How long is H1000 good for.

[Justice1327]

I shoot F-class, we looked into this and it is NOT water or moisture that is being dried, it is the solvents, which are virtually 100% Ether…
I also worked at the plant (ADI) making the Extreme line of powders and, when they are 'drying' the powder, it is also the solvent, per weight, in each kernel they are removing, so no, it isn't hygroscopic like it used to be back in the DuPont and IMR days, the additives have evolved.

Cheers.

Help educate me. If I had powder that was stored in a high humidity environment and weighed the powder and it showed that the 1lb bottle of powder now weighs 1.2 lbs…then I dried it out using absorbent packs and stored it in a low humidity environment and then after some time re-weighed the powder and it now reads 1 pound… what was dried out of the powder…the water or the Ether?

 

[Sending156s]

That was the case, almost all double base powder is not hygroscopic and hasn't been for some time. Some single base isn't either, do a research check on this, newer manufacturing is making powder almost water proof…

Cheers.

This sure doesn't jive with a test Brian Litz & the AB team did on humidity effects on powder. I highly recommend listening to it.

 

[Sending156s]

Who doesn't shoot enough to let powder sit for years??? I have a hard time keeping most powders for over 2 years.

I'm probably going to find out . After I let myself get hung dry without powder/primers/bullets a couple of shortages ago I bought enough to make sure I never run out. Before, I kept an extremely small stash as my friend owned the local gun store. Going to buy 500 primers was a reason to visit.

 

[memtb]

I'm probably going to find out . After I let myself get hung dry without powder/primers/bullets a couple of shortages ago I bought enough to make sure I never run out. Before, I kept an extremely small stash as my friend owned the local gun store. Going to buy 500 primers was a reason to visit.

I was just thinking about the guys, Lance immediately comes to mind, that do a lot (a whole lot) of shooting, with the present world events getting worse by the minute and already a primer shortage….you folks better learn to make your on primers.

You won't be going through much powder if ya can't burn it! We may find out the life expectancy of smokeless powder…..if any of us can live as long as Methusela! memtb

 

[Hugnot]

Smokeless powder is acidic & over time it will deteriorate as the result of continuing chemical reaction, stabilizers are added to neutralize the acidity, usually calcium carbonate. Heat will increase the rate of chemical reactions thus store in cool location. Water weighs more than ether and the powder having some porosity will absorb water thus store in a dry location.

Some of the most horrific industrial explosions, like flattening acres of structures with dead workers and felt miles away with busted windows have occurred during the "drying" stage (solvent removal) of the manufacturing process (WWI). OSHA gets involved with industrial accidents; no extruded smokeless powders are made in the USA.

Messing with an explosive like lead styphnate might result in a real bad explosion & homeowners' insurance might decline to pay a claim. A worker at the Hornady plant in Nebraska was recently killed because of an explosion during primer compound mixing. OSHA is now involved.

 

[milo-2]

I wouldn't worry about H1K, but H4831 will disappoint you if you let an open jug sit too long. Like marrying the HS cheerleader and 20 yrs later she is pushing treefiddy.

 

[Mike6158]

It's still hygroscopic. Again, not saying the powder is bad. Just the burn rate is affected.

Look into competitors drying power. It's a thing. Maybe not a thing not an huge thing, but it's a thing.

If not, here's some examples within the thread. There was some other data points that one of the F class guys did as well, but that thread got washed away when they updated the hide.

How does humidity affect powder? A new experiment

The humidity of your powder can have an impact on your load's performance and consistency. But there's little in the way of actual public data about it. I wanted to collect the highest quality data I could, so I sent 120 rounds downrange to measure just that. I tested H4350 at five different...

www.snipershide.com

I've got some H1000 that I used most of about 5 years ago. I got transferred for work, planning on being gone a year and I was gone 5. That jug of powder is now used for fireforming and inconsequential loads because the ES of rounds loaded with it have gone up significantly. I have a new jug that I'll use to develop with when it's time...

 

[memtb]

A while back I was using my Korean surplus powder for fire forming loads. The powder is far too slow for my cartridge case volume…..but gave extremely good accuracy! 5 shot groups @ 100 yards were a ragged hole in the target!

I often considered using it for my cast bullet loads….but am a bit concerned about all of the unburned kernels remaining in the barrel! memtb

 

[Model19Man]

I have 5 pounds of H1000 stored in a cooler in my basement along with primers and bullets. I haven't had the time to reload so I have just been buying ammo but now I want to get back into it but I am unsure if the power is good still.
Thanks guys

I would be smelling it and looking at it closely if it were 50 or more years old.

 

[Keota]

I heard it will turn into coffee creamer in less than a year. I will be glad to give you coffee creamer price and pay the shipping.

I'll double that coffee creamer price.

 

[Keota]

I'll double that coffee creamer price.

 

[Rosebud]

I've mentioned this before on the forum, But I'll relay it again. Hodgens had a recall on 4007sc. They would replace it with your powder of choice. I had a pound of it in powder cabinet and had been planning to ship it back. Well you know how things go. I forgot. Move 18 months forward. I opened the cabinet and a awful odor hit me. Some scope rings that had steel parts on them were rusted badly. Every thing that was steel related was rusted. I started pulling stuff out, including the powder cans. In the back was a can of 4007sc with the metal screw cap turned into a pile of dust. Other caps around the offender was also rusting. Took two hours to clean up everything. Had to toss several cans of powder. Put on latex gloves to extract everything. Picked up the bad can and tossed it in the woods. I was able to salvage most of the powder and gun parts, but not all. That was some nasty powder.

 

[del2les]

I have 5 pounds of H1000 stored in a cooler in my basement along with primers and bullets. I haven't had the time to reload so I have just been buying ammo but now I want to get back into it but I am unsure if the power is good still.
Thanks guys

If stored correctly, a VERY long time. I still have a few varied pounds of powders from the 70's and early 80's that I still use for specific old loads, and they work well. In my lifetime, I have only had 1/2# of powder go bad, and it was an older bottle of 3100. It solidified and smelled very acidic, and I never knew why that particular bottle went bad when others never did.

 

[highfinblue]

I recently pulled a two pound can of N140 out of my cabinet that cost $40. Loaded up some 204 Ruger loads and it was perfect. When was two pounds of Viht. powder forty bucks? I'm so old I don't even remember.