Lighting a match before closing ammo can

[cajundefender]

I am trying to figure out how to make ammo last the longest in ammo cans. A friend of mine told me that to create an oxygen-free environment inside an ammo can, fill it, place about half an inch of rice in to protect against flame, toss in a couple lit matches, and hurry up and close the can. The flame will use all of the oxygen. Other than the obvious thought of fire around ammo which I don't like, would this work? The rice idea makes sense and since there would be so little oxygen, the flame would burn out in a few seconds, leaving the can oxygen free. Outside of the essentially setting your ammo on fire, what do you think about this oxygen-free canning method?

[pathdoc]

Umm... the first thought that comes to mind is HELL NO. Moisture is more your enemy here. Decomposition of powder releasing oxidizing compounds is next, and that happens over a long time, from the inside of the case out. If that's going to happen, nothing will stop it short of firing the ammo first.

[Snyper]

There's no need to worry about oxygen since each case is sealed by the bullet

[dinod]

I remember having seen wine enthusiasts using cans of spray nitrogen to remove the oxygen from a wine bottle so it won't "oxidize" I wonder if that might work?

[jmr40]

Assuming this would work without starting a major fire, how are you supposed to separate the rice from the powder when you get ready to load the ammo.

Sounds like a very bad idea to me.

[mehavey]

...place about half an inch of rice in to protect
against flame, toss in a couple lit matches,
and hurry up and close the can.

You have GOT to be kidding.

[Snyper]

Assuming this would work without starting a major fire, how are you supposed to separate the rice from the powder when you get ready to load the ammo.

He's talking about loaded ammo, not loose powder

I am trying to figure out how to make ammo last the longest in ammo cans

Close the lid and store in a cool dry place.
It will be good 100 years from now without doing anything else

[mehavey]

(He's still got to be kidding)
This is a joke... right?

[Marco Califo]

No. You are supposed to light the match in the bathroom after a large bowel movement.
Then throw salt over your shoulder.
Don't step on the cracks.
And then whinney like a horse and stomp your left foot three times.
And don't take any wooden nickels.
Geez, I thought matches were for checking your natural gas connections for leaks.

[Jeff2131]

So, after watching samii ammo in fire video that was posted on here some time ago, i learned that ammo in a fire cause virtually no threat other then maybe accelerating that fire a bit. However, if the ammo in that can caught fire and ignited....in a solid steel ammo can, which is typically sealed and latched shut tightly....id be EXTREMELY hesitant to be anywhere near that thing once the ignition took place and the pressure in that can let loose! Bad bad bad idea. Like others said, youll be dead long before that ammo gets to a poor condition, assuming youve stored it properly. Please, do not use this match idea.

[Barnacle Brad]

Interesting conversation...

Has anyone considered what that rice is going to taste like after sitting in an ammo can for a hundred years?

Is it important what kind of rice is used? Minute, white, long grain, sticky, or jasmine? I had jasmine rice for dinner this evening. It is pretty yummy. We store in an air tight glass cannister...

[Lost Sheep]

Removing the oxygen from air inside the can likely will not have any effect. Did your friend tell you where he learned this tale?

Remember, there is plenty of oxygen in the powder. It is in the nitrates.

Did he have any idea what the carbon monoxide would do? When the matches go out through oxygen deprivation, there will be a certain concentration of CO in addition to the CO2.

In short, while it MAY not be overtly dangerous, there is no upside. I consider this myth BUSTED (if it even has the status of a myth to begin with. It seems to me just a hare-brained joke on someone that has taken in your friend as collateral damage.....unless YOU are the butt of HIS joke.)

Lost Sheep

[jepp2]

If your goal is to have an oxygen free atmosphere in the ammo can (which has already been debated) just throw in a couple of oxygen absorbers. Readily available since preppers use them in food storage.

[higgite]

I see a Darwin Award in the making.

[BillM]

I've heard of the match thing being used to "use up" the oxygen
in foodstuffs---but doubt it's very effective.

Oxygen absorbers work, as will an inert gas that will displace the air in the
container.

Nitrogen is actually lighter than air, by about 3%. So unless your can is
totally airtight eventually it will be compromised.

Co2 is probably the most common heavier than air gas. Drop in a
chunk of dry ice or a set off a Co2 pellet gun cartridge. Drop the lid but
don't latch it. Wait until the dry ice is sublimated or the cartridge is empty,
then latch the lid.

Worth all the effort? Nope. Just store the ammo in a cool dry place and
it will still fire fine for your grandchildren.

[cheezhed]

you could close the lid after placing the ammo can in a full bathtub. There will be no oxygen in the can.

[TXAZ]

I think you are worrying about a sub 1% issue, but could make the news in a bad way. Not worth the risk.

[Marco Califo]

A friend of mine told me that to

Give your friend this number, and tell him to ask for Mr. Behr:
(469) 554-7500

[JohnKSa]

Get one of the single-use, air-activated, chemical handwarmers, open the plastic outer package and put it in the can before you seal it.

It will use up all the oxygen. The downside is that there is a small amount of water in them. I don't know how much there is--I guess you could put a moisture absorber in there with it.

[Cheapshooter]

Do you have a massive amount of ammo requiring tons of rice, and thousands of matches that your friend wants to sell you?. That's about the only reason anybody would suggest such an asinine method of doing something that doesn't need to be done!

[hartcreek]

I would not worry about it but if you are that OCD put your reloaded ammo i boxes ad the use one of those food vaccume sealers and the store the sealed packets in an ammo can.

I shot ammo this weekend that was loaded 30 years ago with no FTFs and it was just stored in factory card board boxes on a shelf.

[Pathfinder45]

I'm having a hard time trying to stop laughing. It shouldn't be funny because someone could get hurt following advice like that. It's like something from a Jackass movie.

[Nick_C_S]

First, I question the need to remove the oxygen. But if there is, having been an oenophile (wine sipping snob) in a previous life, this was the first thing that crossed my mind:

I remember having seen wine enthusiasts using cans of spray nitrogen to remove the oxygen from a wine bottle so it won't "oxidize" I wonder if that might work?

Anyway, the rice-match thing wreaks of urban legend.

[green_MTman]

if you did that with black powder that would surely be a suicide mission.smokeless poweder is not an explosive its a fast burning chemical.in theory once the oxygen is gone any ignited powder would stop burning.

however though your still lighting a fire in a closed dwelling,if the fire got out of hand you would go down on a arson rap.maybe try that outside far from people and have a hose or several buckets of water on hand.scientificly you should be right but playing with fire indoors is to risky

[Jimro]

Removing oxygen from a burning pile of smokeless powder will not stop the reaction. Nitrocellulose has plenty of oxygen in it, being a nitrated carbohydrate.

The combustion products of H2O, CO2, and N2 are all present in the parent molecule, so there is no need for an external oxygen source.

Removing oxygen from ammo storage containers will do nothing in terms of prolonging the useful life of the ammo. Keep it cool, keep it dry, that is all you need.

Jimro