What Temperature Will Set Off a Primer?

[thenodnarb]

I thought Mercury primers were the corrosive ones. Lead azide was the new material and now they are going to some non-toxic thing. But not all primers are there yet! So we can assume it's somewhere between 200 and 330 C which is damn hot, not a temp one is likely to see on an average day.

Mercury fulminate isn't corrosive, but toxic. It also degrades relatively quickly. Mercury fulminate was used in percussion caps.
Lead Azide is a salt, which is not as toxic and doesn't degrade easily, but is corrosive.
DDNP is the primary explosive in modern primers and is much more complicated to make, but not corrosive.

[mjmagee67]

Mercury fulminate isn't corrosive, but toxic. It also degrades relatively quickly. Mercury fulminate was used in percussion caps.
Lead Azide is a salt, which is not as toxic and doesn't degrade easily, but is corrosive.
DDNP is the primary explosive in modern primers and is much more complicated to make, but not corrosive.

Lead azide is not a salt it's a nitrogen lead compound N6Pb. Lead acatate is the only lead salt and is pretty stable, not a good primer material. The corrosive primers were perchlorate primers which contained potassium chloride mixture that formed a salt. You are right about mercury primers not corrosive, mercury poisoning is not good.

[thenodnarb]

Lead azide is not a salt it's a nitrogen lead compound N6Pb. Lead acatate is the only lead salt and is pretty stable, not a good primer material. The corrosive primers were perchlorate primers which contained potassium chloride mixture that formed a salt. You are right about mercury primers not corrosive, mercury poisoning is not good.

you are right. I was confusing my research. I had read that silver fulminate which is a salt, is in some ways similar to mercury fulminate, but not suitable for primers due to its sensitivity. For a moment I thought Silver fulminate was related to lead azide, and erroneously concluded that lead azide was a salt.

[five.five-six]

OP:
Start at 10% below that temp and work your way up... Bronco has a three step rule he tries...

Come on now, it's a reloading forum!

Well done

[mjmagee67]

The bottom line is the spontaneous ignition temp for primers is most likely not lower that 200C and more likely around 300C to 350C which is hotter that you are likely to get by accident, you would really have to work to get those temps.