How do I clean up powder I spilled

Dano4734 · June 22, 2018, 08:14 PM

Not much but I knocked about 40 grains on my cement basement floor what should I do besides smoking:-) I was thinking what if it was a half pound what do you guys do

Sharkbite · June 22, 2018, 08:34 PM

I use a small handheld vacuum and empty it immediately. After 25years of reloading, ive never had any issues.

Dano4734 · June 22, 2018, 08:58 PM

Thank you

Nick_C_S · June 22, 2018, 10:10 PM

I've never been in the situation. And I try to avoid it. When I'm handling powder, I'm generally pretty aware of my motions. Accidents can happen, however. I've often wondered how I would handle it.

FrankenMauser · June 22, 2018, 10:29 PM

Sweep what you can.
Vacuum the rest.

RKG · June 23, 2018, 02:29 PM

Vacuum cleaner. No need to run to the dumpster right away. Modern smokeless powder is primarily nitrocellulose -- essentially ground up newspaper. At atmospheric pressure, it will burn like ground up newspaper.

MTT TL · June 23, 2018, 02:32 PM

Sweep up and throw in garden.

**Unclenick** · June 23, 2018, 03:54 PM

Dustpan and brush. Small quantity goes on the lawn. Large quantity has yet to happen. Might get picked over for large debris and screened for small debris and used, but not in match guns or ammo. That careful reclaiming would probably use up more of my time than it's worth, doing it well, but I'd need something to occupy myself until I finally stopped cursing.

Mobuck · June 23, 2018, 05:11 PM

40 grains ain't nothin

briandg · June 23, 2018, 07:22 PM

forty grains of rifle powder? If you have a shop vac, clean it up and then empty the container. Forty grains isn't very much. Unless I'm mistaken, forty grains of it would take quite an effort just to burn it off with a flamethrower. Since you are talking about a cement floor, seriously, you should be able to just sweep it and if it bothers you to have it in the trash can, flush it.

Gary Wells · June 23, 2018, 09:11 PM

Broom, dustpan, & match.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
40 grains wouldn't even make a good firecracker.
4th of July is coming up.

TXAZ · June 23, 2018, 09:25 PM

40 gr = Blow it out the door, into the dirt, away with the wind.
1/2 pound (I'm not interested in reusing it) depending on where it fell (close to the door, middle of the room, etc), good suggestions above to remove w/ dustpan. Not sure I'd want to use a vacuum, but it's probably not a hazard.

**JohnKSa** · June 23, 2018, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Modern smokeless powder is primarily nitrocellulose -- essentially ground up newspaper.

Newspaper is cellulose. The difference between cellulose and nitrocellulose is significant--maybe not as significant as the difference between glycerin and nitroglycerin, but still significant.

The two compounds do not burn the same, not even at normal atmospheric pressure.

edfardos · June 23, 2018, 10:29 PM

distribute evenly on lawn, water in.

dahermit · June 24, 2018, 08:25 AM

A small (cheap), wet/dry shop vac (with the foam collar installed), will safely vacuum up gunpowder. The suction drops as the debris (powder) enter the larger volume chamber and fall to the bottom while any small particles will be caught by the foam filter before getting near the motor.

An observation: Everyone seems to have read that putting gunpowder on a lawn is a good fertilizer and pass it on as gospel...without actually having done so. I have done so and did not observe any effect whatsoever. It did not seem to have a significant fertilizing effect. On the other hand, it did not seem to have a detrimental effect either. My point is that we should perhaps be more cautious about passing on as fact something that has become a platitude. Are there any chemists out there who can positively attest to the gunpowder's virtue as a lawn fertilizer?

daboone · June 24, 2018, 08:43 AM

Cleaning up powder is easy. Now the 10 lbs lead 2B shot that escaped from my MEC, well that is a real PIA.

hounddawg · June 24, 2018, 11:53 AM

back during the 08 shortages I dropped full tray of primers once, you can bet your keister I crawled around on my garage floor and picked all 100 up and used them. No misfires either. Using swept up powder might be a bridge too far for me though

DukeConnor · June 24, 2018, 12:41 PM

I have a wet dry vac. I keep a couple inches of water in the bottom. On the rare ocasion i feel motivated it gets dumped out.

