Static Electricity

M

Missoura Don

New member
Howdy all...Happy ST. Pattys Day to ya!!...Question here...Im gonna start practcin makin some paper cartridges this weekend, but I was readin somethin on static electricity, and was wonderin...I have a piece of carpet on my bench, along with one of those lights with a magnifying glass right overhead, and a telephone right by...Do ya think theres any chance of static electricity causung a spark, for any reason whatsoever?..I know this is probablly another dumb question, but Im gonna ask it anyways!!!...Thanks
 
On another forum (The Highroad Black Powder Forum http://www.thehighroad.org/forumdisplay.php?f=12 ) there was an extensive thread about static electricity. Someone was trying to ignite BP with electricity to make a BP Weapon (Rifle??) with an electronic firing device. The offshoot was they tried really hard to ignite the BP with electronic charge into the BP and it did not ignite. They tried this with various amounts of amps and volt to well above the average static shock levels and nothing happened.
That said, It never fails to err on the safe side. . I'd lay a board or something down and roll the cartridges upon the board. Also on that forum at the top of the page is instructions to "roll your own " paper cartridges. Read and study all the sticky's at the top as there is a lot of great BP info there.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks OD..Seems like I remember seeing somethin about that...gonna go back and check it out....I seriously doubt Id have any build up of static...but one never knows.....
 
I read an account many years ago of a man working in a BP rolling mill when a thunderstorm rolled in. He ran out the door and got about 15-20 feet away when the mill blew. He survived, but it was touch-and-go for awhile.

I was friends with an old miner when I was growing up and he used to talk about the time his burro was killed by a lighting strike. The two 40 pound kegs of BP on the burro's back were split open but did not blow.

Take your pick. :D

Pops
 
Re: the experimenter:

The danger isn't so much with granules of black powder; it's with dust. Dust can accumulate in a powder measure, or at the bottom of a large container.

Bob
 
Dust is not the problem you think it is.

Flour mills and granaries and wood shops DO have explosive seeming accidents. They are flash fires, finely divided particles in suspension.

They tried high voltage discharge, and the BP has so much Carbon, a good conductor, and the graphite coating, to conduct the discharge from granule to granule, none can cause enough HEAT to ignite the powder. Lightning could, as it is millions of volts, and the temps can be very high.

You ain't gonna shuffle across the carpet and build up enough static charge to blow up your flask, or your loader, if you are using a measure for your BP.

AND, the measure makers are changing their minds, too, actually, you CAN use the plastic hoppers to hold BP to measure it into Cowboy cartridges.

Not too long ago it was tabboo to to use a smokeless hopper, nobody bought special metal BP measures or reservoirs, so they said, Well, we have tested and there is no problem. (Although we DID sell a bunch of "safe" BP hoppers to the gullible.)

Don, I think, should be a little more careful, as he has more problems than the rest of us.

Cheers,

George
 
I'll readily agree that a black powder explosion resulting from use of a plastic hoppered measure is unlikely, particularly if "good housekeeping" is practiced both with the measure and in the loading area.

However, the fact remains: while the ignition temperature isn't changed by grain size it does take less total heat input to "set off" small particles of black powder than ordinary granules. This is why ffffg is usually used in flintlock pans rather than ffg or fffg. Sure, it's true that a spark from static electricity doesn't contain burning iron as does the spark from a flintlock, but under truly adverse conditions a static spark can ignite black powder dust.

There is an amount of risk: it's up to each of us to assess it given the conditions under which we do our loading, and judge for ourselves the best course.

Bob
 
i had trouble with bullseye sticking in my plastic powder measure hopper so i tried an old trick i heard about a long time ago... i took a new fabric softener sheet and wiped the hopper inside an out with it... i did seem to help.... just my .22 cents........

LIFE IS SHORT.........
 
They say that fabric softener sheets that have been through the dryer once already will retard static buildup on your computer screen if you wipe the screen down with them. I can see how that would also work for a plastic powder measure.

Personally, I don't worry about static buildup causing a bp discharge. I don't run a bp powder factory out of my house, so suspended dust isn't a worry for me. And if I was creating that much dust reloading, I would be more worried about my wife taking my gun away from me and beating me to death with it. :eek:
 
George....problems??...PROBLEMS???? I dont have problems...I have ..."questions" isnt that what this forum is about...you proffesionals helpin us greenhorns solve our "questions"? (or problems, however you wanna say it!!)
 
