Reloading Kaboom Yesterday - Please Learn From This

[grant22]

Preface: No part of this post is a flame toward any manufacturer. I'm simply stating some facts on what occured so you all can hopefully learn from this and be really aware. I've just gotten off the phone with Dillon and unfortunately, at this time, we still don't know what caused this.

Yesterday afternoon I was converting my 550 from .223 to .38 to do a small batch in my living room. I had used my primer pick up tube to grab about fifty primers and had it in my left hand, placed it at the top of the 550 primer magazine, and with my right hand started to pull the pin. Kaboom!

Although it was a single explosion, they all blew. I stood there in disbelief but then realized I was injured. It had caused 2 wounds. My left thumb and left middle finger both had dime sized holes blown out (or in) and look like hamburger. I guess I bled about 250 cc's and I couldn't hear out of my left ear. The hearing has mostly come back at this point.

Refer to the pics to see what it did to the primer tube. Bits of metal were found at the furthest distances possible in the room, some primers projectiled through the ceiling, and there is a larger hole in the ceiling, also. The wounds are all dressed, so pics of that will be later.

I am one of those that always needs to know what happened, was it my fault, and what could be done differently next time, especially to help keep it from happening again.

I can't think of anything I did wrong in this operation. The er doc thinks it may have been static electricity that ignited one primer which then caused a chain reaction. Since we've been having a dry wind for 2 days here in Havasu, his theory makes some logical sense. I will be calling Dillon to find out if they have any reports of this happening before and if they have any solutions for this type of issue.

Heres's what I'll be doing differently in the future (not sure if I'll be continuing reloading):

-Eye protection. This incident could have been ALOT worse and I'm absolutely astonished this didn't take out my eyes. It goes to show......all gear all the time! Even a mundane task such as transferring primers deserves respect.

-No more reloading in the house for me. Luckily the gf was at work but my poor little dog was right next to me when it happened and I think she was very frightened.

-Also, there have been times where the girlfriend wanted to pickup the primers with a p/u tube and transferred them. I won't be allowing that again.

Edited November 3, 2011 by grant22

[IceDevil]

Sorry to hear about the accident and hope your injuries heal quickly. Not sure how that happened, but I'll stay tuned to see if you have any further information or ideas. Thanks for sharing this as a helpful reminder to respect the reloading process - even if those tiny little primers don't look like much.

[b2alphaplease]

Wow !!! That looks bad.

I've touched off a couple of primers in the seating phase, but nothing like that.

+1 to always wearing protective eye wear.

Do give us an update if you ever figure out what caused that.

[inkballedtarget]

Wow. Sorry to hear about your accident, but thank you for sharing.

[ihatepickles]

Wow Grant, I'm glad you're going to be OK.

For clarity, the tube in the photos is the primer pickup tube (as opposed to the primer magazine tube), correct?

Thanks for sharing, heal quickly. Definitely contact Dillon.

[Mark R]

Out of curiosity...What brand of primers were you loading?

[grant22]

Out of curiosity...What brand of primers were you loading?

Thanks all of you for the well wishing. Yes, it was the pickup tube, not the magazine tube. I had already loaded, flipped, and placed the p/u tube on the magazine tube. The kaboom happened AS I was removing the pin (I probably only pulled it a millimeter).

The primers were CCI #500 spp, a brand that isn't super sensitive according to Dillon.

Update:

I just spoke with a manager at Dillon and also sent him the pics. Although there’s some documented cases of primers going off in the primer magazine, he said he’s never heard any reports of primers going off in the “pick up” tube like my incident.

Although the cause is still inconclusive, he thinks it was possibly a single defective primer or possibly the static electricity theory.

Although the cause is still unknown, and can therefore happen again, I’m trying to think of some safeguards:

-Grounding the press itself is definitely worth doing

-Wearing an anti-static bracelet thing is worth doing.

-Dillon is sending me a new pick up tube but I also asked for a steel magazine tube. I’m going to try to make the pickup tube mimmick the design of the magazine…….aluminum tube floated inside a steel tube.

