humidity packs for powder jugs
- Thread starter Gunnut26
- Start date
I would throw this question to Hodgdon. Personally I wouldn’t put them in my powder.
Jeff Porter
Gold $$ Contributor
I keep my powder in a MTM sealed plastic box with a desiccant bag inside the box, not inside the powder jug.
rwj
Gold $$ Contributor
Great solution if powder can’t be stored in a humidity controlled area.
Jeff Porter
Gold $$ Contributor
Gunnut26
Silver $$ Contributor
i was thinking i saw a video were someone does this, i think it was f class John
ShtrRdy
Silver $$ Contributor
I've been using the 49% humidity packs in my 1 pound powder bottles. I emailed Boveda to see if there was any danger in doing this and they said the pack simply absorbs to expel moisture.
What prompted me to do this is after watching a YouTube video in which Bryan Litz talked about how much humidity variation in powder can affect ammunition and that they use the humidity packs to stabilize the situation. I think the video is on the "Believe the Target" YouTube channel which has Erik Cortina interviewing Bryan Litz.
I would not use desiccant packs in my powder containers. The reloading powder is suppose to have some amount of moisture content. A desicant pack will suck the moisture out of the air, and powder, in the bottle.
This is worth the read:
chronoplotter.com
What prompted me to do this is after watching a YouTube video in which Bryan Litz talked about how much humidity variation in powder can affect ammunition and that they use the humidity packs to stabilize the situation. I think the video is on the "Believe the Target" YouTube channel which has Erik Cortina interviewing Bryan Litz.
I would not use desiccant packs in my powder containers. The reloading powder is suppose to have some amount of moisture content. A desicant pack will suck the moisture out of the air, and powder, in the bottle.
This is worth the read:
How does humidity affect powder?
You may have heard about a relationship between humidity and bullet velocity either in a book, on a reloading forum, or from a crusty benchrest shooter right after saying they get better ES/SD̵…
chronoplotter.com
Last edited:
Gunnut26
Silver $$ Contributor
that is the packs i was referring to, which size packs did they recommend.
ShtrRdy
Silver $$ Contributor
They didn't recommend a size. I'm using the smaller ones but I don't know how good a job it's doing. I suppose I should look into some way to monitor humidity inside a container. I think the idea is if you have a large container to control humidity you need a large pack to get the job done. Powder containers aren't too big.I've been using the 49% humidity packs in my 1 pound powder bottles. I emailed Boveda to see if there was any danger in doing this and they said the pack simply absorbs to expel moisture.
What prompted me to do this is after watching a YouTube video in which Bryan Litz talked about how much humidity variation in powder can affect ammunition and that they use the humidity packs to stabilize the situation. I think the video is on the "Believe the Target" YouTube channel which has Erik Cortina interviewing Bryan Litz.
I would not use desiccant packs in my powder containers. The reloading powder is suppose to have some amount of moisture content. A desicant pack will suck the moisture out of the air, and powder, in the bottle.
This is worth the read:
How does humidity affect powder?
You may have heard about a relationship between humidity and bullet velocity either in a book, on a reloading forum, or from a crusty benchrest shooter right after saying they get better ES/SD̵…
DeanMemphis
Gold $$ Contributor
I don't feel like posting the details for the third time, you can Google them up. The gel packs only absorb something like 5-10% of their weight in water. After they absorb a small amount of water vapor they stop absorbing. They don't work forever. If you open the container you let in new moist air that cannot be absorbed. You don't know what condition the gel packs are in when you buy them. They can be reconditioned in you kitchen oven. Sounds like guys are looking for a problem that may not exist.
Silica Gel: Passive Control of Relative Humidity – Technical Bulletin 33 - Canada.ca
The purpose of this Technical Bulletin is to explain the need to control the relative humidity (RH) in a museum environment.
After looking at the above article which is very complicated it would seem that you should
1. Heat the gel to make sure it hasn't already absorbed H2O.
2. You need to determine how much gel you need for the size container and what's in it. How could you possibly do that.
3. How do you determine how often to replace the gel packs.
The easy answer is just forget about moisture and shoot.
