Hi,
A friend of mine just gave me a kg of VV N140 that is unopened, but judging from the tin container, is at least twenty years old. The powder is dry and the container seems not to have deteriorated. Can this stuff still be used for reloading?

cewe,
I wouldn't worry about it. I'm using powder much older than that.... with good results.

Stepchild

Much of the surplus powders sold in the last 10 years were older than that. roger

quote:

Can this stuff still be used for reloading?

absolutely. If it has the familiar powder odor to it when you open the can and doesn't look wet it's

Smell a can of fresh powder , then smell the old powder . Notice any real oder difference ?.

As long as powder stays dry and between reasonable Temp. range it shouldn't be a problem .

I'm using some OLD Dupont powder in a Tin , the price was still on the can $1.65 lb.

It still goes boom as to the accuracy ?. I've yet to see any real one hole promises !.

I also have not seen any one hole groups with my New VV either . It was a little more than a buck sixty five a pound . With shipping like $27.50 more .

Like someone told me long ago, writing the check only hurts until the ink dries . What continues to hurt is knowing what you've purchased doesn't work correctly .

I do how ever have several calibers to work with .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

DANGER !! That powder is unsafe-- send it to me to insure proper disposal !!
I have a powder can collection and have powder that dates back to the 30's that is still very much alive and well. I have seen bad powder made by DuPont in the final years of actual DuPont before it changed to " IMR formerly supplied by DuPont". They must have been running as cheep as possible and were not getting all the acid out in the process. The main portion of the manufacture is soaking cellulose fiber in nitric acid and it has to be "washed" very clean of acid or it will deteriorate --even if stored perfectly! I have had several cans (factory sealed) of 3031 4320 and 4895 that had a rusty look to them and lots of rusty dust. I cleaned the stuff up by screening it OUTSIDE on a very fine screen and letting it freefall in front of a fan. It did not have the usual fresh ether powder smell we all love but it still functioned ok and I used it up -fast- in less than full steam shooter loads. (I am the ultimate cheepskate!)Bad powder will let you know right away -- Smell is the first biggie! ALSO Pour some out on to clean white paper, the only trace it should leave behind is a little black graphite. If it smells good and looks right it should be just fine.
One of the guys I work with SCORED a 50 lb keg of 4350. It was in a cardboard keg and he had it stored on the floor in a closet in his basement. They started to notice a real bad smell and finally found that there had been moisture on the floor and the keg of powder wicked it up and went NASTY! All the clothes in that closet rotted and fell apart!
Rod in Wasilla

quote:

Originally posted by wasilla:
DANGER !! The main portion of the manufacture is soaking cellulose fiber in nitric acid and it has to be "washed" very clean of acid or it will deteriorate --even if stored perfectly! I have had several cans (factory sealed) of 3031 4320 and 4895 that had a rusty look to them and lots of rusty dust.

Nice posting

Been there with a fair quantity of 4895 I bought as surplus. Had a bad nitric oder. roger

I have fired ammo from the 1920s. Shot fine. Oldest powder I have is from WW II era. Still good. What is important is storage IF manufactured properly.

NRA had a story about 4895 made by Dupont/IMR for the government during WW II. Obviously they planned it would be used SOON on German of Japanese troops... so they skipped a couple "wash" steps. This is the acidic stuff that was rotting cans... Red dust. War ended and this batch still got loose into Hodgdons' hands for sale...

If the smell is good, like acetone, your wife/girlfriends nail polish remover... NO PROBLEM. (Or rubbing alcohol, or... mild, sweet...) If the smell is bad, Acidic like vinegar, then you may have a problem and want to be super careful or use it for fertilizer on the grass/garden... full of nitrogen and the cellulose is the same stuff you see when leaves (or other organic plant matter) rot... luck.

This is one of the times a Chrony is invaluable.

quote:

Originally posted by iiranger:
use it for fertilizer on the grass/garden... full of nitrogen .

Done that and burned my grass! True story. Mixed with H2O in a 33gal garbage can The solution ate my grass. Two years later that spot had really great color. roger

quote:

Originally posted by wasilla: I have had several cans (factory sealed) of 3031 4320 and 4895 that had a rusty look to them and lots of rusty dust.

A can of 3031 like Wasilla describes is the only bad powder I've ever gotten; and when I opened that can for the very first time, I knew it was bad right away...rusty fumes and acid smell. I fertilized the lawn with it as I lost the cash register receipt and the store wouldn't take it back. But it was from the same time frame...when DuPont was getting out of powder production.

Hi,

And thanks! I´ll do a check with the Chrony and there just might be a small article for a gun rag in this!

Cheers,

cewe