What do you think the result will be...

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22to45

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I was helping clean up the stuff of a fellow who had quit reloading, and came across a container of powder that had been open for several years. Do you think it will have any effect on the powder?
 
What do you mean by open? The seal or the lid was off the powder?

How does it look and smell? If it's rusty or smells acidic then it's likely gone bad. What are you loading with the powder?
 
Oh, I will use it, I will treat it like a separate lot, I will test the velocities against what I usually get. 7 lbs of powder is worth a bit of fooling around. I smelled it, could not really smell anything. It was in a plastic bag in a box and the box and the bag were open,.
 
22to45 said:
Oh, I will use it, I will treat it like a separate lot, I will test the velocities against what I usually get. 7 lbs of powder is worth a bit of fooling around. I smelled it, could not really smell anything. It was in a plastic bag in a box and the box and the bag were open,.
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what powder? if you have the same powder but newer, compare them in look and smell. you could also measure the same amount of powder, make the same size line and burn the two powders to compare. not really scientific but should give you an idea.
 
I got 8lbs from an older gentleman who got out of reloading. It had been opened and about 1lb was used. It was OLD,..but it still smelled strong "made me sneeze" and works 100%
 
As powder dries out it speeds up. This is why a new can of powder sometimes seems to be slower.

If the powder still has the slight acetone or chemical smell typical of powder is is good to use, but start low and work up.

Bad powder has a very distinctive acidic smell and may change colour.

I would use it and treat it as a different lot #. If it is a powder that I have another jug of, I would mix the two, making a bigger lot, so my new load data will last longer.
 
Ganderite said:
As powder dries out it speeds up. This is why a new can of powder sometimes seems to be slower.

If the powder still has the slight acetone or chemical smell typical of powder is is good to use, but start low and work up.

Bad powder has a very distinctive acidic smell and may change colour.

I would use it and treat it as a different lot #. If it is a powder that I have another jug of, I would mix the two, making a bigger lot, so my new load data will last longer.
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X2 This!! Regards, Dave.
 
Ganderite, that is the best Idea, I have lots of that powder, it is RP5 From Higginson. It is wonderful stuff, probably there are modern powders that replace it, but I do much better with it than 4831 or 4350 did for me. I quit adding powder to the 300 win mag at 3150 fps for a 180 grain because there was no point in loading it hotter, not because there were any pressure signs or short brass life. I backed off to 3000 fps for my regular load.
 
I'm new to reloading in general, but anything that's used in a situation where life and limb could be affected makes me extremely conservative if it's been exposed to the elements. I simply would not use this powder, I'd take it down to my garden and use it as fertilizer. If I had the time and facilities I would do tests and a full workup of its performance, but failing that, nope.
 
blsonne said:
I'm new to reloading in general, but anything that's used in a situation where life and limb could be affected makes me extremely conservative if it's been exposed to the elements. I simply would not use this powder, I'd take it down to my garden and use it as fertilizer. If I had the time and facilities I would do tests and a full workup of its performance, but failing that, nope.
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That is a safe attitude, and I would never suggest anyone do anything that scares them. However, I have been reloading for a long time, not as long as some here, but since the late 1970's, and I am loading in relatively strong actions, (I cannot imagine blowing up a P14) and I have a chronograph. I have worked up loads for many different powders without having any load data, just an indication of the burn rate as compared to other powders. For the most part, if your case is 90% full or more, and your velocity is not over the top for that cartridge, and there is no indication of pressure in the brass, you are probably ok. For the most part I have always worked with slow powders, and these are more difficult to overload, as for the most part small changes in load do not increase pressure as much as the quicker powders do. I used to be interested in the max velocity I could get, but am now more satisfied with moderate velocities, and long brass life.
 
blsonne said:
I'm new to reloading in general, but anything that's used in a situation where life and limb could be affected makes me extremely conservative if it's been exposed to the elements. I simply would not use this powder, I'd take it down to my garden and use it as fertilizer. If I had the time and facilities I would do tests and a full workup of its performance, but failing that, nope.
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That is a safe approach, but unnecessarily conservative. God knows how many years of experience Ganderite and Eagleye have between them and they offer very sound advice. In the end YMMV, but I would be just as reluctant to throw out 7lb of powder as OP is.


Mark
 
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Particularly that RP-5, which is in reality, Norma MRP as manufactured by Bofors in Sweden

I had a long conversation with a Swedish technician over there about Norma N-205, MRP and RP-5.

This powder has long been a stellar performer in many medium-large to large capacity cases.

I have a bit of this same RP-5 in my possession, and love it in the various 30 cal Mags as well as 30-06 and 270.

I think I would begin by comparing the weight of a given volume of this open lot with the weight of the same volume of unopened stock, if possible.

If the opened stock was measurably lighter than the fresh stock, I would assume that some drying has taken place, and thus the burn rate "might" be somewhat faster.

If so, I would simply blend it as Ganderite suggested, with the fresh stock, and develop a load from the new blended batch.

I have found this powder to be very stable in storage, since I have some that I acquired 20+ years ago that is just fine.

Regards, Dave.
 
At the last Kamloops Gun Show, I bought a part tin of Bullseye:



It looks fine, no clumping, but I'm new to Bullseye and have this question- is it supposed to smell like ground pepper? It does to me, and my wife too when I asked her to give it a whiff.
 
stevebc said:
At the last Kamloops Gun Show, I bought a part tin of Bullseye:

It looks fine, no clumping, but I'm new to Bullseye and have this question- is it supposed to smell like ground pepper? It does to me, and my wife too when I asked her to give it a whiff.
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I have some Bullseye that's not quite as old as yours (it's in a round cardboard style container) . . . it does not smell like ground pepper to me.
 
stevebc said:
At the last Kamloops Gun Show, I bought a part tin of Bullseye:



It looks fine, no clumping, but I'm new to Bullseye and have this question- is it supposed to smell like ground pepper? It does to me, and my wife too when I asked her to give it a whiff.
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I have a newer bottle of bullseye and it also does not smell like ground pepper. It does seem to absorb moisture a little more from the air though - if I leave it in the measure for longer than required it can be a little less easy to get out compared to ball or extruded powders

Also, SteveBC - I have sent you a private message, just FYI

Thanks
 
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