Static Electricity in reloading area

T

towman32

New member
So I noticed this happening today, I was charging some cases and saw a few granuals of powder sticking to the side of the plastic funnel. As I attempted to push them down they jumped up and almost out of the funnel. Any idea how to keep static away or de-static items? This also leads me to another issue. I'm building my reloading room using an all aluminum cell tower building. I planned on building steel work benches inside it. Is this a recipe for disaster? I always prefer steel over wood but wondering if I should do wood workbenches???? Is the aluminum building a bad idea? Please give all opinions/knowledge.
Thanks
 
If you do go Steel, GROUND EVERYTHING. And I mean properly ground it, with wires. I'd prefer a wood table top, and you can till have a steel frame, but I'd still ground the bench.

Something that may help is running a humidifier. I try to keep my reloading room around 50-60 percent RH.

I have heard of guys wiping things that have had static issues down with a drier sheet.

May give one, or both of those a shot

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Yes ground everything ! In the semi-conductor business there are very sensitive types of semi-conductors so as you go into the room you ground yourself and while inside theroom you have a wire to your wrist that is grounded .Maybe that building already has provision for that. So just ground the bench.
 
Steel loading benches aren't a recipe for disaster but IMHO might be slippery, cold and noisy, depending on what equipment you have mounted on them. I'd much prefer wood for a bench surface. FWIW, I like to make my work surfaces with 2x6's, covered with 1/4" hardboard.

As far as grounding goes, coming from the electronics industry, ground away(including ground straps for your shoes and a grounding matt to stand on), but you won't entirely solve the problem. Low humidity and plastic items just invite static charge build up.

Since I also load a lot of plastic shotshells, static build-up can be a constant battle at time. Yes, the use of static cling dryer sheets does work. I keep a pack of them on my bench all the times. Just wipe the offending items down at the beginning of each session as needed.
 
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Static Guard spray works well for static buildup on your funnel of powder measure. Spray, wait a minute, no more static. No worry of contamination either. Its basically water with the minerals removed and alcohol.
 
Steel is a good way to go and secure grounding sure won't hurt. Most people who have static cling issues with their tools like powder hoppers, funnels and similar made of plastic just wipe them down with an anti-static drier sheet. As mentioned maintaining a relative humidity above 50% is a big help in reducing static buildup. As to actual grounding how you go about it really depends on your setup and what is available. Nice thing about steel is the weight as you don't want a bench that wobbles easily when running a press or throwing powder.

Ron
 
Thanks that's some good info to work with. I'm putting this unit inside of my steel framed/sided shop so sounds like I should run a copper cable from dirt through both building walls into reloading area and attach to structure, bench, and myself? Never thought I would be wearing a ground strap bracelet.
 
For what you mention you can go to any Lowe's or other home improvement store and get a ground rod and the hardware. That assumes you do not already have a convenient grounding tie point. Really with a steel work bench static is not likely to be a problem.

Ron
 
OK, you need to understand 'Static' electricity here...

First off, 'Static' only happens/collects on things that are NOt ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE.

Wool (Hair), Carpet Fibers, Synthetic Fabric Materials, ect.
Carpet in a reloading area is a really HORRIBLE idea.
Wearing sweaters, fleece lined jackets, ect. is a bad idea...

Those little fibers, particularly synthetic fibers, generate, collect and transfer the electrons to YOU, and YOU 'Discharge' on the first electrically conductive thing in the room you touch...

The metallic reloader for instance is electrically conductive, YOU will 'Discharge' to that machine until you & the machine EQUALIZE your respective charges.

*IF* that machine is 'Grounded' the charge will equalize to 'Zero'.

If the machine is NOT grounded, you & the machine will equalize 'Other Than Zero', but you won't get the 'Snap' arc you are worried about after the first equalization.

NOW...
The 'Easy' way to protect against static discharge/equalization is to keep synthetics out of your reloading room...

The easiest way to ensure your hardware is 'Grounded' is the 'Round' or 'U' shaped hole in your electrical outlet.
That 'Round' or 'U' shaped hole is 'Grounded', provided your building/home is wired to code.

Simply get a common 3 prong plug, wire the 'Round' terminal to a wire, connect that wire to your metal table top or machine.
Touch the table top before you start reloading and there will be virtually no chance of discharge if you don't drag your feet across carpet or wear a 'Fleece' jacket or sweater.

