Ammonia smell from barrel and mod

[weejohn]

Today after removing my moderator from the barrel I got a really strong smell of ammonia. This is something I have never had before . The mod is always removed after use and I don't use any cleaning solvents which contain ammonia .

 

Any ideas why this may be ?

 

It may have no connection but since working my way through this pack of 100 cci br2 primers I have had 10 or 11 which have needed several strikes to go off and 3 or 4 which have just refused.

 

Definitely not a light primer strike.

 

I have had 3 today which needed several strikes and 1 refusal.

[BlueBoy69]

What powder were you using and how full was the case?

[banus02]

good evening, this may be irrelevant but my son shoots 55gr Winchester varmint x and he gets an acrid smell that lingers in the barrel and moderator,sorry but I don't know the powder Winchester use but the powder may well have a bearing on the smell

[weejohn]

What powder were you using and how full was the case?

Using h4350 and maybe 90% fill

[MrCetrizine]

My mods always stink of ammonia when I strip them to cool. I think it's a natural byproduct of the burn process of certain if not all powders. It's also the reason you should never leave it on the barrel during storage as it causes corrosion.

 

N140 stinks more than H110 but both have an "aftertaste" of ammonia.

[BlueBoy69]

Going by books I've got on such materials, ammonia (NH₃) is not a direct by-product of the combustion of propellants based on nitrocellulose, though it may be the by-product of break down of one of the additives (stabilisers, plasticizers, burn rate modifiers, etc.) . Common chemicals additives are diphenylamine, diethyl diphenylurea and dinitrotoluene (DNT), many are high in nitrogen which is liberated during the combustion process.

 

H4350 contains DNT, plus undisclosed additives, the latter which may be releasing the nitrogen which is then reacting with hydrogen liberated in the propellant breakdown (combustion) process to produce ammonia. Strangely Trail Boss is a real ammonia stinker but contains no (other than the propellant itself) nitrogen liberating components, being made up of nitrocellulose, dibutyl phthalate and graphite?

 

My guess with Trail Boss is that its large amount of air within the loaded rounds that's the cause of the ammonia production. As TB has a washer shape it results in it having a very low bulk density and a lot of empty space (air). This air, which is mostly nitrogen, then reacts within the case with hydrogen liberated when the nitrocellulose deflagrates, resulting in noticeable amount of ammonia and hence stink. Just a guess though.

[andybrock]

Today after removing my moderator from the barrel I got a really strong smell of ammonia. This is something I have never had before . The mod is always removed after use and I don't use any cleaning solvents which contain ammonia .

Any ideas why this may be ?

It may have no connection but since working my way through this pack of 100 cci br2 primers I have had 10 or 11 which have needed several strikes to go off and 3 or 4 which have just refused.

Definitely not a light primer strike.

I have had 3 today which needed several strikes and 1 refusal.

For the sakes of a few quid I'd ditch those primers and get some more then you can at least eliminate the primers.

[weejohn]

Great information, thanks folks.

[weejohn]

The last 30 primers were binned last night .

[Toby]

All my moderators smell of ammonia after shooting both homeloads and factory.