N140 powder that won't burn

[dixiecricket]

Bought an old can of N140 powder a few years ago and had it stored in garage with rest of my powders. Loaded a few .308 rounds this weekend and got a big surprise! Two duds in a row!

Pulled bullets, found nasty corrosion inside and a lot of unburned powder. Pulled unfired rounds, found more green corrosion. Tried lighting a small amount with a torch out of curiosity, it still wouldn't burn! Just smouldered a bit.

Anyone else experience this? Last time I buy old powder off someone.

 

[retired]

education cost money, how much do you want to learn?
did you open , look and and smell the powder first ??

 

[JRS]

Green corrosion in the powder?

 

[243winxb]

Deteriorating powder attacks the brass, making it green. But i dont think it would happen in a day or two, if just loaded?
The temperature in the garage ,if it gets to hot, could be an issue with powder. Or the previous owner let powder get to hot.

Had fresh H450 (discontinued) powder start burning and just quit burning ,using a mag primer in 22-250. Some of the powder changed color to gold and fused together. No green color.

Had a pound of IMR 4895 eat through the metal can. The other 2 IMR4895 were Ok. But different lot number
.

 

[dixiecricket]

Green corrosion on the bullet base, a little inside the case. Powder looked normal, had a particularly acrid and spicy smell.

I have never used any VV powder, so I had no comparison for the smell.

Yes, rounds loaded on friday last week, pulled monday night, already had corrosion. They were not stored in heat, was actually cool whole time.

 

[retired]

acrid smell is not good

Green corrosion on the bullet base, a little inside the case. Powder looked normal, had a particularly acrid and spicy smell.

I have never used any VV powder, so I had no comparison for the smell.

Yes, rounds loaded on friday last week, pulled monday night, already had corrosion. They were not stored in heat, was actually cool whole time.

 

[rogn]

Oxidizer in most powders is nitric acid. When most powder deteriorates it releases nitric acid, sometimes as brown fumes, and always as sharp acidic smell. Exposing it to humidity or something has accelerated decomposition. Get rid of it quick.
Scatter on grass, or as one recommendation has been by manufacturer is to fill bottle with water, that's probably not necessary since yours won't burn.. But get rid of it.

 

[divingin]

Powder looked normal, had a particularly acrid and spicy smell.

That's powder deterioration. N140 is like any other powder, no real smell to it that I can detect.

 

[mills braswell]

education cost money, how much do you want to learn?
did you open , look and and smell the powder first ??

I agree. When buying old powder it needs to be looked at closely before using. Smell it. Pour some on a paper plate and shake it around. See if it leaves any residue. If it does, don't trust it.

 

[M-61]

Last time I buy old powder off someone.

Do you have ANY idea how the previous owner stored it?
Personally I would not buy powder from a private individual and if the container were open.....forget it.
But then I am quite safety conscious, more than most.
I was given quite a few hundred bullets, powder, and primers from a widow a while ago. I did not know her husband and she just wanted everything gone, no money. The bullets and primers were no problem. The powder....well every can had been opened and some had masking tape on them with a different powder number.
This business with it making good fertilizer did not work for me.

 

[Scrumbag]

If it smelt a bit noxious I think it has gone off

 

[dixiecricket]

wow, this this old thread got revived!

It was the only old powder I ever bought and I had no basis of comparision. I'm not super cautious and am willing to experiment, especially when I don't have the luxury of getting any powder I want. Guns can get blown up from dumb reloading mistakes, but I accept some risk in making my own boolits. When using slow rifle powders in modern firearms, there is a lot room for experimentation and little likelihood doing more damage than blowing primers.

I'm sure my statement will cause some folks to faint with hysteria and desperately reach for the comfort of the nearest Sierra reloading manual.

 

[dixiecricket]

oh, no idea how the powder was stored. Another high power shooter had a box of a deceased shooters reloading supplies for sale at a match. The containers cap was faded from the usual purple color, so I suppose it had some level of sunlight exposure.