Pyrodex More Corrosive Than Black?

sealgaire said:

I think it probably a spelling mistake, but there is no chemical called a "percolate." Probably meant perchlorate. That said. Potassium perchlorate is an oxidizer in Pyrodex. When ignited, the oxygen part of the molecule separates and reacts to make heat, left behind is the Potassium and the Chlorine, combined in the form of Potassium chloride. KCl is a salt, used to flavor food by people on a low Sodium diet. It is very corrosive. Try this, mix a concentrated solution of KCl or NaCl (table salt) and drop a nail in it, check it a week later.

I know several people at my club that use Pyrodex, clean properly when done, and have no corrosion issues. I use BP, usually Swiss. Whatever you use, clean it well the day you shoot. No, "Oh, I'll do it tomorrow."

Click to expand...

Thank you sir!
“Whatever you use, clean it well the day you shoot.” This is the key. Don’t place blame on the Pyrodex, place blame where it belongs, the irresponsible shooter/owner.
Walk

Yes sir; Pyrodex contains potassium perchlorate. With the exception of BH 209, all the other black powder substitutes also contain big slugs of potassium perchlorate. It's an inexpensive method of boosting puissance.

Please explain why Black MZ and Triple Seven powders are not unduly corrosive.

Okie Hog said:

Yes sir; Pyrodex contains potassium perchlorate. With the exception of BH 209, all the other black powder substitutes also contain big slugs of potassium perchlorate. It's an inexpensive method of boosting puissance.

Please explain why Black MZ and Triple Seven powders are not unduly corrosive.

Click to expand...

I don't know anything about Black MZ (which I believe is no longer being made, at any rate) but ALL I use is T7, revolver or rifle. It's wonderful stuff and I have no idea why it hasn't put Pyrodex out of business. I'm no chemist but I believe the main reason that T7 is less corrosive, and much easier to clean compared to BP or "Pyro-don't" is that it is sucrose- (sugar) based and contains no sulfur.

Both Pyrodex and Triple Seven contain about the same amount of potassium percolate. It provides the oxygen.

The only thing that sticks out as being different between the two powders is, Pyrodex contains quite a bit of sulfur. Triple Seven has none.

Walkingeagle said:

Thank you sir!
“Whatever you use, clean it well the day you shoot.” This is the key. Don’t place blame on the Pyrodex, place blame where it belongs, the irresponsible shooter/owner.
Walk

Click to expand...

Yes, clean it the day you shoot, that night, the next day and couple more times just for good measure.

No matter what you use, clean and preserve like there is no tomorrow immediately. Perchlorate or potassium nitrate either will be bad news to any poorly maintained gun.

Have to agree with the group. The major cause of corrosion is improper cleaning. Synthetic and black power are both corrosive. Add in humidity and not enough cleaning equals rust and pitting. I’ve worked in a local gun shop that has a high rate of would be trades being offered. A lot of the muzzle loaders arrived with rusted and pitted bores as well as rust and pitting on the exterior of the barrels, and lock areas. Some still loaded for over a years and left in a zippered case!
I always do a pre- clean at the range when I’ve finish shooting before I leave. I remove the nipple put it in a cleaning solution container. Then do a preliminary cleaning of the bore and exterior wiping off all visible fouling. When I get home the entire rifle is thoroughly cleaned, oiled and hung on the wall. The next day I’ll go back and again run patches down the barrel and clean the exterior. The rifle is then put away. I know it sounds like a lot of work and maybe I’m going to extremes but there all rust free and work great. Art

Yes,corrosion with Pyrodex fouling is definitely due to improper cleaning. What I think some folks are missing is that "proper cleaning" for a Pyrodex fouled gun is about 7.5 times more than is required for "proper cleaning" of a blackpowder fouled gun. Other than that, yeah, they are identical ...

Brent said:

Yes,corrosion with Pyrodex fouling is definitely due to improper cleaning. What I think some folks are missing is that "proper cleaning" for a Pyrodex fouled gun is about 7.5 times more than is required for "proper cleaning" of a blackpowder fouled gun. Other than that, yeah, they are identical ...

Click to expand...

What??
I firmly disagree! The amount of work, and method of cleaning is identical for both.
Shot yesterday, 60 rounds of 50gr Pyrodex P in .50 GPR. 10 min to full clean on tailgate of pickup using Windex w/vinegar in spray bottle and 6 patches, including pulling and cleaning the lock. No difference than when I use holy black and never one single spot of corrosion.
Walk

The issue is the chlorine ions in Perchlorate.. Chlorine ions form compounds which are much more persistent than nitrate ions. Nitrate based residue is fairly easy to shift with a detergent, however chlorate based residue really needs something to neutralise it.. The traditional method for cleaning guns was boiling water and washing soda.. (Sodium Carbonate..) this will react with chlorite residue to form common salt (sodium chlorate) which is readily soluble in water..

Boiling out your guns to clean them will also preserve the bluing by converting red ferric oxide into blue ferro ferric oxide. The current theory on why so many old guns are going brown is because folk have stopped boiling them out...

Clean at the end of the day, you clean with warm soapy water, dry the bore, run of shot of alcohol, dry, oil and you are good to go. I've been using tons of pyrodex for almost 20 years and all of my rifles are in great shape.

I see tons of rusty guns for sale online and especially at rendezvous. Who's to blame? The product... or the owner that knows he or she needs to care for their gun in order to keep them in top condition but does nothing to clean their gun?