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How can you tell if powder is bad

OakieOakie Member Posts: 40,510 ✭✭✭✭
edited February 2019 in Perry Shooter Competition Shooting and Reloading Forum
Someone gave me about thirty cans of powder. All of it is sealed, but old, in metal cans. The cans have rust on the top, but no where else. I shook the cans and the powder is not clumped up. Will it have a certain odor to it or what?????? I would hate to toss it, if it still good.

The man that left me the powder, died a few months ago. He left me about twenty dies, tons of powder, primers, melting pots, lead, ammo, molds and a bunch of other stuff I have not gone through yet. I don't even know where to start. It filled the back of my Expedition, with the seat down :o Oakie
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Comments

  • iceracerxiceracerx Member Posts: 8,860 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If the cans are sealed from the factory, the powder should be OK.

    You can smell the powder as a further check. If it has no smell or smells like solvent (acetone, alcohol, etc) it should be OK.

    If it smells like vinegar or something acidic, it's bad.

    A word of WARNING: Do NOT snif, snort of inhale from the mouth of the can! Instead, hold the can about 9-12 inches in front of your chin and 'waft' the air toward you nose with your other hand. (learned that from a chemist)
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  • OakieOakie Member Posts: 40,510 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    iceracerx wrote:
    If the cans are sealed from the factory, the powder should be OK.

    You can smell the powder as a further check. If it has no smell or smells like solvent (acetone, alcohol, etc) it should be OK.

    If it smells like vinegar or something acidic, it's bad.

    A word of WARNING: Do NOT snif, snort of inhale from the mouth of the can! Instead, hold the can about 9-12 inches in front of your chin and 'waft' the air toward you nose with your other hand. (learned that from a chemist)

    Thank you very much!!!!
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  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,572 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    +1 It should smell sweet. When going bad it can with turn red like rust. And it can have lots of dust, not the well defined granules, disks, tubes it was manufactured as.

    Note The save draft feature didn't work for me.
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  • Okie743Okie743 Member Posts: 2,700 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I tossed some bad gun powder into my turnip patch as a fertilizer and the green turnip tops where the powder landed wilted and turned brown. :o

    If a powder has a vinegar smell or has a reddish color or no smell I get suspect of the powder.

    Vinegar smell is a heads up notice.

    I keep my gun powders inside where temp don't change very much and cannister sealed good and have experienced some powders aging faster than others.
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