i have a dillon 650 my question is, is it ok to leave powder and primers in the hopper and primer tube? ok for short term?

quote:

is it ok to leave powder and primers in the hopper and primer tube?

yes

Well, I don't do it with mine, and I would recommend you don't do it either, unless you only ever use it for one load in one caliber, and you only own one kind of powder and one type of primer. That's the only way I would even consider it, and then for a VERY short term. I am certain that someone, or several others will tell you it's OK. I'm certain that they have done it for years and have never had any kind of mishap. To me it's a risk of component misidentification and also possibly (but a good bit less likely) of having your components spoil or get ruined. To me it's playing with fire and it's a risk I don't have to take. If you're going to think about doing be durn sure to label everything twice. Good luck and happy reloading!

For 1-2 weeks in decent storage conditions, it should be no problem. When I used to shoot IHMSA, I had a progressive set up for each caliber I shot and never broke them down from the beginning of the season until the end which was 6-8 months. Of course the primers and powder were constantly cycled through so the powder and primers were never in the press for more than a week.

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is it ok to leave powder and primers in the hopper and primer tube?

I suppose, but I don't like to leave primers exposed to the air and humidity if I don't really, really need to.

More important to me, leaving some powders, such as Bullseye or Unique in the powder hopper sometimes badly clouds the plastic, making it almost opaque. I suspect it may be the nitro glyerine in those double-based powders, which IS a moderately potent solvent in some circumstances. Anyway, I ruined a couple of clear plastic powder hoppers before I learned to quit doing that. They still worked fine, but I like to be able to clearly see the column of powder through the hopper walls and after they clouded up, I couldn't.

No problem w/ primers as long as it isn't humid.

Not a good idea w/ powder. I know from experience that if it is left in the hopper for extended periods of time, it will cloud the plastic.

Most of my old and former hoppers are a dark amber hue. That was from keeping the hopper filled with either a shotgun or pistol powder. If I cared, I would have replaced the hoppers long ago. I must not care.

All the time, but humidity here isn't very high. As to leaving pwoder in the hopper. Yes, some can react with the plastic & turn it yellow. To make sure I NEVER not know the powder in the hopper, I put a removeable lable on the lid & write the powder on the label.

I just like to see the powder column so as it emptys down to the baffle I can refill it. For me, having the area below the baffle always being filled by the stuff above the baffle seems to produce more consistent throw weights and saves me time.

My powders darkened the plastic so much over time I had trouble telling how full the hopper was.

I am with Fred...

But I run thru pistol calibers fast enough that the issue is affording enough powder, not long term storage.

Rich

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Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I am with Fred...

But I run thru pistol calibers fast enough that the issue is affording enough powder, not long term storage.

Rich

Seriously! A pound of powder goes pretty quickly. I never fill the measure, only half way. It seems more uniform that way. If I lived in Florida or other humid enviro, I wouldn't leave it out more than a day.