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What's typical ceiling damage from a daisy chain primer detonation


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Sort of a strange question I suppose. I live in an apartment building and just wondering what type of damage would occur to the apartment unit if I had a daisy chain primer detonation, and if there is any way to minimize the damage in the event of an explosion. Obviously I cannot cap the magazine shield as the explosion needs to vent and trying to contain that venting just makes for a bigger explosion which could burst the magazine shield open.

I am very mindful about the danger of primers. I sort my 9mm brass (only loading 9mm so far) to remove NATO cases, and pay close attention to the primer seating portion of the upstroke and stop immediately if I feel unusual resistance. I also keep the primer disc, primer magazine and pickup tubes relatively clean to try and minimize the possibility of a detonation at station 2 daisy chaining around the disc and into the primer tube via primer dust (from all the reading I've done here, I assume excessive primer dust is usually the difference between the detonations that are isolated at station 2 and the daisy chain kabooms).

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Happened to me once and put the little rod up into the attic.

If my 650 sends the primer follower rod into my upstairs neighbor's apartment, I'm pretty sure that, in addition to paying for the damage, I'd have to find another place to live. :ph34r:

Edited by G19
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I doubt the rod would go into another apartment. Ceiling, sub floor, padding then Carpet? You could probably tack something to your ceiling like carpet or padding of some kind

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I doubt the rod would go into another apartment. Ceiling, sub floor, padding then Carpet? You could probably tack something to your ceiling like carpet or padding of some kind

Good idea. I was thinking of gluing a small piece of leather or cardboard to the top of the follower rod - not enough weight to prevent launch, but enough padding to prevent hole in ceiling. Plus a little more convenient/aesthetically pleasing that tacking a piece of carpet or other padding to the ceiling.

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I'm with Sarge on this, lot of difference between going thru a layer of sheetrock and 12" of insulation vs going up thru a floor. Worst that would probably happen to you would be the hole in your ceiling.

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I have had this happen with a full tube of Federal Primers when I was living in a basement apartment. Put a nice little indent in the ceiling and bent the rod but it did not go through.

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I have never lit one off but from the ones I have read about, using the stock plastic rod with no extra weight, busted lights above the press or damage to the sheet rock is about it.

Use a metal rod or weights on it and you will gain some more energy.

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Does this really happen that often?

No. And if I was loading in my own home or garage, I wouldn't have asked about it. But since I'll have to repair any damage to my rental unit from a kaboom, just wanted to see what the typical damage is to ceilings/walls.

Periodically clean the primer dust off your primer disc, magazine tube and pickup tubes and you'll be fine.

Edited by G19
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Does this really happen that often?

No. And if I was loading in my own home or garage, I wouldn't have asked about it. But since I'll have to repair any damage to my rental unit from a kaboom, just wanted to see what the typical damage is to ceilings/walls.

Periodically clean the primer dust off your primer disc, magazine tube and pickup tubes and you'll be fine.

Does this really happen that often?

Periodically clean the primer dust off your primer disc, magazine tube and pickup tubes and you'll be fine.

I think it is more an issue of misapplied force. I have some primer tubes that have had nothing but primers and air down them for more than 30 years without a tube going off.

If dust were a primary concern primer pickup tubes would have the same steel blast shield around them as the presses do as they see the same number of primers.

Edited by jmorris
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I think it is more an issue of misapplied force. I have some primer tubes that have had nothing but primers and air down them for more than 30 years without a tube going off.

If dust were a concern primer pickup tubes would have the same steel blast shield around them as the presses do as they see the same number of primers.

Could be. I was guessing the difference between the single primer detonations and the daisy chain explosions is primer dust.

What do you think differentiates the single primer detonations at station 2 from the daisy chain kabooms?

Edit: Perhaps it's primer dust buildup on the primer disc (e.g., from partially crushed primers) that allows for a chain reaction around the disc. Once it reaches the primer magazine, no dust necessary to propagate the explosion since primers in the magazine are in direct contact with each other. So primer dust in the magazine or pickup tube would be irrelevant (at least for this type of kaboom; there was the guy who experienced a kaboom when dropping primers from pickup tube into the magazine tube, which may have been primer dust related).

Edited by G19
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What do you think differentiates the single primer detonations at station 2 from the daisy chain kabooms?

I think luck on a 650, they are only a tenth of an inch or so from the next one. On an SD, LNL or most other press that use a shuttle type system there is more than an inch between them.

I have met some folks that have lit off tubes multiple times and others that never have. Not getting frustrated, figuring out problems vs forcing through them and stopping when something doesn't feel right, all put you on the path of not setting of a primer while reloading.

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I think you are overthinking this. It's a plastic rod against (most likely) a concrete ceiling. It will leave a mark at worst. :)

concrete ceiling?

Right. Doesn't everyone live in a bunker?

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I'm new to the 650 world and accidently set off a federal primer the other day and fortunately the primer tube didn't go off as well. I just recently switched to federal from cci. With the cci's I never had an issue with giving a little extra push for military brass but I learned the other day that its not a good idea with federal primers. However since setting off a primer it feels as though there's a little more resistance when I seat primers now and I'm not sure why.

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I think you are overthinking this. It's a plastic rod against (most likely) a concrete ceiling. It will leave a mark at worst. :)

concrete ceiling?
The vast majority of multi family dwellings built in the last three decades use lightweight concrete between floors. Edited by Ultimo-Hombre
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must be a regional thing? There are a ton of new apartments going up in this area they are built just like a house. i.e. wood and drywall.

Yup, walk thru one during construction and you will likely find a lightweight concrete component in the floors. I'm no builder, but my understanding is that's the most effective way to cheaply deaden the noise to make units rentable.

You may be right that this is more of a regional practice though. I'm in the PNW.

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I think you are overthinking this. It's a plastic rod against (most likely) a concrete ceiling. It will leave a mark at worst. :)

concrete ceiling?

He said he was worried about it going through into upstairs apartment. He most likely has a Sheetrock ceiling but above that is a concrete slab which forms the floor of the apartment above. If really old it may be wood. Sorry I was a bit brief but my point was the plastic rod is not likely to end up in the upstairs living room!

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