Posted: 1/15/2012 11:51:17 AM EDT
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Went to gather some ammo for a little shooting this weekend....and I discovered that I had moist boxes and rusting ammo.
All of my ammo is stored in ammo cans (separated by caliber), indoors. The cans are 30s and 50s. I keep almost all of the ammo in the original boxes they came in and stack them in the cans. What is rusting, is steel cases 223 and 762 that was on the bottom of the cans. The packaging was damp and the cases are rusting, some of it pretty bad. Enough that it does not look safe to shoot. All in all its prob close to 100 rounds that dont look good to shoot. 
What is going on here? I dont live in a humid climate and these cans are clean and closed all the time. Is the moisture in the packaging? Would it be better too keep them loose out of the original packaging? The packaging was damp and soggy, so a considerable amount of moisture. There is no signs of moisture in any of the ammo cans that have brass ammo in them. I originally had some sillica in there but took it out a year or too ago. |
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Is the moisture in the packaging? Would it be better too keep them loose out of the original packaging? The packaging was damp and soggy, so a considerable amount of moisture. There is no signs of moisture in any of the ammo cans that have brass ammo in them. I originally had some sillica in there but took it out a year or too ago. Just to check, it wasn't that way when you put the ammo in the cans, right? Check the seals on your ammo cans and add dessicant packs. If you can't find any you can make some out of silica gel beads (check hobby stores and flower shops) and some cloth or tea bags. |
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Is the moisture in the packaging? Would it be better too keep them loose out of the original packaging? The packaging was damp and soggy, so a considerable amount of moisture. There is no signs of moisture in any of the ammo cans that have brass ammo in them. I originally had some sillica in there but took it out a year or too ago. Just to check, it wasn't that way when you put the ammo in the cans, right? Check the seals on your ammo cans and add dessicant packs. If you can't find any you can make some out of silica gel beads (check hobby stores and flower shops) and some cloth or tea bags. No was not that way when I put it in there, most of it has been in the cans for a year or so. |
| The boxes Wolf uses are a VERY cheap cardboard made of rough pulp, [tear one, it's far easier then most ammo boxes] I'd suspect they are still reasonably high in moisture content and likely slightly acidic to boot and due to the weight of the ammo pressing downward on the bottom of the ammo can, makes rusting more prevalent on ammo stored at the bottom of the can. |
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038MWTTW/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details
$3 for 10 packets. Get about 50 and the shipping becomes a non-issue. |
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Was it hot when you closed the cans?
Aside from spilling water in there, the only thing I can imagine that happened to make it rust that bad is that it was hot and humid when you closed the can. Under storage, the temperature was colder and the moisture condensed. In this case, it's actually worse to have it in a sealed container. |
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I never place ammo or can directly on concrete, all my cans are slatted to keep them off the concrete and to allow air flow under them. If the cans are sealed what they sit on makes no difference. Nor does temp. swings. If the cans are air tight, there is either moisture in them or not. |
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Huh. Russian cardboard is not photo quality acid free material? Imagine that.
It has a lot to do with how that ammo was stored before it went into the cans. Cardboard can suck up a lot of water from the atmosphere if it is available. Certain impurities in the cardboard can make it really suck up the water... and make it more corrosive. The MIL spec for ammo box cardboard is several pages long. I always get rid of non-military cardboard before I put stuff in cans. Dessicant packs help of course, but if the cardboard is wet you wind up with soaked dessicant. I use a piece of vapor phase rust inhibitor in storage cans as well as dessicant. A scrap of poly gun bag VCI plastic keeps the strippers & the ammo from corroding. . |
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I never place ammo or can directly on concrete, all my cans are slatted to keep them off the concrete and to allow air flow under them. If the cans are sealed what they sit on makes no difference. Nor does temp. swings. If the cans are air tight, there is either moisture in them or not. Temp swings can cause condensation, so it does matter |
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All of my ammo is stored in ammo cans...
...these cans are clean and closed all the time Thus trapping all the moisture inside the can where it can't get out. Trapped moisture=rust. What is puzzling me is the amount of moisture. There was nothing spilled, this is four different cans that were like this. Assorted steel in 223 and 762. The boxes on the bottom were soggy, they had so much moisture. Just seems like alot. The ammo cans had no moisture on the walls or bottoms, it was on the boxes on the bottom. Im going to empty them out of the packaging, store them loose, and add dessicant packs. Other then that I dont know what to do. |
Damn polymer coated stuff again. And now Brown Bear switched to it as well.  People (and companies responding to customers) bought into that BS "Lacquer melts and gets stuck in the chamber" then they all switch to poly coat and now the ammo rusts after simply handling it long enough to load mags. |
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Brass doesn't rust...  But it can oxidize. I've seen some pretty gnarly surplus. I was just being a smartass...being GD i was surprized I was able to be the first one.  I can actually sympathise with his issues. I used to live in a very moisture rich house for whatever reason. I simply started storing all of my 5.56 on strippers and all other ammo loose with a dessicant. The amount of moisture the OP is fighting here is a bit strange. To the OP, are there any other items in the same area attracting moisture? Other things showing signs of mold?
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Amazon or here will fix you right up:
http://www.silicagelpackets.com/silica-gel-packets/silica-gel-packets-cotton-tyvek-sachets-dry-packs/ |
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Brass doesn't rust... But it can oxidize. I've seen some pretty gnarly surplus. I was just being a smartass...being GD i was surprized I was able to be the first one. I can actually sympathise with his issues. I used to live in a very moisture rich house for whatever reason. I simply started storing all of my 5.56 on strippers and all other ammo loose with a dessicant. The amount of moisture the OP is fighting here is a bit strange. To the OP, are there any other items in the same area attracting moisture? Other things showing signs of mold?No, my safe is in the same room and no issues with it. It has been dryer then hell in Texas all year. |
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Brass doesn't rust... But it can oxidize. I've seen some pretty gnarly surplus. I was just being a smartass...being GD i was surprized I was able to be the first one. I can actually sympathise with his issues. I used to live in a very moisture rich house for whatever reason. I simply started storing all of my 5.56 on strippers and all other ammo loose with a dessicant. The amount of moisture the OP is fighting here is a bit strange. To the OP, are there any other items in the same area attracting moisture? Other things showing signs of mold?No, my safe is in the same room and no issues with it. It has been dryer then hell in Texas all year. I'm at a loss...maybe try the plastic storage boxes..."dryboxes." Seems maybe there is a heat/cold issue causing the steel to sweat? Strange deal! |
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Went to gather some ammo for a little shooting this weekend....and I discovered that I had moist boxes and rusting ammo. All of my ammo is stored in ammo cans (separated by caliber), indoors. The cans are 30s and 50s. I keep almost all of the ammo in the original boxes they came in and stack them in the cans. What is rusting, is steel cases 223 and 762 that was on the bottom of the cans. The packaging was damp and the cases are rusting, some of it pretty bad. Enough that it does not look safe to shoot. All in all its prob close to 100 rounds that dont look good to shoot. http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/ajstaz/7044628357626_ORIG.jpg http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/ajstaz/6044628385967_ORIG.jpg http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/ajstaz/5044628397948_ORIG.jpg http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/ajstaz/3044628425761_ORIG.jpg http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/ajstaz/2044628374202_ORIG.jpg What is going on here? I dont live in a humid climate and these cans are clean and closed all the time. Is the moisture in the packaging? Would it be better too keep them loose out of the original packaging? The packaging was damp and soggy, so a considerable amount of moisture. There is no signs of moisture in any of the ammo cans that have brass ammo in them. I originally had some sillica in there but took it out a year or too ago. I just read this part. Nothing makes sense... |