Powder Storage ?

[Shoalwater]

I have about 15 pounds of Varget and 13 pounds of H4350 all in 1 pound bottles and multiple lots of each. I was wondering if anyone has found a good storage container to combine all lots of one powder together into kind of a make your own lot? Sure would cut down on having to tweak loads from lot to lot. If anyone has any experience with this I like to hear from you. Thanks for the help.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I try to buy a bunch of powder to start with and preferably from the same lot#. Then i mix it all together and put it back into the 1 or 5lb containers and mark them with the date mixed. Then i work up a load and use the entire batch of dated powder. I keep the powder in a dark closet with a couple bags of silica lying around it. When i run out i do it all over again.

 

[Barrelnut]

What mixing method do you guys use? How do you get a thoroughly consistent mix?

I will most likely be trying this myself soon. In one aspect I am kind of lucky as I have an empty 8 lb H1000 jug and I will be mixing 5 1 lb H1000 bottles somehow.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I pour equal parts into a jug and roll it back and forth. I keep doing this with different bottles until all the powders have touched, then do it some more. Just my way im sure there is a better method, ive just yet to learn it.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

What mixing method do you guys use? How do you get a thoroughly consistent mix?

I will most likely be trying this myself soon. In one aspect I am kind of lucky as I have an empty 8 lb H1000 jug and I will be mixing 5 1 lb H1000 bottles somehow.

kitchen aid mixer....

Actually I'll dump into a big mixing bowl and go after it with gloves on my hands after dumping both powders into the bowl at the same time... or I'll buy rl powders which haven't seemed to make a dang bit of difference whether I worry about lot #'s or not. I also don't usually try for the last few fps and stay a grain or two down, so I don't have to worry as much about lot variations putting me in the red. I also don't put up with a squirrely load that shoots like crap if you vary the charge just a bit, so I'm covered on a bit of variation with my load selection also.

 

[flashhole]

Just about any kind of clean plastic container will allow you to mix the same powders together. Most of my One Pound containers are 7/8+ full because I do exactly what you want to do. I have several larger powder jugs (5-8 lbs) that I use but typically store the powder in the 1 pound containers. What I really like about the factory powder containers is the styrofoam liner under the cap. It seals out the atmosphere.

 

[azmetalman]

Pay attention to what the container had in it first. Many years ago I used a great 5 gallon bucket, with a screw on lid and neoprene seal, to store bulk 4831. The bucket originally had chlorine swimming pool tablets in it. Big mistake!!! The bucket had been washed and allowed to air dry. Apparently some of the chemical had permeated the heavy poly bucket and reacted with the powder. When I opened it a couple of months later a cloud of acrid orange fumes rose out like a genie out of a bottle. I had to dispose of 2 1/2 gallons of 4831. Tough lesson. Fortunately powder was plentiful and cheap then.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Pay attention to what the container had in it first. Many years ago I used a great 5 gallon bucket, with a screw on lid and neoprene seal, to store bulk 4831. The bucket originally had chlorine swimming pool tablets in it. Big mistake!!! The bucket had been washed and allowed to air dry. Apparently some of the chemical had permeated the heavy poly bucket and reacted with the powder. When I opened it a couple of months later a cloud of acrid orange fumes rose out like a genie out of a bottle. I had to dispose of 2 1/2 gallons of 4831. Tough lesson. Fortunately powder was plentiful and cheap then.

Whew! Thats sounds dangerous.