MDon,

There have been beaucoup post about static electricity. You have seen the links. Go read them. See the guy who charges the powder granules at over 10,000 volts, and someone else asked, well, if he didn't have that iron plate under it what would happen. Well, nothing, elactricity is all or nothing, if there is no ground, electricity, whether static, AC or DC, does not flow.

The high voltage goes grain to grain, as it is largely carbon, a superb conductor, coated with graphite, an equally good conductor.

You have to have resistance to flow to create heat, as a light bulb will show you.

You ain't gonna blow yourself up with BP.

Cheers,

George
 
Um, it's been a while since chemistry, but I thought carbon, being a non-metallic element was a very poor conductor, hence it's use in resistors. Either way you're probably safe though.
 
I error on the side of safety. I've posted before but I'll do it again about my buddy. He used a leather covered plastic lined wine bota to carry a can of powder when going out "ground hoggin" in the patures. I warned him about the plastic in the bota and he said," I've been doing it for two months and nothingh has happened". Well, later when I saw him he said he should have listened to me. He was walking out in the pastures with a can of powder in the bota when it blew. Burned him bad on the hip and under the arm. Made a big hole in his blue jeans ect ect. I figure static made it blow. What else would make powder blow when it's sealed in a container. Well plastic lined wine botas don't make good powder horns. :eek: Hell, when I read what some people type about the powder and static and figure they don't know black well since they are inexperienced with it and actually newbies themselves and type like they know something about it the word "fraud" comes to mind. Man, I don't like to type stuff unless I really know it's true and trusted. I think people should error on the side of safety when giving advice to others. Personally I kow static or something associated with it can ignite blackpowder since it happened to me. Plastic table cloth on the table, and a carpet under it. Rubbed my stocking feet on the carpet since the old farm house was cold. Blaaaam. Mt flask of powder and the 75gr. in the powder measure in my hands went off. Blew windows out of the house in the kitchen and the living room. Knocked me back offin the chair. Set my t-shirt on fire. Turned my glasses to sand blasted junk. Burned my arms real bad. Well, I knew better but got careless. Well, I ain't no professional. Well maybe I am. I built muzzleloading rifles and gunsmithed cap&ball revolvers for "money". That makes me a professional right? :D Well, I don't gamble with my word or others safety sos I say error on the side of safety and keep plastic away from blackpowder and even the substitutes. I have talked to a guy a ways back that had his blackpowder in his powder measure on his loading press blow. Just went straight up because the cap was loose. It went though. Unless that guy was makin up stories. :eek: I just know that there is some unknown happening that can blow powder and I don't know what it is exactly but I know first and second hand it does happen. No plastic or carpets around my powder anymore. I just look at the scarrs on my arms to remember.:mad:
 
Wayner- Jeeze man! How can I handle BP now and not expect to get blown up without warning?

What do you think about anti-static floor mats like the kind for working with electronics? And/or a grounded wrist strap? Would that help? Or am I overthinking this?

I am new to BP and don't really know whats best. But I know that I want to be as safe as possible. I'm sorry for your unfortunate accident, I'm gald you're still here to share you experience and help those of us who are inexperienced in this matter.

Steve
 
Hello Golf Guy. From what I understand it's a good idea to work with blackpowder on a wooden work bench or table and have a wooden or concrete floor. It's not difficult since it just is ,"keep plastic away from blackpowder". Those plastic powder measures and jugs that substitutes are sold in are made from some knd of non-static plastic. I don't think blackpowder is so sensitive you have to be afraid of it as lomg as you are safety awares. I think it is a real rare thing for black to ignite from plastic or carpets but.... why take the chance. My buddy took a chance and it took a coupla months of walking the fields with the powder in the plastic lined wine bota but....he was warned and took the chance. He said he wished he had paid attention to my warning. What was weird in my case was that the powder measure (brass) in my hands and the copper flask full of powder sitting on the table in front of me both seemed to simultaneously blow. I can't figure it except to say that there was a plastic table cloth on the table and a carpert under my stocking clad feet. Wool socks. My case seems very rare. My buddy with the wine bota lined with plastic is less rare. I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Just no plastic table cloths and stocking feet on carpets. :o I made a mistake and am humble enough to admit it ifin it can help others.
 
Im confused now....

here is the experiment site

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/mlexperiments/sparks/sparks.html

then I see this

"Both burn very quickly and can be ignited from sparks, heat, impact, static electricity and even sunlight."

http://homestudy.ihea.com/advanced/28powder.htm

"That even means static electricity, care must be taken when transferring powder from one container to another as steel and iron and even plastics and glass can cause sparks and set off the powder."

http://www.fcfworld.com/powder.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top