Powder turned bad

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  • Last Post 10 December 2015
mckg posted this 28 July 2015

Handloaders sometimes ask how to find out if some powder has turned bad, and I have become acquainted with some answers.

Following a suspicious smell, I found out that some surplus powder I had, Nobel Type 83 lot 2975, was the culprit.

It was delivered to me in a plastic bag packed in a regular cardboard box, which conforms to local regulations.

The box was falling apart, along with the bigger box they were in (glue and cardboard), and the rubber bands tying the bags, The bag is fine, The top of the powder was covered  by a red “dust", They were signs of moisture (drops) in the bag, The whole thing has a strong smell similar to my current bleach's, which I found unusual itself.

Note that the red dust and color seem to be a mist, as it comes out and evaporates after a while; so we cannot rely on it.

My next problem is to find out if the 700-X which was stored with it was affected. So far it seems to be O.K.

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 30 July 2015

mckg, thanks for reporting your observations noted and the name of the powder involved. Perhaps if others have this powder they would appreciate the heads up so they can remove it from their stock for disposal.

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mckg posted this 30 July 2015

Gary, please stop “helping” me since you are unable to check your posts for attitude. This Forum cannot afford it.

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Hook posted this 05 September 2015

mckg, I recently experienced my first case like this. When Accurate Arms first introduced 3100 at very low prices in the 80s, I bought 4-8lb jugs. Loved the stuff and shot the heck out of it. I was down to the last 4 lbs when I pulled out the jug to load some 280 last month. The first clue was that there was nothing moving in the jug....it had fused into a solid lump. When I took off the cap, the acrid stench was there.

The Western Powder tech told me that 3100 ws surplus that they repackaged so there is no telling what the true age of it was. Sure hated to lose the last 4 lbs.

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billglaze posted this 05 September 2015

No question, you've got some stuff gone bad,  Wondering if it could have been storage conditions before you got it?  I've had some 4895 that's been in storage since the 1980's, and it still seems O.K.; I've used it for full-power loads in my 308's and '06.    i guess it depends on storage as well as powder formulatiom--if either is off whack............. Bill

In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is. My fate is not entirely in Gods hands, if I have a weapon in mine.

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mckg posted this 05 September 2015

The seller said that light, temperature and moisture affected powders and that the 700-X had to be checked (but that one couldn't contaminate the other); didn't mention age or his certified plastic bags  :).

No light reached them through three layers of cardboard and wood, apart from evening reloading times, and I can't imagine a powder not able to take a couple of months with “peaks” of 32C/85F.

I looked at my notes, and saw that I used the “83” three times only, keeping it for use with that speed range :X.

The younger 700-X seems to work fine btw.  

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kcajeel posted this 09 December 2015

I wrote IMR about some 4227 that I had bought in the last year that had went bad. From their website I expected a response pretty fast but nothing yet. I'll keep you posted and if anyone has experienced any problems with IMR 4227 let me know.

Thanks, [email protected]

Jack

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mckg posted this 10 December 2015

Interesting. I wonder if it's H4227, made in Australia and now sold in IMR's jugs, or an older lot of genuine IMR.

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kcajeel posted this 10 December 2015

It's the newer powder. I bought 2 pounds each time I found it and they were both bought between 11/14 and 3/15.

Jack

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