As for your powder bin, spray it with anti-static spray and let it dry.
There are expensive sprays, but the anti-static spray for cloths works pretty good...

A second idea that works for me, line the bin with one of those metalized anti-static bags they ship electronics in (any computer store will have tons in all shapes & sizes they are more than willing to give you).
Make sure the metalized plastic bag meets metal on the powder thrower so it can transfer charge to the rest of the machine...

'Scotch' makes a celephane tape that is anti-static, you can line the bins with the tape, just make sure it meets metal somewhere so it can discharge.

Avoid 'Polycarbonate' bins/funnels (most 'clear' plastic) since polycarbonate is dielectric (non-conductive) and allows static charge to build.
Color Tinted plastics are often NOT polycarbonate, the reason they don't hold powder gains like the 'clear' plastics do.
Solid color plastics are rarely polycarbonate, but you can't see through them.
 
I was knocked off a workbench stool when I was younger by a static charge that built up on the metal surfaces inside a picture tube after foolishly trying to replace the focus rectifier tube without first probing with a grounded wire. It drilled a small hole in my thumb and left my right ear ringing for three days. A charge is a charge and if a conductor is insulated and has no sharp edges, its capacitance can accept and hold a charge. Many metal objects, however, have sharp edges that bleed charges off into the air. Indeed, stainless steel needles and lightning rods have been used for that purpose for a long time.

I would personally avoid steel because of the potential to get a metal spark when something hard, like a die, is dropped on it. An aluminum covering would avoid that.

I've seen a lot photos on line to suggest a static spark has a hard time putting enough energy into powder to ignite it, but if you want to avoid them altogether, you want to bleed the charge off continuously. For this purpose, a lot of static dissipative conductive plastic is sold for electronics handling. The bleed off is desirable to prevent static influence on your weighing scale, as well.

For your funnel, you can wipe the inside with a clothes dryer sheet. They are generally anti-static or static dissipative. A lot of old TV and Monitor cleaners were, as well, because of the high voltages in the picture tube that attracted dust. Not many of those around any longer, though, and I don't recall flat screen cleaners mentioning static one way or the other.
 
With a plastic funnel, take a pound of powder, run it through the funnel into another container, then use the same funnel to put it back. The graphite from the powder will coat the funnel and eliminate the problem.

And don't forget to ground yourself. I have a copper helmet I wear that has a wire running to a rod that I hammered into the ground................:cool:
 
"And don't forget to ground yourself. I have a copper helmet I wear that has a wire running to a rod that I hammered into the ground................"
:D:D:D:D:D:D: Gotta luv it!
 
I hope you get a lot of rain there because the rod you hammered into the ground is doing you no good if you don't.

Dry ground is a very poor conductor. I am an industrial controls and electronics guy and when the ground drys out, so does the conductivity.

Static guard is your friend. If there is any moisture in the air Static guard will suck it up and hold it. That's how it works. I have a horrendous static problem in my house and Static guard works better than anything I have tried yet.

With a steel work bench the best thing you can do is connect your ground wire to the ground of your electrical system in a near by outlet. Take a plug and wire up only the ground wire to it and plug it in.

The ground system in your house is connected to a ground rod outside but is also connected to the ground system in the transformer your hooked to with the electric company. It still may not help much.

Static guard pulls the available moisture from the air. If your reloading room is air conditioned, you exasperating your problem because the air conditioner is taking out moisture from your room.

Running a humidifier will definitely help the problem as others have said. Moisture is one of the only things that will defeat Static but it promotes rust.

My static is bad enough that I spray Static guard directly into the powder hopper and let it set for ten minutes before I put powder in the hopper.

A few flakes in the hopper is no big deal but if they are jumping when you make a move then there is a problem. Barrow a can of Static Guard from your wife and try it before you spend money on doing anything else.

Just a side note: If it works, don't swipe your wifes, get your own. Trust me.
 
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Without question, the thing that gets the most problems is 'Bonding',
Either running the 'Neutral' with the 'Ground' wire,
Or leaving the 'Bonding' screw in the 'Neutral' rail in the box, connecting the 'Ground' to 'Neutral'...

ANY problems with 'Neutral' and you have a 'Hot' ground!

