sweat it.

Black powder is incredibly stable, when stored even half decently, it will go off like the day it was manufactured after a century or more.
 
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I remember reading that BP MUST be stored in metal containers...something to do with electrostatic charge when stored in plastic containers. I still have a little bit of Goex ffg in the original can....30 years at least.
 
Yes, but the plastic BP is in has an anti static component added during manufacture.

As stated there is no glycerin IN BP in the first place. And all modern BP is wet mixed, and will not seperate into components. If you get it wet you can rinse the potassium nitrate out of the mix, but it won't mechanically separate.
 
My understanding of the modern BP manufacturing process is that the Charcoal, Sulphur and Potassium Nitrate are combined in a slurry with water or alcohol so it cannot separate, Then the slurry is dried, crushed to fine particles then passed through a series of sieves to sort into the various size particles. Then a bit of graphite is added to improve pourability and reduce static cling. BTW, there have been many experiments by the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association to ignite BP by an electrical spark and all have failed - urban myth. My understanding of the physics is that the carbon in the BP conducts the electrical charge so easily (no heat-causing resistance like in a stove element or toaster) that the powder doesn't reach ignition temperature.
 
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