Plastic vs Powder

[bootlaceb]

I got to hear from a very experienced F Class shooter that leaving your gunpowder in the plastic hopper is bad news. He recons the powder reacts with the plastic, causing it to burn inconsistent.
Any thoughts or comments?

 

[msnations]

unlikely. Most modern plastics are very unreactive - that's why we use them in drink bottles and countless other container applications. Its a lot more likely that the hopper wasn't sealed and the powder was exposed to excessive humidity, which can cause physical (clumping, self adhesion, discoloration) and chemical (unpredictable performance) changes...

-Mark

 

[necchi]

it happens, if powder left in the plastic hopper can affect the plastic, it's bound to have some effect on powder that caused the damage.
We have no idea what kind of polimers are put in a powder, it could be something as simple as a release agent added during milling.
Does it happen all the time? No.

Why leave powder in the hopper?

 

[Eddie Harren]

Doesn't most powder come in plastic jugs, from the manufacturer?

 

[spclark]

Leaving propellant in the hopper isn't recommended not so much for what happens to it up against the plastic hopper sides as because of the exposure to air that occurs, and the resulting change in moisture content. The types of plastic used in modern reloading equipment is typically pretty inert stuff.

The packaging most propellants come in may have been specially treated to avoid problems with the contents.

Depending on where you live and what the conditions are like where your reloading is done, propellant left in a powder measure hopper can be significantly affected by changes in moisture content leading to erratic performance. A small change in moisture content can drastically affect how the propellant behaves when ignited.

Propellant is best stored in the original container, with a tightly closed cap once the container's been opened for the first time. Unused propellant should be carefully returned to the container it came out of (keep only ONE container of powder at or near your reloading bench to avoid potential - and dangerous! - propellant contamination) as soon as the number of cartridges you're working with have been charged.

 

[PVI]

Powder is not recommended to be left in the hopper due to deterioration.

 

[bootlaceb]

Thanks for the thoughts. The moisture makes plenty of sense though.
If I leave a certain powder in the hopper, I leave a small piece of paper with the type of powder written on it, inside.
But think I will refrain from leaving it in the hopper. I load in a basement, and moisture is my main enemy there. There is an oil heater with a timer to switch on 3hours then off 3 hours.
Any other ways to keep a place relatively dry- economically?

 

[spclark]

Any other ways to keep a place relatively dry- economically?

That last word is the tricky part! A solution Warren Buffet would consider economical probably wouldn't be for most forum members!

First goal would be to reduce the presence of water / water vapor. If you can't do that, you want to make air exchange a priority. Electric dehumidifiers work well enough, though in a basement you'd want to reduce the cubic footage by "partitioning" off your reloading bench with poly sheeting in some manner to limit the work it has to do pulling water out of only the air around your bench area. It'll need a floor drain or condensate pump or you'll be emptying the pan often if it runs more than half of every hour.

I load in a detached garage so this is the way I keep it reasonably cool in summer with a room A/C running when I'm working out there; I put up 6 mil poly sheet to form a 3-sided tent around my bench, reducing the space being conditioned by 80%. In winter I run a salvaged residential gas-fired furnace to keep the place a few degrees above freezing. When I want to work out there, and the outside temp's 20°F or above I turn the thermostat up to 50. In my area it costs me about $1 a day from 12/1 thru the end of March.