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how do you guys store your BP?

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Just put your sealed cans in your Rubber Maid tubs and put them in your shed. You won't need the Zip-Lok bags but if you want to use them, they won't hurt anything. The important thing is to store your powder in sealed containers in a relatively cool and dry place and it will be fine for many years.
 
A cool dry place. I my case on top of the gun safe in cardboard boxes on top of a couple of thousand rounds of smokeless ammunition in the bedroom where I sleep. Only have 15# or so and I sleep well. If it was that unstable it would have blown up while UPS was throwing it around.
 
Hockeyref said:
I really shy away from ammo cans for BP seeing as they are relatively air tight and you could easily cram upwards of 10 pounds of BP onto a 50 cal can.... a 20mm can is downright scary when I think about it. There are normally specific LAWS in many areas that deal with how, where, and how much BP you can legally store. You country guys have it mo better as you could easily build a proper "magazine" out back.

I wonder if anyone has ever tested it with a controlled ignition of a pound or so in an ammo can? I can remember a kid 35 years ago that would fill an empty C02 cartridge with BP and add a cannon fuse, some wax to seal it, and then "went fishing". Those made a pretty good boom if you set them off above water.... I would think an ammo can could produce similar results.

Wonder if this needs tested\debunked like the static charge question.
Click to expand...
What I was told was that the ammo cans would fall apart in heat. Just like the fusible heat links used in fire suppresion hoods, and laundry chutes. This was to prevent what you are fearing-a big bang.
If not an ammo box would be no different than the tin can it's stored in(made out of steel and air tight) and do you worry about them exploding? Also no different than storing in a gun cabinet, not a gun safe.
If your a "humm" I guess the word is collector of ammo where do you store it all? if you have 5k of .22 for example don't you worry about it cooking off? Those of you that have multiple calibers of ammo and multiple thousands where do you store it and in what?
 
Ya know Poor,
Hockeyref makes a good point and so do you.
I posted a link about CF ammo and fires done by SAMMI for Firefighters in the off topic section. It's got a great video and some great info. CF cartridges does go off but not in a big bang, like we'd think, take a look; http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/274955/

I've stored my BP in ammo cans for years after talking with the local Fire Chief, but I'm really begining to re-think it as I just split a case with another member and have more than in the past.
I'm going to follow some other advice I've seen for years and build a wooden box to hold 10-12 pounds and still keep only a few pounds in the ammo can for easy access.

This wooden box will be of 2x10 and screwed together (drywall/deck screws), all 4 sides and top-n-bottom will be solid plank no gaps and no air space.
The idea is that with no air inside "flame" can't exist, that means any fire/house fire will only be able to burn the outside of said 2x10 and won't burn through to get to the powder,,
In the extreme case that it does, the screwed together "box" will come apart in the event of an explosion and not create the pipe bomb affect of packed powder under pressure.

Sure the stuff will go off, but not to the point of causeing harm to any firefighters or others that may be on site, take a look at that linked video,,
:v
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The idea is that with no air inside "flame" can't exist
Click to expand...

You need to rethink that notion and study the chemistry of black powder and it's ignition.
BP is not a compound, it is a mixture that does not compound until ignition. At that point it creates it's own oxygen to support the 'bang'.
Your air tight box isn't helping anything.
 
I have stored mine in an ammo can for more than 30 years. It was in my shed in the northeast through cold, high heat and humidity. Never had a problem. I used 4F that I bought in 1986 and was using it until I moved to CA in 2011.
 
Rifleman1776 said:
The idea is that with no air inside "flame" can't exist
Click to expand...

You need to rethink that notion and study the chemistry of black powder and it's ignition.
BP is not a compound, it is a mixture that does not compound until ignition. At that point it creates it's own oxygen to support the 'bang'.
Your air tight box isn't helping anything.
Click to expand...
Of course BP will burn once it's ignited without a source of oxygen.

The idea is to eliminate the source of ignition from an outside source.

Fire Investigators can determine the area of source of a fire by studying which side of stud work and rafters are chared,,ect

Unless a structure is fully engulfed and burning freely most of the structural lumber won't burn through
 
I think/hope my gunroom is set up, do to cabnet & gun safe placement ect so if it all goes boom the back wall of the room will blow out sending the force into a long patern with no homes for over 40 yards. within the room I keep all powder on a shelf with no other items. After seeing some clips on water shaped charges I would think a box within a box with a water(think blue ice) or sand liner between, say 5 of 6 sides may help you point your blast zone the safest way. Just a thought.
 
I had a family friend that used to keep all his on the bottom shelf of a fridge in his garage. I asked him about this and his answer was that it made a natural explosives storage container. Generally, the fridge is a cool and dry place. In addition, if the BP does go off, then the door isn't sealed and it will "safely" blow open. This keeps it from turning into a homemade bomb. Considering he ordered about 25lbs of BP at a time, I was inclined to believe his logic.

I guess the key here though was that his fridge never had a problem with condensation or excess humidity.
 
Remember Guy Fawkes? Everyone knows where he stored his BP! I store mine in the garage away from the house. Someone in the club said that if it blows it best if it is not in anything airtight other than the tin. Either way if the garage caught fire I would not rush in there! Nor would I encourage the fire dept getting too close. Anyone ever heard of a house fire hitting BP? What the police are concerned about is the occasional methlab exploding in a residential area.
 
I have an old refrigerator that quit working long ago. I was going to throw it away at the county dump and found out it would cost me 100 dollars to do so. It has become one of the best "tool cabinets" I've ever had! The large lower compartment holds all of my sandpapers and abrasives in the bottom. All the liquid stains and finishes fit in the side door. The shelves keep all of my power tools. The top freezer compartment stores all of my black powder cans. There is enough room in there to hold a life time supply of the stuff! The idea of storing BP in a gun safe has always scared me. I have a safe that has a good fire rateing. Why would I put BP in it and chance having all of my valuables inside go up in smoke!
 

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