Powder open on bench for ~9 hours?

[BringBackThe80s]

I was loading with Varget for my .308 Win. when interruption occurred and I had to step away for a moment, but it turned into all day. I live in the Southeast, so typical humidity here is what it is. My shop is not on the central HVAC to dry out the air, but it's not so humid that mold or mildew is ever a problem in there. Still, I store my powder bottles with dessicant in sealed in ammo cans.

Most of the Varget on my bench was in the capped hopper of my powder thrower, so no worries there. But I don't know whether I should be concerned about humidity affecting the powder in 4 charged cases and the open-topped trickler.

Should I be concerned that 9-10 hours of exposure in the trickler and open cases will impact the Varget enough to throw off velocity and pressure signs?

If so, can I restore it by enclosing the powder with/exposed to silica desiccant? These days, I hate to throw out even a few hundred grains of smokeless powder.

 

[SKWERLZ]

Probably not unlike it was in an extremely dry or humid environment.
powder will change with differences in moisture content

 

[GLShooter]

It will absorb moisture but not that fast. I don't think any of us have enough unsophisticated gear to measure the change in performance. Of it is a personal concern dump it all back in the big and shake liberally. The changes of those kernels will be covered by the backround bulk. No worse than mixing 30 grains of a different lot of powder in a one pound can IMHO.

Greg

 

[boltfluter]

I personally would not worry about this in the slightest. If curious you could load 4 more rounds from a sealed container and have a shoot off. My bet is you will see no difference. Happy shooting!
Paul

 

[BringBackThe80s]

Thanks, guys!

 

[rijndael]

Should I be concerned that 9-10 hours of exposure in the trickler and open cases will impact the Varget enough to throw off velocity and pressure signs?

FWIW: I leave it in my Chargemaster hopper all the time, for potentially a couple of weeks. The humidity is rarely > 50-55% in the summer, I run a dehumidifier in the summer. It's usually 30%'ish humidity in the winter.

 

[Superjet]

If you left it out on the bench it is bad, and it also probably spoiled the rest of your Varget supply. Send it to me and I will dispose of it properly.