Melted powder measure from Titegroup

DW357

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Okay am I the only one that thinks leaving powder in the measure/hopper for long periods of time is a terrible idea??

Just saw this posted in a reloading Facebook group.
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Aside from the risk of melting your hopper, why would you want to risk not remembering the powder you last used? Also temperature and humidity swings can't help either. Can't really blame Hornady for their response....
 
directions clearly say not to leave powder in the hopper for extended times.
I do agree though the plastic they use on thier hoppers is pretty frail it could be made with better more resilient material.
 
Aside from the risk of melting your hopper, why would you want to risk not remembering the powder you last used?
I generally leave TiteGroup in my hopper so I can stop and load 100 rounds of fotay when I walk by the bench. The Dillon hoppers discolor over time but do not melt or self destruct.

Remembering power is easy. If there is powder in the hopper, the powder container is the ONLY one the bench. If the hopper is empty, there is no power container on the bench.
 
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I generally leave TiteGroup in my hopper so I can stop an load 100 rounds of fotay when I walk by the bench. The Dillon hoppers discolor over time but do not melt or self destruct.

Remembering power is easy. If there is powder in the hopper, the powder container is the ONLY one the bench. If the hopper is empty, there is no power container on the bench.

I suppose they could use a better material but I just hate the idea of leaving powder exposed to the air/humidity (even though I run a dehumidifier in my basement) for long periods of time.

And yes I leave the container of powder I'm using, on the bench. But for other reloaders that don't have a good memory or just don't pay attention, it's risky. YMMV.
 
don't use titegoup but have had it happen with other powders. well, not melt it like the photo, but the powder on the side of the tube seems to "burn" into the side. it only does this with an rcbs measure, not with the reddings. and it only happes with flake powders, not ball. yeah, i try not to leave the powder in the tubes for long periods of inactivity anymore.
 
Cant say I've ever seen anything like that. Didn't know it was an issue. So, what is "an extended period of time?" To me that would be 2mo or so. I leave powder in my hopper when I'm running large lots of a caliber, I might load 100-300 a day or every other day over a period of weeks.
 
I generally leave TiteGroup in my hopper so I can stop an load 100 rounds of fotay when I walk by the bench. The Dillon hoppers discolor over time but do not melt or self destruct.

Remembering power is easy. If there is powder in the hopper, the powder container is the ONLY one the bench. If the hopper is empty, there is no power container on the bench.

this is a good tip...
 
I have never seen this happen, was it near heat? what would cause this?

From what I gather, it happens with powders with higher nitro contents (double base powders)? I think this guy left it in the hopper for more than a few days. Don't know if he had it near heat or high humidity etc.
 
But for other reloaders that don't have a good memory or just don't pay attention, it's risky. YMMV.

maybe those reloaders should... you know... get a better system, or stop reloading. "just don't pay attention" is a good way to break something.
 
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From what I gather, it happens with powders with higher nitro contents (double base powders)? I think this guy left it in the hopper for more than a few days. Don't know if he had it near heat or high humidity etc.
it also must have something to do with what the tubes are made from to cause that reaction. why would it do it some and not all?
 
it also must have something to do with what the tubes are made from to cause that reaction. why would it do it some and not all?

Yes correct. I should have clarified that it's not just the powder, but the material of the hopper as well.

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maybe those reloaders should... you know... get a better system, or stop reloading. "just don't pay attention" is a good way to break something.

Agreed. I'm not trying to defend those type of people but I'm just saying leaving powder in the hopper exposed to the air/humidity doesn't seem like a good idea IMO. To each their own I suppose.
 
I love my Hornady hopper, the plastic seems cheap but I never have a issue. I don't leave powder in the hopper ever. As soon as I'm done reloading I empty the hopper and put the powder back in it's jug.
 
The same thing would happen with any double-base powder. Nitroglycerin readily migrates into many plastics.

On a somewhat related note, I pulled some light 357 mag loads where I used bullseye powder under a lucky13 coated bullet and notice the powder was stuck/clung to the base of the bullet. I think the powder reacted with the "polymer" coating.

Coincidence that I just happen to pull some of these loads and encountered a similar issue as the melted powder measure....
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Must be why some of the powder companies like Alliant are making new powders designed for polymer coated bullets. Sport Pistol for example. http://www.alliantpowder.com/products/powder/sport-pistol.aspx
 
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That clearly didnt happen from leaving the powder in there overnight or even a week..it is clearly too humid in his reloading room aswell.
Hes lucky it melted or he would have loaded up that bad powder without thinking twice.

If you can't take the two seconds to empty your hopper, i can only imagine what else is wrong with his process
 
Bad move on the part of Hornady charging for the replacement. Reloading equipment is an area in which most suppliers provide excellent customer service and parts, even if the customer goofed.
 
On a somewhat related note, I pulled some light 357 mag loads where I used bullseye powder under a lucky13 coated bullet and notice the powder was stuck/clung to the base of the bullet. I think the powder reacted with the "polymer" coating.