AK Man · June 24, 2018, 12:53 PM

I spill powder from my powder drop every now & then, I'm a little clumsy. I get some from the unfired rounds that I pickup from the range that I pull to make them safe. I just use a small brush to sweep it up & normally just dump it out in a line on the concrete or a piece of steel plate, then light it. I have tried to dump it in the garden for fertilizer but it doesn't break down. Because I have picked up some of the stuff I dumped after a couple months & it still burns. So anymore if I have some that I don't trust to reload I burn it.

gwpercle · June 24, 2018, 02:19 PM

I sweep it up with a little whisk broom or suitable sized paint brush and dust pan .
If it was on my fairly clean bench , it goes back in the jug. If on the floor...then where it goes depends on how clean the floor is/was . Lots of dust, sawdust and whatever on the floor and it goes in the garden. Clean floor , back in the jug.

I know gunpowder dumped in the garden or grass does no actual good as fertilizer but if I said I dumped it in the trash the safety experts would be calling me out for unsafe powder disposal.

Gary

jugornot · June 24, 2018, 03:59 PM

I have a small electronics vac that does an excellent job. Whether needed or not it is anti-static. Or at least they claim it is.

Kevin Rohrer · June 24, 2018, 09:28 PM

If I spill it on the bench, it gets swept up and goes into the trash. If it lands on the floor, it stays there for a decade, or when I feel like sweeping it into the trash.

RC20 · June 24, 2018, 09:46 PM

Quote:

If I spill it on the bench, it gets swept up and goes into the trash. If it lands on the floor, it stays there for a decade, or when I feel like sweeping it into the trash.

We are on the same page there.

I spill more than most it seems. I fail to move the funnel and double charge and an overfill. 30-06 I can get the shell and funnel, 308 and 7.5 I can grasp both, spills out, what goes into the tray goes into the garbage.

I love the auto dispensers but they tend to wind up with powder here and there. Sooner or latter you are going to leave the trap door open, pour powder in and watch if low onto your bench (good thing there is no powder shortage)

If top is clean I get as much as I can and back in. If not swept up and into the trash.

Some old stuff I picked up onto the lawn. For what its worth:

Quote:

I'm a trial attorney, and I recently defended a lawsuit involving a young man who was very badly burned, after stepping on a discarded cigarette that happened to be in contact with 5 to 8 pounds of Bullseye powder that my client (a former competition shooter) had poured out onto the ground in his backyard at least six months before the fire. Witnesses described the victim as being engulfed in an "8- to 10-foot fireball of yellow flames." After being transported to the hospital, the guy was given a 50/50 chance of survival. Fortunately, he lived and is now back to work.

During this litigation, I deposed several chemical experts from different parts of the country, as well as a key product expert witness who is now retired after 40-some years with Hercules Incorporated, the former manufacturer of good ol' Bullseye powder.

Needless to say, I learned a lot about smokeless gunpowder during this case.

The bottom line: The only safe way to dispose of smokeless gunpowder is to burn it under controlled conditions. Water will not permanently neutralize it. Oil will not permanently neutralize it. Smokeless powder is extraordinarily stable and non-hygroscopic by design, and until it is completely consumed by burning, it must be considered flammable, and at least potentially dangerous.

Interesting side-note: The powder involved in this incident was determined to have been manufactured sometime in the early '60s. I kept a left-over square metal powder can as a souvenir of the case. The powder is definitely still flammable (as controlled testing proved) and I suspect still perfectly usable. It looks and smells exactly like the Bullseye powder I bought at the gun shop a month ago!

Eddietruett · June 24, 2018, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Rohrer

If I spill it on the bench, it gets swept up and goes into the trash. If it lands on the floor, it stays there for a decade, or when I feel like sweeping it into the trash.

