Help SN has become hard (solid)

[goomsoom]

I got my SN about an year ago, its sealed in the box. When I checked it today it has become hard (solid).

will it still work? I never opened the box so I don't know how it turned solid?

 

[Moon Flower]

I know clumping is supposed to be normal, but I've never heard of this. Kinda makes me wanna check on my similarly aged SN. Following for info

 

[Nymph]

Was it air tight this whole time? Clumping is normal so if you can break it up into smaller pieces it should be fine, it's weird that it's solid tho. It seems to me that extra moisture got into it which made it harden

 

[goomsoom]

I never opened the bottle as I planned to keep it preserved. So ideally cluming should not have happened. I will recheck to see if I opened the bottle before or any cracks which let the air in.

Now I am worried if it became nitrate and I will have to get a new one.

I know clumping is supposed to be normal, but I've never heard of this. Kinda makes me wanna check on my similarly aged SN. Following for info

Please check and update in this thread.

 

[Mimikyu]

Some clumping is normal, but if there's too much clumping, then I wouldn't recommend you use it. Clumping occurs when the SN starts absorbing the water molecules in the environment, causing it to clump up (the same thing happens with baking soda). But with SN, this clumping is also a sign that the SN is being improperly stored and that it's being converted to Sodium Nitrate, which isn't good.

 

[Gnip]

When I get mine, I am going to use a Food Saver vacuum sealer to further secure the sealed bottles in an airtight vacuum sealed bag.

 

[Mimikyu]

When I get mine, I am going to use a Food Saver vacuum sealer to further secure the sealed bottles in an airtight vacuum sealed bag.

That's a good idea!

What I did with my SN is: I weighed out 25g, and placed it into an Ziploc bag. Then I weighed out an extra 2.5g, and placed it into a separate Ziploc bag- the 2.5g isn't necessary, I have it included just in case of degradation over time. Then placed the 2 unsealed Ziploc bags into a vacuum sealing bag and vacuum sealed it. That way there's not air in it at all. The result is a solid brick of SN.

I think this method might be better since the SN may arrive with some air in the bottle, especially if it's not filled all the way. And it helps to protect the vendor since the bottle and its label would no longer be used for storage and can be thrown away.

 

[Moon Flower]

I never opened the bottle as I planned to keep it preserved. So ideally cluming should not have happened. I will recheck to see if I opened the bottle before or any cracks which let the air in.

Now I am worried if it became nitrate and I will have to get a new one.

Please check and update in this thread.

Mine looks to be about 50-50. Half of it is still powder, but half is in a large chunk

 

[freedom_in_death]

I've just received my SN and the zip lock bag it is in feels very cold. Did this happen to anyone else?