| Posted: Sat Aug 1st, 2009 08:49 PM |
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bleeber
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I stopped reloading about 7 years ago mainly because of lack of space in the apartment I was living in while our house was being built. Then, after moving in to our house 6 years ago...my wife took over every room. The only place that would work with a permanent set up would be the garage, we have 2 cars but a 3 car garage. I'd have a lot of room. However, I live in Southwest Florida where it gets HOT and HUMID. Does that have an effect on loads? What if powder and primer are stored in the house...if condensation formed when bringing it out to the garage to load, would that harm the load?
I would really like to get into loading again but am a little unsure of what the conditions might do to the loads and/or equipment.
Thank you!!
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| Posted: Sat Aug 1st, 2009 09:05 PM |
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guntech59
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I'll answer your question with another question....is the house yours, too?
Take part of it back.
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| Posted: Sat Aug 1st, 2009 09:13 PM |
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sdb777
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The simple answer is....yes, humidity can effect powder dispensing. I too load in the garage. Don't fill the dispenser with too much powder, and always empty the powder back into the container when finished. Then immediately return it to the comfort of air-conditioning...oh, and don't leave the cover off the powder can while it's in the garage.
Also, I tend to reload during the early morning hours when temps are lower, and I try to pick the days when humidity isn't that high. I have never had a problem with powder being dropped through the funnel. And my loads have always been fairly consistent(I'm anal about that).
Welcome back to the handloading community! Even if you have to join the "You better be doing that in the garage club!"
Scott (feel your pain) B
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| Posted: Sat Aug 1st, 2009 09:32 PM |
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bea175
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Place you a dehumidifier in the garage and you should be alright.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 2nd, 2009 12:03 AM |
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WILDCATT
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get a old working refrig.put your powder and primers in it.if the weather gets to humid turn it on.keep the tem high, 70s. I use a refrig and it is humid here mid SC.
I have tree car garage cement block and a 24 X 24 shop.I put a air conditioner in the blocks.at least with a ceiling in the shop it aint bad.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 2nd, 2009 03:09 AM |
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Charley
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Varies here between hot and humid, or hot and dry. My shop is the third bay of a three car garage as well. I insulated and weather stripped the overhead doors, and installed an AC. Temps are OK during the summers. Component storage hasn't been a problem, close all propellents TIGHTLY, and only keep enough primers for a few days worth of loading. Otherwise, all primers are stored in the living area.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 2nd, 2009 03:35 PM |
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bleeber
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Thanks for the input guys. It makes me feel better knowing that some of you have actual experience in the matter.
I had thought about setting up a temporary station that I would take down and put in a closet or take out to the garage when finished. But, I saw that method getting old real quick. Plus, it would be a small space.
Something else just came to mind too. I have 3 kids...5 year old, 3 year old and a 3 month old. In the house there could be many distractions. In the garage...no distractions.
I'll start planning my area in the garage and get my Dillon out of the box.
Thank you!!
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| Posted: Sun Aug 2nd, 2009 11:06 PM |
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Bigdog57
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Keep a check on the press and dies for rust. An occasional spray and wipe with WD40 can help here. 
It's been very humid up here in Tallahassee, Florida too - but fortunately, I am single - my entire casa is my Mancave....... 
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| Posted: Mon Aug 3rd, 2009 03:42 PM |
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bleeber
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I will do that, thanks.
Yeah, back in my single days, I had a reloader bolted down to my kitchen table and the china cabinet was full of reloading components.
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gospeedracer51
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Is the heat as much of a problem as humidity? Here in phoenix there is not much humidity but lots of heat. I'm a garage loader too & i've wondered about the heat causing inconsistant loads.
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sdb777
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gospeedracer51 wrote: Is the heat as much of a problem as humidity? Here in phoenix there is not much humidity but lots of heat. I'm a garage loader too & i've wondered about the heat causing inconsistent loads.
I do not believe that just the 'heat' will have any effect on a load be more or less consistent. Like I stated earlier, I tend to load in the mornings to avoid the humidity, or pick days where the needle does swing around to the bottom of the humidity dial(old fashioned-got the gauges)...but this is for dropping powder and inserting primers.
I like to have ES/SD numbers coming out of my chronograph in the single digits as often as possible, and so far I am able to do that from the garage.