That's a man I could share a loading bench with. Why sweep and vacuum when you can just grind it into the floor? Adds character to the loading room. I sweep mine about once a year. Usually when I'm adding a piece of equipment or doing so sort of rearranging of my stuff. I did spring $25 for one of the new spend primer catchers for my Dillon 650 off ebay. Catches primers and down a tube into a large plastic jug. I didn't realize how many spent primes missed the catcher until I bought this little gadget. That's my contribution to keeping clean.

MagnumManiac · June 26, 2018, 04:05 AM

Well, I once spilt an entire pound of RE22 on a carpeted floor......stood there for some time trying to devise a way to pick ALL of it up.
Found some old stockings in the kitchen drawer my missus used for gardening tasks and proceeded to put them into the vaccuum cleaner and duct taped them in place.......half a pound at a time got every kernel up out of the carpet......that I could see anyway.

Worked very very well and I was proud of my own ingenuity.

Have done this a few times now.

Cheers.

June 22, 2018, 08:14 PM	#1
Dano4734 Senior Member Join Date: October 6, 2014 Posts: 730	How do I clean up powder I spilled Not much but I knocked about 40 grains on my cement basement floor what should I do besides smoking:-) I was thinking what if it was a half pound what do you guys do

June 22, 2018, 10:10 PM	#4
Nick_C_S Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2013 Location: Idaho Posts: 5,523	I've never been in the situation. And I try to avoid it. When I'm handling powder, I'm generally pretty aware of my motions. Accidents can happen, however. I've often wondered how I would handle it. __________________ Gun control laws benefit only criminals and politicians - but then, I repeat myself. Life Member, National Rifle Association

June 22, 2018, 10:29 PM	#5
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	Sweep what you can. Vacuum the rest. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

June 23, 2018, 02:32 PM	#7
MTT TL Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 2009 Location: Quadling Country Posts: 2,780	Sweep up and throw in garden. __________________ Thus a man should endeavor to reach this high place of courage with all his heart, and, so trying, never be backward in war.

June 23, 2018, 03:54 PM	#8
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Dustpan and brush. Small quantity goes on the lawn. Large quantity has yet to happen. Might get picked over for large debris and screened for small debris and used, but not in match guns or ammo. That careful reclaiming would probably use up more of my time than it's worth, doing it well, but I'd need something to occupy myself until I finally stopped cursing. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

June 22, 2018, 08:34 PM	#2
Sharkbite Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2013 Location: Western slope of Colorado Posts: 3,679	I use a small handheld vacuum and empty it immediately. After 25years of reloading, ive never had any issues.

June 22, 2018, 08:58 PM	#3
Dano4734 Senior Member Join Date: October 6, 2014 Posts: 730	Thank you

June 23, 2018, 02:29 PM	#6
RKG Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2009 Location: Boston Posts: 562	Vacuum cleaner. No need to run to the dumpster right away. Modern smokeless powder is primarily nitrocellulose -- essentially ground up newspaper. At atmospheric pressure, it will burn like ground up newspaper.

June 23, 2018, 05:11 PM	#9
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	40 grains ain't nothin

June 23, 2018, 07:22 PM	#10
briandg Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2010 Posts: 5,468	forty grains of rifle powder? If you have a shop vac, clean it up and then empty the container. Forty grains isn't very much. Unless I'm mistaken, forty grains of it would take quite an effort just to burn it off with a flamethrower. Since you are talking about a cement floor, seriously, you should be able to just sweep it and if it bothers you to have it in the trash can, flush it. __________________ None.

June 23, 2018, 09:11 PM	#11
Gary Wells Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2009 Posts: 180	Broom, dustpan, & match. Sorry, couldn't resist. 40 grains wouldn't even make a good firecracker. 4th of July is coming up.

June 23, 2018, 09:25 PM	#12
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	40 gr = Blow it out the door, into the dirt, away with the wind. 1/2 pound (I'm not interested in reusing it) depending on where it fell (close to the door, middle of the room, etc), good suggestions above to remove w/ dustpan. Not sure I'd want to use a vacuum, but it's probably not a hazard. __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes

June 23, 2018, 10:29 PM	#14
edfardos Member Join Date: April 4, 2016 Posts: 84	distribute evenly on lawn, water in.

