Reloading Over 3 or 4 Days

[Mountain Man Gramps]

I'm a new reloader and have read through Lyman's Reloading manual as well as parts of other reloading manuals.  I've read that you should return all primers and smokeless powder to their original containers after every loading session.  Assuming you're in an environment where no one is going to be around your reloading bench between one to two hour loading sessions extending over 3 or 4 evenings, is there a need to do this?  Humidity is low, temperature stays above 55 degrees and below 85 degrees.  Is the recommendation to pack up everything after every session due to some material properties or is is just for safety reasons?  What do you do?

[Juan Solo]

Primers should be fine for sure. Powder is usually recommended to go back to it's container, especially it it's in a garage or some other location with out climate control.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Just a few days involves little risk to equipment.  Titegroup and other powders with a high nitroglycerin content are known to absorb moisture from the air (and perhaps not measure out accurately due to clumps or adhesion), so in periods of high humidity (if you have any), you might want to be more careful about putting powder back in the factory container and closing it up.   There are some other powders that can attack the plastic walls of powder hoppers due to some residual manufacturing solvents (Winchester Super Handicap is one that ate up an RCBS powder hopper of mine).

 

Mostly the warning is to prevent confusion about which powder is in your loading gear.  Just one mistake about that, and you could create serious problems.

 

Most recommendations in loading manuals have come about because there was at least one serious problem that came up in the past.

 

Good luck, GJ

[J-BAR #18287]

Stuff happens.

 

There have been a couple of times in my life that I had to be admitted to a hospital due to an emergency.  I didn’t expect to be gone for days when it happened, but I was.  No one knows for sure what tomorrow, or the next hour will bring.

 

I return powder from the dispenser back into the manufacturer’s original container at the end of a reloading session.  Primers removed from the manufacturer’s package are used up or returned to factory packaging.  If something happens, I don’t want family members fumbling with exposed components.

[Cliff Hanger #3720LR]

30 seconds or less to return powder to it's original container.

Same 30 seconds or less to refill the powder hopper when you need it.

 

You have to decide if that is too much time to invest if safety of your property.

================

I loaded commercially for 18 years.

Everyday in the shop except match days.

I never missed a day of returning powder to the hopper.

But for me, I was not sure what powder I would be using during the next loading session and I did not want to have to guess what powder was in the hopper from the last session.

 

[BLACKFOOT SASS #11947]

I don't really get concerned about primers left in a progressie press but I don't leave opened primer boxes out in the atmosphere.  Powder, I don't leave it in a dispenser overnight.   Your mileage can vary!!

Blackfoot

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

If you leave primers or powder out, be sure to mark them so that whenever you come back you know what is in the measure or dispenser.  This is crucial to your future safety.   If for some reason you do not know what components you have left out, dispose of them safely.  eyes and other body parts are priceless.

 

Duffield

[Rye Miles #13621]

I use one powder and reload only one caliber on my 550. I leave the powder in all the time and add to it. It's in the basement where it's cool and fairly dry. Never had a problem with the powder. I use Tite-Group.

 

[Ripsaw]

I have different presses for each cartridge I load, so each stays set up for one particular use.  I reload in a temperature and humidity controlled workshop. I leave powder and primers in the press for a week or more. The powder dispenser is marked with a piece of masking tape with the powder labeled on it.  I may load 1000 or 1500 rounds over the course of a few days, spending an hour or two at a time. Everything is set up so it's easy to start/stop. I do verify with a scale the powder drops are correct at the beginning of each session and drop about 10 charges before I begin loading cartridges.  I run Square Deal B presses for pistol cartridges. 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

In my 50+ years of reloading. I lived from next to the ocean to the Mojave Desert.

Never had an issue with a few days sitting on the bench, while doing a 2-3K round run.

OLG

[Turkey Flats Jack]

it's been mentioned but I think the biggest factor is if you're running multiple types of powders. emptying the hopper so there's no chance of mix up coming back and using the wrong powder for a different caliber. Not a problem if you run the holy black. Not enough of a difference between 2f and 3f if you did manage to mix the two up lol. 

[Blast Masterson]

8 hours ago, Mountain Man Gramps said:

Humidity is low, temperature stays above 55 degrees and below 85 degrees. 

Sounds like your in an arid location, but "Relative Humidity" is not a measurement of humidity. Grains per Pound is. Temperature change effects if moisture evaporates or condenses. If you enter a condensing phase, the weight (and potential performance) of the powder will change.

 

The problem is not the current air psycrometrics. It is the "transition" from one condition to another. There is a lag between A and B. Your metal press gets cool, then the air conditions change. 20% relative humidity (which is not a problem) may become 100% because of the temperature of the press, which causes condensation into the powder because of the change in dew point.

 

As to how much becomes too much, I don't know. I reload out in my shop in Tn. Major moisture issues. My motorcycle is soaking wet sitting in the garage at times. I have noticed in the winter that the power factor of my reloads change a little bit. This is also associated with other things, but I feel moisture plays a part. Some guys here put their loads in the sun or near the car heater before they shoot. This removes moisture from the powder (but it is still in the air space of the case).

 

We are not shooting paper targets, or at long range. We are under loading vs. trying to achieve max power and pressures. But as posted, it only takes a few seconds to dump your powder when your done. The results may simply be cleaner burning powder, which affects the operation of the gun your shooting more than ballistics.
 