Scott (it'll be okay-the garage is a fun place) B
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gospeedracer51
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Thanks. My garage gets pretty hot (100 to 110 degrees) but I don't have the humidity to worry about. Last edited on Sun Aug 9th, 2009 01:16 AM by gospeedracer51
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fryboy
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being single i can load where i want ,humidity and heat all vary tho ..i'm more concerned with working up loads in the summer or winter and then firing them in the opposite season ,loads worked up when cold or hot often behave differently than when loaded ,the primers and powder and loaded ammo being stored in the legendary dry cool spot indeed helps at least with longevity and while i have loaded in hot rooms ( my first reloading room was a tin portable shed -man that thing could swelter ! ) keep in mind that a fan around or close can alter scale readings
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12th, 2009 10:57 PM |
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bleeber
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Thanks for all the posts here. I finally got everything set up in the garage. I have it "portable"...press bolted to a 1" think square of plywood that is clamped to the table. I can just undo the C clamps and take the press in the house if I'm not going to use it for a while.
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13th, 2009 01:42 AM |
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OldStuffer
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The garage is not a bad place to load you ammo. As noted, do your best to keep the powder isolated from the air, keep containers and measures closed, usae small ammounts, etc.
The garage IS a poor place to store powders and primers for the long term. You can keep humidity away from the powders, not the promers as well, but heat, especially long term, "ages" the powder quickly, and does the primers no favors.
It's not a great place to store loaded ammo either, for the same reasons.
"Climate Controll" either large area (A/C the room) or small area (a frige) works to protect the flamable portion of your ammo from the elements.
I am lucky to have a basement room for my setup, my biggest battle is rust, not degredation of components.
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13th, 2009 04:07 PM |
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Paul B
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Part of the problem depends on what type of powder you are using. I have noticed that double based powders do not seem to be affacted as much by humidity than single based powders. Heat on the other hand seems to affect both in about the same way. Single based powders exposed to high humidity seem to soak up moisturefrom the air more readily than double based powders. Some loads worked up when I lived ner the ocean in San Francisco were way too hot when used after I moved to the dry high desert of Nevada. Loads worked up in Nevada are sometimes a tad too warm when used here in southern Arizona.
I did a small experiment a few years back where I took 100 gr. of a single based powder and let it sit out in my shed for a week during what is our driest time of the year. At the end of that week, that 100 gr. charge was now 99.3 gr. as I reall. During our summer, we have two things that raise humidity, the use of a swamp cooler. (cools by evaportion) and a true monsoon period where we get rain and fairly high humidity. I then set that 100 gr. charge that had been stored in a small glass bottle in a pan again as before but within the range of the air flow from the swamp cooler. After a week of the powder being subjected to very moist air, that 100 gr. charge of powder now weighed 101.5 gr.
I also did the same test at the same time with a 100 gr. charge of a double based powder. (Ball powder to be exact) Variation between the high humidity test and low humisity test was no more the half a grain plus or minus.
Granted, this was a pretty strenuous test but it did prove to me that some powders are truly more affected by humidity than others. It's one of the main reasons I'll use a ball type powder before most extruded types as most extruded powders are single based, although I believe the RL series is for the most part double based.
Look at it this way. You work up a load during the hot dry summer with Powder X, a single based type that had been thoroughly dried out due to very low humidity. Say you work up to 50.0 gr. with your bullet of choice. Just shy of hunting season you note that you're low on ammo so load up a batch using that summer's data. It's the same weight as in the summer but where did the velocity go? That load now is the equivilant of 48.5 gr. of usable power due to the 1.5 gr. of added moisture. OOPS! 
I hope I explained that correctly.
Paul B.
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| Posted: Sat Nov 14th, 2009 07:43 PM |
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miestro_jerry
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I would build a few walls with a prehung door, insulate them well and then put a powerful window A/C unit thru the wall, as well as use a dehumidifier.
My middle son lives down that way and he had to do pretty much the same thing for his loading bench. What ever you figure the space you will need double it.
Then hang a sign on the door concerning whose peronsal space this is.
Jerry
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| Posted: Sat Dec 12th, 2009 11:18 PM |
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johnjohn
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My reloading room is in the garage but enclosed and insulated. It is however not air conditioned or heated. I have no problems with rust or primer and powder shelf life. Humidity is a fact of life down here.
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| Posted: Sat Dec 12th, 2009 11:26 PM |
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miestro_jerry
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My reloading room in the garage under the house, it's a single car garage and it does work well for me. Where I live at and the way the winds blow from, not needing A/C is where I am at.
I did cut a air duct in for the furnace, but my house doesn't have A/C, just a really high effeciency furnace with decent insulation.
Jerry
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13th, 2009 03:12 AM |
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nail driver
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where i live it can get up to 45 deg celcius for about a week in the summer otherwise it stays between30-38 deg celcius i have not hade a problem with loads so far
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