Drying powder out?? (Stabilizing)

[mustang-cars]

I heard someone talking about opening up powder and just letting it sit with the lid off for a couple of days to a week so that the moisture content stabilized before they would even use it and that it was a must do step.
I always leave my containers closed and don’t leave powder in the hopper. Is there any validity to letting your powder “stabilize” by leaving it open for a period of time?

 

[mustang-cars]

I've done it. Posted my results. I had people contact me and talk to me like I was giving away possessions.

I tested an 8 month old lot of Varget, a 1/2lb of that lot that was left in a hopper for three months, and a new freshly opened lot. Differing velocities and pressure across the board. I dumped the new lot in 2 x glass casserole dishes and let them dry in a room with 23% humidity for 48 hours. It then matched the old lot. I put about a half cup of that in an oven that was preheated to 180 for 5 mins and then turned off when I put the powder in for 5 mins. Did that twice. It was only 10fps faster than the stuff left out to dry for 48hrs. That 1/2 cup sat out for 6 weeks; I put the two glass casserole dishes worth back in the jug after the 48hrs drying. Last week I shot the old stuff, the stuff in the hopper, the 1/2 cup, and the dried out new lot out of a 6BR. It all shot under an inch at 300yds and equalized to within about 30fps from each other. I believe you can stabilize powder. The take away is that dryer powder burns faster and so far in my testing dries to a point of your humidity. This works where I live where it is very dry. If I was in the South East, I wouldn't do this. It would gain humidity and probably shoot poorly.

Interesting! Thanks for all of the work and posting your results. I live in Montana we’re humidity is usually very low. I’ve never tested it but it always seems as though whenever I’m about half way through an 8lb keg my ES/SD get just a few FPS better. I’ve always wondered if that had to do with the powder “stabilizing”. It makes sense depending on where you live and the humidity levels you’re used to seeing. It would suffice to say that whatever humidity level the powder is at when you receive it from the factory once you open that powder it’s natural state as a organic compound is to either start absorbing or releasing moisture dependent on the environment it’s in. So maybe, for lack of a better term, it’s actually “normalizing” instead of “stabilizing”.

 

[bobke]

I always throw in a couple of small desiccant packs you get in food or vitamins and leave them in for the duration. Always store in original containers. Whether normalized or stabilized, they’re now neutralized.

 

[smoothy8500]

I wonder if it really is humidity or could possibly be the solvents used in the production such as ether, that evaporates from new powders?

 

[RRG]

I think y’all are crazy. Puttiing flamables in a oven! Which is a heat source!
But maybe your on to something. Gas oven will work great.