New to reloading - unheated garage?

[Gimble88]

I live in an area where it rains all winter, though it doesn't often get real cold. I am setting up my first reloading bench and the most convenient place I have is the garage, where I already have a very stout bench made from maple bowling alley about 1 1/2" thick.

My worry is that, with the humidity, the powder might absorb moisture. With the garage doors we have there is no way to insulate. I certainly would store all the loading components in a warm dry environment but am concerned when I bring the powder measure (Dillon progressive press) out to the garage, the powder might absorb moisture or the powder measure might be inaccurate while the temperature stabilizes.

Am I nuts or should I try to find space in a heated area? Maybe use the dining room table.

Spence

 

[arjay]

No basement?

 

[snowman]

Sir,

In my experience your fears are valid. When I started I tried to load in the garage and had problems. Those problems disappeared when I loaded indoors with heating and A/C. I was able to isolate humidity as the primary culprit. Whenever the humidity rises significantly in the house it affects things also. For this reason I do all my loading in the winter when the heating system keeps the humidity low.

As they say, YMMV.
Andy

 

[Gimble88]

No basement?

Not at this house.

Basements are below the water table here. Sometimes they try to float. Had one in my last house and had to run a de-humidifier all the time.

Spence

 

[RussellD]

You can always use a portable space heater to warm the area for about an hour before starting your loading session. Worked for me.

 

[arjay]

Floating houses are a pain,I had one lol.If you store the powder in the house and the hopper on the powder measure has a tight lid,would it absorb that much moisture over an hour or two?

 

[sarge1967]

Depending on what equipment you use you will get rust on it. I found that out the hard way myself.

 

[dmar]

I've been reloading in my unheated garage for about 5 years now, and have not had any issues, yet... We get 4 seasons, humidity in the summer, etc. I keep after the things that can rust, wiping dies/equipment down, etc. i have not experienced any mis-fires, or that type of thing. Who knows, maybe its coming...?

If all you've got is the garage for reloading, you should just go for it. Try keeping your powder/primers in climate control, if possible. I do keep some powder and primers in the garage, some of it for a long time, and again, no issues.

That being said, my wife keeps telling me I should move my setup down into our basement. I've got a great set up currently in the garage, and have not been eager to take everything apart, and set up a whole new arrangement in the basement. It would be much more comfortable, so someday I'll make it happen. YMMV

 

[rwsmith]

I'm in the same fix

I have the same setup so I just store sensitive items inside and work outside when it is tolerable. I charge my cases in the house using the scale to check, so pretty much all I do outside is work with the press and other mechanical operations. Since I like using a hand primer, I do that inside, too.

 

[2152hq]

If it's raining most of the time there, you can just figure the humidity is high all the time too. Everything that can absorb moisture outside will do so. That includes powder and primers. Stands to reason to protect from high humidity (and temps).
If the powder does have a high moisture content, you'll probably not know it by looking at it or working with it.
But you'll probably run into a batch of reloads somewhere down the line that give poor ignition or combustion because of it.
Wet is wet no matter how it gets there.

Wouldn't it be more comfortable inside where it's temp controlled anyway?

My Dad had me reloading in our unattached unheated garage when I first decided it was a good idea to do so. He was sure I'd blow something up including me,,but 'go ahead,,just do it outside'.
So in the snowy dark cold of western NY winter,,there I was trying to fumble w/components & reload 38-44s for my new (to me) H/D 5".
Not many got loaded back then during that winter.

 

[dla]

I live in an area where it rains all winter, though it doesn't often get real cold. I am setting up my first reloading bench and the most convenient place I have is the garage, where I already have a very stout bench made from maple bowling alley about 1 1/2" thick.

My worry is that, with the humidity, the powder might absorb moisture. With the garage doors we have there is no way to insulate. I certainly would store all the loading components in a warm dry environment but am concerned when I bring the powder measure (Dillon progressive press) out to the garage, the powder might absorb moisture or the powder measure might be inaccurate while the temperature stabilizes.