Chemical reactions are triggered by moisture (rust, oxidation).  Affect on powder depends on the powder.

 

 

 

[Mountain Man Gramps]

Thanks everyone for your posts.

 

I load in my garage, own only one powder, Alliant’s Sport Pistol, and keep the press covered except when in use.  I have one of those LED light rings with the additional light strip down the post of the press illuminated 24/7.  Even thought it’s LED’s, it generates just enough heat that the post feels slightly warmer than the rest of the press by a few degrees only.  I do this to prevent moisture issues.  I’ve checked other uncovered metal in the garage and it is never wet from condensation so I figure the covered slightly heated press should not have condensation issues.  Also, I keep the tight-fitting rubber cap on the drop loader at all times.  I think that addresses all the concerns mentioned, but I want to keep everything top-notch.  Obviously, if there was a chance of curious hands, everything would be packed up after every session.  My older son (also a Reloader) is also living with us for a spell and he knows what to do if something happens to me.

 

My main concern is powder or primer degradation or other material properties I may not know about.

[bgavin]

Apparently, Vista is far enough from the ocean that you don't have the proximity problems of salt, etc.
My place in Pacific Beach is just one block from the beach.

The salt damage is catastrophic in just a few months, which is why we didn't retire there.
It gets into everything that is not boxed or covered, inside the house and inside a closed closet.
My garage offered little protection from the salt and rust.

[Dusty Devil Dale]

12 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

(Winchester Super Handicap is one that ate up an RCBS powder hopper of mine).

The cheap green plastics that RCBS uses on reloading tools, scales, dispensers, etc. are very prone to powder reaction.  And the company simply refuses to replace powder- damaged equipment.  

 

I left some Power Pistol (a double-base powder) in their dispenser for only 6 hours, between morning and afternoon loading sessions, and both the clear hopper and the green dispenser were deeply etched and covered with permanently adhering powder.  The dispenser throat was etched all the way inside to the aluminum dispenser tube.  

I called the company, and they told me there was nothing that they could do to help me, since "storing powder" in the device voided its warranty.   Somehow, I didn't consider six hours as "storing powder". 

I tried scraping and everything else to recover the dispenser, including coating it with epoxy.   It only marginally worked.  So I machined an aluminum base and dispenser body to replace the plastic parts.  That got me back in business, but it took over a week, on-and-off, to do the work.  My understanding is that the Hornady scale/dispenser has an aluminum body and does not experience the powder reactivity.  

Look before you buy! 

 

 

[Captain Bill Burt]

I only use one powder, Clays, and my gear and supplies are in a climate controlled room never dipping below 69 or rising above 74. I reload about 500 rounds a week and never empty my hopper, in fact I like to top off the hopper and case feeder after each session. Eight plus years and zero issues.

[Mountain Man Gramps]

Those of us who have seen damage to your equipment from powder, would you mind sharing the brand and item that was damaged and what powder you were using?

[Null N. Void]

I get on a run for a couple of days and I only use one powder and one type of primer.   I'll leave the powder in the hopper and run the press until the primers are used.  I've never had a problem with poor performance of the loads.

[Rance - SASS # 54090]

I only load 38's and only use one powder on my Dillon 550..

I usually reload 400 rounds at a sitting..

Even if I'm gonna reload again the next day...

The powder gets put back in its original container

after every reloading session..

Really doesn't take that much time.. 

I heard a long while back about powder caking and not 

metering correctly..

Some folks tape fish tank pumps to solve that problem..

To me?? Why take a chance fer a problem to pop up.. 

But... That's just me.. 

 

Rance 

Thinkin I ain't had no problems and I ain't lookin fer any..

[Shifty Bob]

Related but not a direct answer to the original post.

 

Power discolors the reservoir and is recommended by the press dispenser manufacturer to be emptied. After use.

 

Should you be interested there is a great high quality PYREX replacement reservoir available for just about all makes.

DRAMWORX

https://dramworx.com/

 

I just bought one it it is very nice.

[Grizzly Dave]

6 hours ago, Captain Bill Burt said:

I only use one powder, Clays, and my gear and supplies are in a climate controlled room never dipping below 69 or rising above 74. I reload about 500 rounds a week and never empty my hopper, in fact I like to top off the hopper and case feeder after each session. Eight plus years and zero issues.

 

I'm in this camp as well.  Though recently as I've started loading more than just 38s, I have started emptying the hoppers that are not in use on the press at  a given moment.  But the hopper on the press stays filled.  Dry climate, heated shop, haven't seen any problems.

[watab kid]

i think its long term inattention that might cause an issue - i set up to load for a week in bad weather and put up when done , i do not leave any components exposed to weather changes out of original packaging , going from heat on to AC this time of year and vice versa in the fall is the biggest adjustment mine see , never had an issue , i think shooting what you loaded in the changing seasons might be a bigger concern - or leaving stuff set up and unattended for months on end thru changing seasons 

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

Yer in So Cal - yer fine.

 

Phantom

[Cowboy Junky]

I live is SC and load in the garage. I load during the week for the weekend. The powder & primers stay in the Dillon 650 until it runs low and I add more. We don't have really high humidity here (in the upstate) but it's a non-issue with Clean Shot, Red Dot or Clays......maybe others but that's what I'm using mostly.