Fire in my shop caused by old powder.

[Elk Hunter]

Came home a week ago last Monday to watch the fire department cutting a big hole in my garage/shop roof to put out a fire. A whole lot of smoke damage to the house and a few guns lost in the shop. The shop will have to have a whole new roof structure and be completely re-wired. I've spent days cleaning guns and tools. Haven't gotten to the bigger stuff, lathe, milling machines etc.

The fire started outside when some old surplus rifle powder decided to cook off. I had put it outside on top of an old freezer I use as a flammable cabinet after I found it was going bad and was going to put it on the lawn as fertilizer. Just didn't get to it in time.

I haven't gotten into the garage overhead to see if I have hulls or wads left. I had many thousands of each in all gauges. My son looked and said the two Mec progressives stored up there were toast.

If you have old powder check it often, if it's starting to go bad dispose of it quickly, don't let this happen to you.

[OH Osthaus]

wow- are you located in a very hot area?

how much powder was involved in the "cook off"

at least my shop is in an outbuilding - well separated from the house

[Mills]

Sorry to hear the news. Glad to hear no one was hurt

[Jerry Parise]

This may be a dumb question, but, how does one know when old powder is going bad? I only store shotgun powder and I assume if rifle powder can go bad then so can shotgun powder.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Jerry Parise

This may be a dumb question, but, how does one know when old powder is going bad? I only store shotgun powder and I assume if rifle powder can go bad then so can shotgun powder.

from the Alliant Powder site

How to Check Smokeless Powder for Deterioration

Although modern smokeless powders are basically free from deterioration under proper storage conditions, safe practices require a recognition of the signs of deterioration and its possible effects.

Powder deterioration can be checked by opening the cap on the container and smelling the contents. Powder undergoing deterioration has an irritating acidic odor. (Don't confuse this with common solvent odors such as alcohol, ether and acetone.)

Check to make certain that powder is not exposed to extreme heat as this may cause deterioration. Such exposure produces an acidity which accelerates further reaction and has been known, because of the heat generated by the reaction, to cause spontaneous combustion.

[J.B. Books]

Be careful of how you dispose of it. I think it was two years ago World Champion Skeet shooter Wayne Mayes died as the result of an accident when he was burning old powder to dispose of it and his clothes caught fire.

[Fishtail]

.....light fuse and get away....

[winplumber]

What about old shells ?

[Fishtail]

The safest way to dispose of old shells is to dump them into a shallow box on a table at a gun show and sell them to someone else.

[Gerald McPherson]

I have some old browning power shells stored in a closet. Should I be concerned about them? They are at about 74 degrees. Four boxes I think.