Am I nuts or should I try to find space in a heated area? Maybe use the dining room table.

Spence

I live about 100 miles north of you. I've never had a problem with powder dispensers (Dillon and Lee) but that may be due to the powders I use. I have had problems with priming systems that depend little plastic thingies flexing - don't work so well in the cold.

If I were you I would throw and weigh a string of 30 charges to get an idea of the variation you'll experience. If the variance is within safe tolerance for the powder/load (and your liking) then have at it in the garage. As usual, all the normal cautions apply (know what a double looks like and how to cause it, setup so you can check each case before seating a bullet, don't use TiteGroup or Unique, etc.).

 

[ArchAngelCD]

A very humid environment is not a good place to leave your reloading equipment. Dies will rust, linkages will be stiff because of rust and everything will be harder to manage in such an environment. Unless you have a way to seal off the area and run a dehumidifier I would not suggest you set up in the garage. Where I live in PA all basements are very humid, even when they are finished basements. Like in your old house I also run a dehumidifier all the time. I would not be able to reload in my basement without one. Like said above, humidity is a real concern.

 

[Cdog]

I've been where I am now for 15 years. My garage is my shop/loading area too.

I keep my 1lb containers of powder along with my dies in a heavy metal cabinet. My presses, measures, trimmers, and other hardware stay under breathable cloth dust covers when not in use.

I wipe the dies down when I handle them, as I believe salt from our hands cause much discoloration. Rust isn't any more of a problem in the shop than it was in the house before.

I do keep my larger stores of powder and primers inside though. Powders are stored in an old cedar chest, primers atop my safe.

Unless your powders are exposed to wide temp extremes over a period of time and you keep them on their original resealable containers your stuff should be ok with only a reasonable amount of care.

 

[Gimble88]

Thanks for all the great input. I have decided to suck it up and build a new bench in a small office I have in the house. It has a wood floor so I should be able to deal with powder spills safely and find a primer if I drop one.

The joke is I have a shop with a heated concrete floor on the property but I work as a machinist and that shop is full of machines and has absolutely no room for another bench and reloading equipment.

Again thanks for all the great information and advice.

Spence

 

[Gimble88]

Thanks again to all who answered with advice. As I said I decided to build a new bench in a corner of my home office. That way if my mind wanders from my gainful employment I can load a few hundred rounds and refresh my concentration.

Here are a couple of pics of my new loading bench. I just have to add some shelves to the wall above the bench.





Spence

 

[Skip Sackett]

Not at this house.

Basements are below the water table here. Sometimes they try to float. Had one in my last house and had to run a de-humidifier all the time.

Spence

I was going to say, no. Basements there are called swimming pools!

 

[blujax01]

Nice and clean.

May I suggest you add something like this so you can see into the case hopper? Mine comes in real handy.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Spence,
I am glad to see that you didn't set that XL650 up in the garage!
I have two and one I bought used, off of ebay, and, it was in a wet basement and had some surface rust on a few of the steel parts.
Couldn't imagine what it would have looked like coming from the Pacific Northwest and kept in the same manner!

Nice looking room too. Congrats!

 

[RDub]

Heya Ginble88
I'm just down the street from ya in Grants Pass, but we are not quite as wet as you up there. Unfortunately I am confined to a garage for reloading and and have been for most of my life.
Yes, rust can be an issue and I just have to stay on top of it, but it's not as bad as some might think. Keep everything coated with some kind of lubricant and you can keep it at bay.

Powder has never been a problem either. Nowadays powder comes in plastic containers, so if the lid is on tight, moisture is not getting in. I still have older lots of powder from the 70's and 80's that came in other than plastic containers and they are still as good as day one.. and the powder was not stored indoors.

With something like a Dillan progressive you can mount it with wingnuts so you can remove it easily and store the machine indoors somewhere while its not being used.

Something else you can do is mount a heat lamp over the bench in the winter time.

Those that have situations were they can load indoors would never consider loading in a garage or shop nor should they, but if a garage is all you have go for it.. it's doable.

Good to see you got indoors though..