Shelf life?

RacerX

Professional Knucklehead; aka Jeffncs / RacerX
2A Bourbon Hound OG
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How long will sealed cans of powder stay usable if stored in non-HVAC garage?

1# and 8# bottles if it matters
 
I had a half-full can of 4895 (1#) that was right around 20 years old. I used it to reload some thuhty-thuhty cartridges. It worked just fine.
 
You could get large ammo cans (20mm) to store the powder in and throw desiccant packs in there
 
Thanks guys... Appreciate the feedback!
 
I have some Green Dot, Unique and Blue Dot, all in opened containers that were stored in a barn for over 30 years and they all shoot great. The cardboard containers have discolored a little, but the powder is fine.
 
I'm not sure how old some of my powder is but it is sealed in the original metal 1 pound cans and the price on the label is $9.95 a pound. I'm still loading it and my chrono can't tell the difference between it and the stuff I bought a month ago. And it was stored in my barn where the temps ranged from 30 to 110 degrees.
 
I had a can, an old style metal can, of IMR 4320 go bad on me after a few years out in the unheated barn. I noticed that it smelled bad when I started using it and that it had a red powder in it. That is not the way any IMR 4320 I had ever used looked or smelled. It made a delightful flame for a few seconds when I lit the pile of it out behind the barn.

I have had other powder for decades that still functions as it should.
 
If it is degraded, you will be able to smell it. I have used 700x, Win 296, and SR7635 that was 25 years old with no problems.

I did not chronograph anything to know if there was any detectible problem with speed, but I could not detect any issues without it.
 
Bad as in red fumes, terrible smell, can rusting through.


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Yike! No, that hasn't happened to me (yet), and yes, I would avoid using that, too!
 
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