Coincidence that I just happen to pull some of these loads and encountered a similar issue as the melted powder measure....
77dc938bcfcab14930641dd2bb45822d.png

b78205298d2a19794f4c87021c7a8a2f.png


Must be why some of the powder companies like Alliant are making new powders designed for polymer coated bullets. Sport Pistol for example. http://www.alliantpowder.com/products/powder/sport-pistol.aspx

My thoughts are just to expand sales to a market of powder coated bullets shooters?
Alliants claim is this new powder will not dissolve the polymer coating upon ignition.
Interesting though...
 
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I have no experience with titegroup, but I know that Hodgedon Longshot is notorious for wrecking plastic of all sorts. I recently emptied a plastic measuring cup that had some Longshot in the bottom of it from a few pulls and the powder was melted into the plastic on the bottom of the cup. I saw a picture somewhere recently of a shot shell that had been loaded with Longshot for over a year and the wad was fragile like an egg shell. It would have just shattered when he pulled the trigger.
 
I leave powder in my Dillon hoppers all the time, for the same reason as Rob.

I usually stick a piece of tape on the hopper writing what the powder is, when I filled it, and what the charge is currently set to.
 
I don’t leave powder in the hopper for two reasons: the Hornady equipment manual says not to and Hodgdon says not to. That’s good enough for me:

From Hodgdon:

DO NOT STORE POWDER IN THE RELOADER POWDER MEASURE HOPPER
Powder left in the reloader's powder measure hoppers for extended periods, overnight or several days, should be avoided. Powder needs to be stored in original containers ONLY, when not in use. Numerous modern smokeless powders are double base in composition, containing both Nitroglycerine and Nitrocellulose. Many powder measures currently available use an inexpensive plastic containing polystyrene, which Nitroglycerine adversely effects when contact is made for extended periods of time, resulting in etching or misshaping the plastic. Normal usage during the reloading process does not provide adequate time for this to occur, so simply draining hoppers into the original containers when the reloading is complete for the day prevents ruining the hoppers.


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I bought a couple powder measures that had melted hoppers like that. I found a supply house that has all different kinds of plastic tubings. I bought a few sections of several diameters for the hornady and pacific powder measures and replaced the tubes and haven't had a problem leaving powder in them. I don't remember which material I ordered. I emailed them and requested suggestions which material had the best chemical resistance to use with smokeless powder. They do have a minimum purchase of $20 or $30 though. I think they sell on ebay too.

https://www.professionalplastics.com/
 
I generally leave TiteGroup in my hopper so I can stop and load 100 rounds of fotay when I walk by the bench. The Dillon hoppers discolor over time but do not melt or self destruct.

Remembering power is easy. If there is powder in the hopper, the powder container is the ONLY one the bench. If the hopper is empty, there is no power container on the bench.

not always realistic. i have 4 presses, 2 standalone measures, 2 chargemasters and an A&D/AutoTrickler setup pretty much year round (i dont love reloading in bulk, so its more cost effective for me to leave stuff set up...that way when i need some ammo, i can crank it out and get back to the rest of my life)

at any given time, the 1050's got 8208, charge master 1 has varget, charge master 2 has RE15, the 550's got Bullseye in it for 45acp, titegroup in the 650 for 9mm, H4350 in the autotrickler/autothrower on the A&D, etc etc

what's an even easier solution is mark your measures. I use blue painters tape across the hopper, and write what powder's in there, along with what weight it was set to drop last time I used it.

but that is BS from hornady. wonder if Uniquetek or some place like it is making replacement tubes yet...cause i've got a couple of those setups.
 
One of the IMPORTANT components of smokeless powder is the AROMATIC character. Put your nose to a freshly opened bottle of powder, and smell the powder. Should have a strong chemical small to it. If you sprinkle that same fresh powder out, and allow all of that aromatic component to evaporate, the powder won't have nearly the strength to it that the fresh powder had. Leaving powder in the dispenser is the best way to LOSE potency. It's the actively aromatic components that interact and decay the plastic from your dispenser reservoirs.

So, in addition to hurting the plastic, you will lose potency. The darkened areas that you see on older plastic dispensers is the evaporative component getting into the plastic molecules. You'll get some of the darkening even if you put your powder away every day. However, the dispensers will last a lifetime. I have some green plastic RCBS dispensers (Uniflow) that are 30 years old, and still look like new. They get emptied after each use.

Also, modern smokeless powder is only slightly HYGROSCOPIC. Meaning, ability to absorb moisture. It's the reason we have to constantly re-measure the weights of the powder we dispense. With slight absorption of water vapor, the powders sometimes become CLUMPY. Not good for reliable dispensing.

So, a good general rule: When you are done reloading, put your stuff away, INCLUDING the powder. It only takes a minute to refill, and settle the powder the next time you use it.
 
I leave powder in my Dillon hoppers all the time, for the same reason as Rob.

I usually stick a piece of tape on the hopper writing what the powder is, when I filled it, and what the charge is currently set to.

In here late on this one, but I do the same. I've had Titegroup sitting in my Dilllon SDB for over two years (obviously not the same powder for two years, but I always fill it at the end of each use and leave it topped off). The tube is still in perfect condition.

I have the powder and charge taped to outside.
 
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