-I’m still going to look into Kevlar gloves or anything that will help if the same incident were to happen again.

-I think using a toothpick instead of a metal clip might be good, too.

He said he’d talk it over with more staff at Dillon and would get back to me if he finds anything else out.

[ima45dv8]

Glad to see your fingers are still attached.

Man, I don't even case-gauge ammo without eye protection!

It sounds like y'all pretty much eliminated any other reasonable causes, so I'm jumping on the static bandwagon. A static strap, or just grounding yourself periodically might do the trick.

Good luck, and heal fast.

[CSEMARTIN]

Can you check the humidity in your reloading area for us? Where is Havasu?

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm very curious and spooked at the same time. It's the first 550 kaboom I've ever heard of.

I wonder if a call to CCI would yield any helpful information?

If you can think of anything more about what happened, please, keep us all in the loop. Thanks again.

[Unregistered]

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Grant!

I think we all thank you here for the painful lesson...

[Graham Smith]

I find it hard to believe that a primer could be ignited by the kind of static you would normally encounter around the house, but it would seem to be the only viable explanation.

I suppose it might be worth grounding the press and/or wearing an anti-static grounding strap. Worth looking into.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Graham Smith

[Unregistered]

How would one ground the press?

[Sarge]

I'm trying to figure out the bursting primer tube at the spot the OP was holding it. If static did this wouldn't the one rubbing the pin have gone off first? Wouldn't things then follow the path of least resistance?

[ChuckS]

The weather out here has been consistent the last couple days. The forecast for Havasu shows humidity down to 9% by 6 PM. Definite spark conditions. If you ground, do the bench AND wear the strap. Only one won't be enough. If you or the press charge, the net result is the same...

[GrumpyOne]

I work with static sensitive materials all the time, and have to take an ESD course (electro static discharge) every year. If you can feel the zap of a discharge, it is a minimum of 30,000 volts. It can ignite hydrogen gasses when charging batteries, and causes billions, yes billions of dollars damage to electronic circuit packs every year. Even if you use a wriststrap, it does no good if you don't test it overtime you use it.

[Powder Finger]

Can you check the humidity in your reloading area for us? Where is Havasu?

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm very curious and spooked at the same time. It's the first 550 kaboom I've ever heard of.

I wonder if a call to CCI would yield any helpful information?

If you can think of anything more about what happened, please, keep us all in the loop. Thanks again.

lake Havasu AZ, and in Phx area we have been running single digit humidity with - dew points. Plus a front moved in yesterday.

Maybe the static could be a cause?

BTW Havasu is like our Lake Erie for small mouth.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Powder Finger

[Powder Finger]

I work with static sensitive materials all the time, and have to take an ESD course (electro static discharge) every year. If you can feel the zap of a discharge, it is a minimum of 30,000 volts. It can ignite hydrogen gasses when charging batteries, and causes billions, yes billions of dollars damage to electronic circuit packs every year. Even if you use a wriststrap, it does no good if you don't test it overtime you use it.

It was a little darker when I left this moring and saw the key spark at the lock (same weather condition's as the OP)

Do you think if static was the cause that if he grounded by touching the press then while not moving anywhere picked up the primers

and dumped them this would not have happened?

[grant22]

"How would one ground the press?"

There's different ways but the one I will explore is using a decent extension cord with hot and common tangs removed. Then, cut the cord (while unplugged, of course) and wire nut the hot and common wires. Take the ground wire (green) and crimp/solder a terminal end and fasten it to one of the bolts on the machine. I've been told you can now plug in the plug to any of your wall sockets and you're tied into the grounded electrical circuits (my house was built in 2005 so it's all grounded). I like the one poster's idea of grounding the machine AND myself with the strap (I may kick my flip flops to the side in the future).

"I'm trying to figure out the bursting primer tube at the spot the OP was holding it. If static did this wouldn't the one rubbing the pin have gone off first? Wouldn't things then follow the path of least resistance?"

