Greetings to everyone as I am new to this forum & this is my first post.

I was hoping to get some experienced feedback on the following:

I live in Hurrican Katrina country and our house flooded with about a foot of water in 2005. I had quite a few canisters of powder that were 1 to 2 years old at the time, never went under water, but sat in the humid, boarded up house for 9 days before I was allowed back into the parish to open things up and let it air out. All the canisters were previously used but capped and closed. It was probably another 2 months before I got them boxed up and into a climate controlled storeage unit. Since then, they have been in a climate controlled environment. The powder appears to be fine but I have read that the coating on powder tends to break down with age and is part of what controls the burning rate. Has anyone ever used powder this old or should I just go ahead and replace it with new?

This last week, I finally ordered new reloading equipment and would like to use whatever of my old stuff possible. I'm fairly confident the powder wasn't subjected to excessive moisture with the exception of the 9 days following Katrina. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

ive not reloaded long enough to have had to deal with this problem. but from what ive read others say is if it doesn't have a bad smell and looks normal and you know what it is load it up. i did get the chance to smell some bad powder from some loaded rounds that i was given that had been out in a shop and had gotten we and you will definatly know the smell when you smell it. good luck getting things back going.

also why did you replace all your equipment? was it non refurbishable?

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Originally posted by str8razor:
All the canisters were previously used but capped and closed.

If they are the plastic containers, IME, even "capped and closed" the powders will "breathe". I don't think this is a big issue.

If the powders smell OK they should be fine. All the hand-wringing you hear about smokeless powder breaking down over time is mostly B.S. I say "mostly" because I'm sure it's true, but I think it is a very, very long process.
I have shot ammo from WW2 and it functioned fine. Some cases had split necks, so the powder was open to the air for some time, and these functioned fine.

John Wooters(IIRC) tested some 30 year old handloads and their velocity was nearly unchanged.

8 years is not a long time for powder to sit around. Just make sure to work-up from starting loads.

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8 years

Is young for some of my powder. I had some powder with the same issue after Rita in Houston. Shoots just fine. Can't say I've had powder go bad and I know some is 25-30+ years old.

As long as the containers were water/air tight you should be good to go.

I have powder that is old enough to vote and it is still fine. Load some up and give it a try, if it doesn't work you can always break down your loads and toss the rest.

I'm still shooting surplus H-4831 from WWII.

7-8 years old is new powder, and that BS about losing it coating is just that.

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Originally posted by Hunt-ducks:
I'm still shooting surplus H-4831 from WWII.

7-8 years old is new powder, and that BS about losing it coating is just that.

YEP!

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I'm still shooting surplus H-4831 from WWII.

Hey Hunt, I still have a little of one of Hodgden's original 50# kegs of WWII 4831 I got in '65 too! And, sure, it works just fine. I also have a good bit of powders running 18-25 years old. I don't toss powders that don't work for the purpose I bought it, save it to try in other cartridges. Eventually it amounts to a pretty good variety!

As to the age question--I know that's not a problem. I'm using some IMR3031 that came in the metal container. I'm guessing it is around 10 or 15 years old, and it shoots great. It pours well (no clumping) and has that fresh powder smell to it. I think if your canisters were closed tightly and had the gasket/seal in the lid, you won't have any problems with it. If it isn't clumped together and it smells good, I'm sure it is OK.

As long as it still has an "ether" smell to it and is not contaminated with rust, it is fine.

I have powder that is at least 25 and some that I would be surprised if it was not 40 years old. It does load different than new (fresh) powder, though I think this is because powders have changed(burn rate) greatly in the last 40 years.

As I said, if it has that ether smell to it, it is probably fine. If in a steel can, check for rust.

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Originally posted by Jim C. <><:

quote:

I'm still shooting surplus H-4831 from WWII.

Hey Hunt, I still have a little of one of Hodgden's original 50# kegs of WWII 4831 I got in '65 too! And, sure, it works just fine. I also have a good bit of powders running 18-25 years old. I don't toss powders that don't work for the purpose I bought it, save it to try in other cartridges. Eventually it amounts to a pretty good variety!

Bought that same 50lb keg twice I think it came out to like 40 cents a lb

quote:

Bought that same 50lb keg twice I think it came out to like 40 cents a lb

I don't remember the exact shipped cost but it was under $.50 a pound; that was cheep with powders retailed for about $2.75 a pound. When I went to the train depot to get it, that paste board 50# drum really looked lonely in a wood form holding it in place in an otherwise empty box car. Guy said nothing else could travel in a car with "explosives"! (I still get a chuckle outta that one.)

I don't shoot a lot, never have, so the one drum was plenty for me and, at 70 now, the remaining few pounds will likely be plenty to tide me over till the Lord comes. Or, I go!

Many thanks to everyone's replies. It sounds like my pre-Katrina powder is still good. All of it still smells like it did new and is not clumped so I think I'm OK. Thanks again!

After 25 years I usually take my powders and mix them with peanut butter and place them near rat holes near the barns --stops the pests from ruining my feed supplies. Rats cannot thro-up so they bleed internally. Put mixture on stale bread.

In the 70's I shot some WW2 4831 that a guy said he had that was in barrel under eaves of roof and rainwater filled the barrel to top. He said it had been sitting that way for about 3yrs. He dumped it out on plastic drop cloths and let it dry for about a week in the hot sun. I tried some in my 257 Roberts and it shot within 3fps of a new can of H4831.