This isn't recommended by people that *Think* they know what's going on,
But running a 'Ground' bonded to your 'Neutral' ruins any potential for 'Fale Safe'.

Having tested conductivity/resistance between 'Front' & 'Back' of house I can tell you the 'Ground Loop' argument doesn't hold water at all...

I have had several lightening strikes, not lost anything but the lightening arrestor,
And since I have a radio tower, metal racks/frames on a solar array, I can tell you about drawing lightening!

Isolate ground from Neutal, LONG ground rods, solid connections (including soldering/tinning to prevent corrosion), and ground rods on all major potential lightening attractors...

I ground the back of the house where the breaker box is,
I ground the front of the house where the air conditioner is.
No ground loop issues since the rods are 40 feet from each other and it's not high Frequancy AC that will be the issue in a lightening strike (or a static discharge).

As for 'Dry' grounding rods...
It would have to be a pretty short rod for the ground to dry out around it...
Again, I stress LONG grounding rod for that very reason.

Lightening arresters are $30, if you want your hardware to survive a direct lightening strike, buy one and a LONG, proper grounding rod.
A whole house power filter is also a good idea, but more expensive, but MUCH less than the deductible on your insurance for every radio, TV, computer, answering machine, even the electronics in some refridirators...
 
I got a kick out of this thread. Thanks to all, I will settle with steel framing and 3/4 plywood for top. I will run a copper cable from workbench frame to ground rod for the building. I don't have any of that no static spray so I will try a dryer sheet and run the powder through the funnel and see how it goes. Thanks everyone
 
In the outlet box, there will be a 'Black' wire (HOT!),
'White' wire, Neutral.
And a 'Green' or Bare (Natural Copper, non-insulated).

The 'Green' or Natural Copper wire is what you want to connect to for a full time dedicated 'Ground'.

You can also use a normal 3 prong plug from any hardware store,
Just connect your bench wire to the round or 'U' shaped terminal and plug I into an outlet.
Seriously easy.

The center face plate screw, between outlets, is also connected to 'Ground'.
You can just remove screw, attach wire and tighten to ground.
 
Just as a channel check my take here is outbuilding less electricity? Thus the suggestion of the grounding rods I linked to earlier. The objective merely being a ground connection to eliminate or provide a path for electro static discharge. Heck if the building has power in compliance with the NEC then I would just do as suggested and use that ground. Then only if static is a persistent problem.

Ron
 
JeepHammer,

Decades ago, when I was working in broadcast engineering, there was an article in the magazine of that same name describing a broadcast tower on a mountain in California that got hit by lightning an average of 1,000 times a season. Knocked the transmitter out repeatedly. Then they got a capacitance hat with 20,000 stainless steel needles installed up top, apparently on insulators and with its own ground wire. An ammeter showed discharge current through the wire continuously during electrical storms (presumably a remote reading one). But they reported they didn't have a single strike the following year.



Grounding for static at home doesn't have to be elaborate. Ground a 10 megohm high voltage resistor and tie yourself to the other end. Static charges will bleed out through it as fast as they try to accumulate. And if some numbskull has bypassed his GFI outlets and run their ground together with their neutral (they should actually tie at only one point in the whole circuit that includes the house and distribution transformer), the voltage drop along the neutral/ground wire from high return current spikes won't bite you through that big resistance value.
 
Well, I know its *Usually* high Frequancy AC that has 'Ground Loop' issues,
So sticking a deep ground rod front & back of the house,
Using outside outlet or air conditioner ground to 'Ground' both ends of the 'Ground Wire' works quite well.

I've taken direct & indirect lightening strikes to my radio/wind generator tower and lost nothing, same with solar panels/frames.
It wasn't always this way, I learned by experence...

Most of my primary lines are underground, and anything sticking up is grounded to the gills!
I sit on a hill top, no trees close since they would shade the solar, my metal is the target.
If lightening rods have worked for 250 years on some of these old houses, barns, silos, then I figure it should still work for me!
I got lightening arresters at the recomendation of my solar system manufacturer and have incorporated them in everything since.

Lost 3 arrestors in 13 years, stopped losing sensitive electronics, even the answering machine has lasted about 13 years...
 
Official Space Helmet on Captain Video, wherever you are!!

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Great thread by the way.
 
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