Best place to store BP

[Funkworks]

I’d rather store it in an outdoor shed, but I’m wondering how freezing temperatures can affect it (if at all).

 

[heada]

As long as it's dry, it wont be affected.

 

[SpaceX76]

dry and no fire around u should be good

 

[Funkworks]

If winter temperatures don’t affect it directly and shed humidity is the concern, I think I’ll wrap it in a zip lock with some kind of desiccant.

 

[kuririn]

???
I thought temperature cycling was a major reason for motor failure?
From the Estes FAQs web page:
Can I use my older engines? How should they be stored?


Estes engines do not have a shelf life, so if they have always been stored in a cool dry place, and were not exposed to excessive humidity, and/or temperature cycling—extreme heat and extreme cold (140 degrees to 32 degrees Fahrenheit)—your engines should perform properly. However, you will have to watch for erosion of the clay cap and dark propellant showing on the sides. If the engines appear to be damaged (i.e. the casing is bulging; the casing is beginning to unwrap; or the nozzle or cap appear to be crumbling) the engines may have been subjected to temperature cycling, and you should destroy them by soaking them in water until they disintegrate and then discard them in an outdoor waste bin. *Temperature cycling can easily occur if engines are left in a car’s trunk through a winter and summer season.

 

[kuririn]

Oh wait, it's BP, not BP motors.
Never mind.

 

[crossfire]

I store my can in a Army ammo box. Its sealed safe and dry

 

[Bat-mite]

The ATF would prefer that you keep it in a specially designed lockbox. In any case, I keep mine in the original plastic bottle (never use glass or steel!), inside a ziplock bag, in a lockbox in my garage. Lasts for years.

 

[prfesser]

I keep mine in the original steel screw-capped container. It's stayed perfectly useable for years.

 

[Funkworks]

I keep mine in the original steel screw-capped container. It's stayed perfectly useable for years.

Well I’m keeping it in the original container, and Crossfire’s post reminds I actually do have some unused army surplus ammo boxes, so I‘m now thinking wrapping the container in a ziplock with a desiccant, and storing it in an ammo box in the shed.

 

[ghostfather]

Keep mine in the original plastic bottle in a vented lock box/safe. I fill a plastic 35mm film canister to take with me in the field.
Storage of motors and BP in the Netherlands are required to be vented. In case something starts to burn, the pressure in a closed box (not vented) could build up and make it a grenade. It is also required to be "permanent", so that a thief can't easily carry it away, generally bolted to the floor or the wall.

 

[dhbarr]

I keep mine in the screwcan, inside a small metal canister with my leak detection powder and some measuring tools.

Small can is surrounded by dog barf in a medium boy scout popcorn tin that also has my aluminum fluff stuffer ( 1/4 in aluminum straw ) and some tweezers.

 

[jrap330]

I’d rather store it in an outdoor shed, but I’m wondering how freezing temperatures can affect it (if at all).

no, I would not chance storing black powder motors outside I believe temp cycling is an issue. Mine are store in my utility room with my furnace and washer, dryer. Hey if furnace blows up, engines are a minor disaster.

 

[Steve Shannon]

BP and all other bulk gunpowders shipped for over a hundred years in steel cans with tight screw lids to prevent the powders from absorbing moisture. Now they are shipped in plastic containers with tight screw lids. As long as you keep BP in its original container you’re fine. I suspect the plastic containers used now are designed to dissipate static. Steel certainly does. Not all plastics do, so I would be careful not to just grab any old plastic container if you’re sharing your stash with a friend.
I keep one partial can in an ammo box in my rocket trailer.

 

[Bruce]

What happens when BP motors are temperature cycled?

Does the black powder itself become degraded?

Or do the low and high temperatures cause damage to the clay nozzle and cap only?

 

[Steve Shannon]

What happens when BP motors are temperature cycled?

Does the black powder itself become degraded?

Or do the low and high temperatures cause damage to the clay nozzle and cap only?

The original question is about black powder, not black powder motors, but the answer to your question varies depending on whom you ask. I have had black powder (and high power) motors stored in my rocket trailer for over a decade and I have never experienced a Cato. Of course I live where the relative humidity is very low, but the temperatures swing considerably. A temperature swing of 40 degrees is pretty common many days here.

 

[jrap330]

What happens when BP motors are temperature cycled?

Does the black powder itself become degraded?

Or do the low and high temperatures cause damage to the clay nozzle and cap only?

What happens when BP motors are temperature cycled?

Does the black powder itself become degraded?

Or do the low and high temperatures cause damage to the clay nozzle and cap only?

It is not the nozzle, you run the risk of the grain cracking and separating, therefore gasses expand and CATO. Composites, are a rubbery mix therefore much stronger. Sorry did not realize post was about just BP. Not to mention humidity by storing outside.

 

[Kelly]

It is not the nozzle, you run the risk of the grain cracking and separating

That's correct. Normal atmospheric temperatures have no effect on BP itself, nor does age. However, in order to work properly, a BP motor must have the BP tightly compressed into a solid grain. Their can be no cracks in the grain, nor any cracks between the grain and the casing. Any CATOs in a BP motor would be the result of defects in the compressed grain, not the BP itself.

 

[jbr]

BP in kegs has been found dating from the civil war and is still good
keep your powder dry

 

[jrap330]

BP in kegs has been found dating from the civil war and is still good
keep your powder dry
View attachment 445442

JBR- Either Way, Folgers or Black Powder, I am sure to wake it......."BP good to the last grain."

 

[Conway Stevens]

I keep mine in the steel containers I always used to buy them in as well as the newer plastic containers. They then are stored in an appropriate safe rated for use. I have my LEUP still and containers for everything else I store I still use. Will admit that the ATF involvement with me personally has declined to almost nil since the change of APCP lawsuit was won.

 

[Tractionengines]

I do some traditional flintlock muzzleloading....so my BP stays in the factory metal cans in storage locker except, small qty then in old 35mm film canisters for day use.

 

[Mr G]

It just dawned on me that the 3F powder I use is in the original metal screw top container in one of my steel ammo boxes - double duty protection!