Fire Safety

[ggibson511960]

Has anyone had a fire accident from handling open containers of powder? I've never heard of it happening to anyone, but it seems that somebody must have stumbled on a way of lighting off an open container, filled case, scale pan full of powder or other open surface of powder. The manuals are full of cautionary warnings about the obvious, but I wonder how likely the actual hazard is from the unlikely cause of static buildup discharge.

Anybody ever experience first hand or hear of a flareup?

 

[muddocktor]

Funny you should ask that. My brother lit off a partial keg of Red Dot somehow when he was a young teen. I don't know if he ever came clean on what really happened, but I think he said he was sealing the crimps on some shotgun shells with candle wax and somehow dripped it into an open keg. I want to say there were a few pounds of powder left in the keg when he lit it off. It didn't burn down the shop and he got off with some light burns, IIRC.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Years ago a friend was loading shotgun shells and smoking. Dropped his cigarette into an open container of Red Dot. Said it started sparkling. He grabbed it out and nothing else happened.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

Get a copy of "Hatcher's Notebook" and read about powder fires. Really interesting.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[Skeet 028]

I once delivered a 15 lb keg of Red Dot powder to a customer. He was in his metal building he reloaded in. He was a smoker. He took a knife and cut the tape on the keg..leaned over and looked in..cigarette ash fell into the powder. instant sound of pffft. He jumped back(me too but out the door) Darn thing sounded like a jet plane . Burned/melted a hole in the roof and when it was all gone the cardboard keg was still there..somewhat blackened and crispy round the end but wow..that thing really got hot. Singed his eyebrows.

 

[Sevens]

Hahahaha to read this thread, apparently the only powder that is dangerous is Hercules Red Dot!

 

[federali]

M&D Reloading

You might check out the now-defunct M&D Reloading Company once located on Long Island, NY. They had an explosion in the powder reservoir on one of their reloading machines back in the 80s, killing two employees. I believe the ignition source may have been a buildup of priming compound around the machine from the occasional mangled primer. There was also some alleged horse play involved and a primer may have found its way into the powder reservoir and powder feed. Those were the rumors at the time.

 

[gwpercle]

Funny you should ask that. My brother lit off a partial keg of Red Dot somehow when he was a young teen. I don't know if he ever came clean on what really happened, but I think he said he was sealing the crimps on some shotgun shells with candle wax and somehow dripped it into an open keg. I want to say there were a few pounds of powder left in the keg when he lit it off. It didn't burn down the shop and he got off with some light burns, IIRC.

Couldn't put the top back on the open keg before lighting up that candle ?

That's not having an accident ...that's acting the fool .

52 years of reloading and no unintentional powder has ever gone off or burned...
But I don't act the fool around gunpowder...it can hurt you .
Keeping lids on containers isn't very hard .

 

[SMSgt]

Someone wanna hold my beer?