The energy DID go the path of least resistance.....or PATHS of least resistance. It blew out the bottom of the p/u tube (that's where my hand was), blew out the top (that's why there's primers in my attic now), and blew out the side (Dillon thinks that is where the last primer was). The explosion was enough energy and force to look for a 3rd way out......apparently the two openings weren't big enough.

[Powder Finger]

maybe of intrest.

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php/topic,3774432.0.html

[GrumpyOne]

I work with static sensitive materials all the time, and have to take an ESD course (electro static discharge) every year. If you can feel the zap of a discharge, it is a minimum of 30,000 volts. It can ignite hydrogen gasses when charging batteries, and causes billions, yes billions of dollars damage to electronic circuit packs every year. Even if you use a wriststrap, it does no good if you don't test it overtime you use it.

It was a little darker when I left this moring and saw the key spark at the lock (same weather condition's as the OP)

Do you think if static was the cause that if he grounded by touching the press then while not moving anywhere picked up the primers

and dumped them this would not have happened?

He and the press would have the same potential, but then touching a true ground, the static would discharge through the point of contact. The press would still need to be grounded to earth ground, and the person as well, to minimize the difference of potential. Remember, lightning is a static discharge, and the reason it strikes ground is the difference of potential between the cloud and earth.

[Skydiver]

After seeing this past Wednesday's Mythbusters and how bombproof truck bed liner is, I wonder if coating the pickup tubes with the liner would be more than sufficient to redirect the explosion up and down.

[Mark R]

I'm trying to figure out the bursting primer tube at the spot the OP was holding it. If static did this wouldn't the one rubbing the pin have gone off first? Wouldn't things then follow the path of least resistance?

I'm thinking (and thinking out loud) that maybe since the OP was only loading 50 primers instead of the full load of 100, then flipping the pickup tube would allow the primers to move 5-6 inches possibly bouncing in the pickup tube. With a full load, they only move about 1/2 inch at most. Maybe that combined with the static...yada...yada...yada...

[Powder Finger]

I work with static sensitive materials all the time, and have to take an ESD course (electro static discharge) every year. If you can feel the zap of a discharge, it is a minimum of 30,000 volts. It can ignite hydrogen gasses when charging batteries, and causes billions, yes billions of dollars damage to electronic circuit packs every year. Even if you use a wriststrap, it does no good if you don't test it overtime you use it.

It was a little darker when I left this moring and saw the key spark at the lock (same weather condition's as the OP)

Do you think if static was the cause that if he grounded by touching the press then while not moving anywhere picked up the primers

and dumped them this would not have happened?

He and the press would have the same potential, but then touching a true ground, the static would discharge through the point of contact. The press would still need to be grounded to earth ground, and the person as well, to minimize the difference of potential. Remember, lightning is a static discharge, and the reason it strikes ground is the difference of potential between the cloud and earth.

I follow, thanks.

[racerba]

I'm thinking (and thinking out loud) that maybe since the OP was only loading 50 primers instead of the full load of 100, then flipping the pickup tube would allow the primers to move 5-6 inches possibly bouncing in the pickup tube. With a full load, they only move about 1/2 inch at most. Maybe that combined with the static...yada...yada...yada...

Could be a delayed ignition with that theory...similar to hang fire in the case of the hammer falling and the gun not firing right away...

[grant22]

I'm trying to figure out the bursting primer tube at the spot the OP was holding it. If static did this wouldn't the one rubbing the pin have gone off first? Wouldn't things then follow the path of least resistance?

I'm thinking (and thinking out loud) that maybe since the OP was only loading 50 primers instead of the full load of 100, then flipping the pickup tube would allow the primers to move 5-6 inches possibly bouncing in the pickup tube. With a full load, they only move about 1/2 inch at most. Maybe that combined with the static...yada...yada...yada...

When I spoke with Dillon, they brought up the same point......except I pointed out that I flipped the tube and at least 30 sec went by. It wasn't til I removed the clip that stuff happened.

Also, when there's 100 primers, they all fall down into the magazine, right? 100 move less in the pickup tube, but would fall with more force on the bottom primer than 50 would.

After I explained that, Dillon agreed it probably wasn't the 50 primer theory.