June 24, 2018, 08:25 AM	#15
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	A small (cheap), wet/dry shop vac (with the foam collar installed), will safely vacuum up gunpowder. The suction drops as the debris (powder) enter the larger volume chamber and fall to the bottom while any small particles will be caught by the foam filter before getting near the motor. An observation: Everyone seems to have read that putting gunpowder on a lawn is a good fertilizer and pass it on as gospel...without actually having done so. I have done so and did not observe any effect whatsoever. It did not seem to have a significant fertilizing effect. On the other hand, it did not seem to have a detrimental effect either. My point is that we should perhaps be more cautious about passing on as fact something that has become a platitude. Are there any chemists out there who can positively attest to the gunpowder's virtue as a lawn fertilizer? Last edited by dahermit; June 24, 2018 at 08:33 AM.

June 24, 2018, 08:43 AM	#16
daboone Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2011 Location: Phoenix AZ, Kealakekua HI Posts: 100	Cleaning up powder is easy. Now the 10 lbs lead 2B shot that escaped from my MEC, well that is a real PIA.

June 24, 2018, 11:53 AM	#17
hounddawg Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2009 Posts: 4,232	back during the 08 shortages I dropped full tray of primers once, you can bet your keister I crawled around on my garage floor and picked all 100 up and used them. No misfires either. Using swept up powder might be a bridge too far for me though __________________ “How do I get to the next level?” Well, you get to the next level by being the first one on the range and the last one to leave.” – Jerry Miculek

June 24, 2018, 12:41 PM	#18
DukeConnor Senior Member Join Date: May 6, 2016 Posts: 224	I have a wet dry vac. I keep a couple inches of water in the bottom. On the rare ocasion i feel motivated it gets dumped out.

June 24, 2018, 12:53 PM	#19
AK Man Member Join Date: November 30, 2008 Posts: 29	I spill powder from my powder drop every now & then, I'm a little clumsy. I get some from the unfired rounds that I pickup from the range that I pull to make them safe. I just use a small brush to sweep it up & normally just dump it out in a line on the concrete or a piece of steel plate, then light it. I have tried to dump it in the garden for fertilizer but it doesn't break down. Because I have picked up some of the stuff I dumped after a couple months & it still burns. So anymore if I have some that I don't trust to reload I burn it. __________________ NRA Life Member

June 24, 2018, 02:19 PM	#20
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,752	I sweep it up with a little whisk broom or suitable sized paint brush and dust pan . If it was on my fairly clean bench , it goes back in the jug. If on the floor...then where it goes depends on how clean the floor is/was . Lots of dust, sawdust and whatever on the floor and it goes in the garden. Clean floor , back in the jug. I know gunpowder dumped in the garden or grass does no actual good as fertilizer but if I said I dumped it in the trash the safety experts would be calling me out for unsafe powder disposal. Gary

June 24, 2018, 03:59 PM	#21
jugornot Senior Member Join Date: September 20, 2017 Posts: 197	I have a small electronics vac that does an excellent job. Whether needed or not it is anti-static. Or at least they claim it is.

June 24, 2018, 09:28 PM	#22
Kevin Rohrer Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2010 Location: Medina, Ohio Posts: 1,049	If I spill it on the bench, it gets swept up and goes into the trash. If it lands on the floor, it stays there for a decade, or when I feel like sweeping it into the trash. __________________ Member: Orange Gunsite Family, NRA--Life, ARTCA, and American Legion. Caveat Emptor: Cavery Grips/AmericanGripz/Prestige Grips/Stealth Grips from Clayton, NC. He is a scammer

June 26, 2018, 04:05 AM	#25
MagnumManiac Junior Member Join Date: June 9, 2018 Posts: 7	Well, I once spilt an entire pound of RE22 on a carpeted floor......stood there for some time trying to devise a way to pick ALL of it up. Found some old stockings in the kitchen drawer my missus used for gardening tasks and proceeded to put them into the vaccuum cleaner and duct taped them in place.......half a pound at a time got every kernel up out of the carpet......that I could see anyway. Worked very very well and I was proud of my own ingenuity. Have done this a few times now. Cheers.