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Ranger188
Silver $$ Contributor
This... for primers
Great video. Tons of good info. Glad I don't shoot competition. Serious shooting is life consuming and very expensive.
I about finished the last of an 8# metal can of IMR 4350, bought in 1988, the year before last while doing a comparison test of all the 4350 powders to see how much velocity variation there was between them all. Looking thru old load notes, I found a result sheet from when the powder was new. I also found the same lots of primers, brass & bullets that was used in the 35 year old test. Shot in the same rifle at about a 10* temp difference @ roughly the same elevation, the recent test was within 5fps of the '88 test & group size was close enough to not call it any different.
This can of powder, along with dozens of others, was stored for a few years in a non temp/humidity controlled closet & garage at different times from PA winters to soCAL summers, back & forth across the country twice, with no special care or treatment other than a snugly tightened lid. Primers too, but that's a whole 'nuther thing. Through all of this I lost one previously opened 1# metal can of IMR4831 to eye burning smell & brown dust. Also a 1#er of RL7 that said Hercules on the label that apparently turned acidic & ate thru the cardboard can. Two other unopened (until recently) cans of RL7 from the same lot are still fine, smell good, & producing normal velocities. No other cans of that lot of IMR4831 are left.
Nothing terribly groundbreaking or even all that scientific in my observations, or small statistically insignificant sample sizes, but still... Look, a squirrel... Curious if all this concern is actually measurable in any real way that matters to shooters, is much ado about nothing, or not much to do with anything.
This can of powder, along with dozens of others, was stored for a few years in a non temp/humidity controlled closet & garage at different times from PA winters to soCAL summers, back & forth across the country twice, with no special care or treatment other than a snugly tightened lid. Primers too, but that's a whole 'nuther thing. Through all of this I lost one previously opened 1# metal can of IMR4831 to eye burning smell & brown dust. Also a 1#er of RL7 that said Hercules on the label that apparently turned acidic & ate thru the cardboard can. Two other unopened (until recently) cans of RL7 from the same lot are still fine, smell good, & producing normal velocities. No other cans of that lot of IMR4831 are left.
Nothing terribly groundbreaking or even all that scientific in my observations, or small statistically insignificant sample sizes, but still... Look, a squirrel... Curious if all this concern is actually measurable in any real way that matters to shooters, is much ado about nothing, or not much to do with anything.
Jager
Gold $$ Contributor
My loading bench is in a bedroom. But I live in an almost hundred-year-old country house (I heat with a wood stove and cool with window AC units) and so I experience pretty significant temperature and humidity swings across the year.
I keep my most critical/active powder canisters in a decent sized cigar humidor (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B15D2F9X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). The humidor keeps temp to a precise 68F. For humidity control, I put two Boveda Size 67 58% humidor packs in, replacing them every month.
I have far, far more powder on hand than I could ever fit in that humidor, so I have to be very selective about what goes in it. My goal is not to control the temp/humidity of a powder for the entire time I own it - but rather to control that temp/humidity for several months prior to my using it.
Does it help? I dunno. Not enough data yet. But I'm convinced that the varying moisture content in smokeless powder is one of the last great wildcards - a wildcard mostly unexplored - in handloading. I have a lot of questions around it.
Great topic.
I keep my most critical/active powder canisters in a decent sized cigar humidor (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B15D2F9X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). The humidor keeps temp to a precise 68F. For humidity control, I put two Boveda Size 67 58% humidor packs in, replacing them every month.
I have far, far more powder on hand than I could ever fit in that humidor, so I have to be very selective about what goes in it. My goal is not to control the temp/humidity of a powder for the entire time I own it - but rather to control that temp/humidity for several months prior to my using it.
Does it help? I dunno. Not enough data yet. But I'm convinced that the varying moisture content in smokeless powder is one of the last great wildcards - a wildcard mostly unexplored - in handloading. I have a lot of questions around it.
Great topic.
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