How long is powder good for I just found 3 1# jugs I forgot I had in the lawn mowers garage.. hot in the summer and cold in the winter..

Thanks, John

Powder lasts a very long time if stored properly. Sounds like yours was not stored properly.
The way to tell if is still good is to pour some powder into a bowl and if a red dust comes off of the powder, It is BAD. THey also say that it will have an acrid smell when it goes bad rather than a solvent type smell.
I really don't know what acrid smells like, so I go with the red dust test.
Best to test each can.
Good luck.
Joe

Depends on how hot that shed gets. If the powder still smells of acetone, and there is no red dust or fumes, it's OK. I'm shooting powder that has been at about air temp (0-100 degrees) for 20 years.

By "jugs" I assume the fairly new style containers. Before were steel and steel and cardboard so they're probably recent manufacture and probably still useful.

As for how long? I read somewhere that, I think DuPont, still has supply of smokeless gunpowder over 100 years old and periodically shoot some off in a closed bomb test. At the last test it was still as potent as ever. But I know for a fact it is not stored in a mower shed!

Heed the advise about fumes and red dust.

Further if the powder looks "wet" it's bad.....it might make good fertilizer for the garden.

Good powder looks dry and has the familiar odor that you get when you open a fresh can of powder. Further as it goes bad it smalls putrid!

I have powder labeled 1944 that is still good!!!

thank you it loos like the powder is good ;o)

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Cullison:
THey also say that it will have an acrid smell when it goes bad rather than a solvent type smell.
I really don't know what acrid smells like, so Joe

The smell is the same as nitrous or nitric acid.

Fertilizer???? OK but I diluted about 7 pounds of it in a 33 gal garbage can full of water and it still badly burned my lawn. Only after 2yrs. did the grass start to grow again.By the way this was surplus 4895.roger

quote:

Fertilizer???? OK but I diluted about 7 pounds of it in a 33 gal garbage can full of water and it still badly burned my lawn. Only after 2yrs. did the grass start to grow again.By the way this was surplus 4895.roger

I spread 4# on a piece of lawn about 15' x 15'. Used one of those hand crank plastic spreaders. It did not burn the lawn. Did not make it not make it any greener either. PS. Do not pour half a pound of 4895 down a goper hole, place fuse, cover with dirt, pack tight and light it. You will have flame shooting out several holes you did not nottice before. I think I got the gopher but it was a "Caddy Shack" re-enactment

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Cullison:
.
I really don't know what acrid smells like, so I go with the red dust test.
Joe

If you know what Ether smells like, thats the good, a "soft" smell.
Acrid is a "sharp" smell.
John L.