Do you guys ever mix together different lots of the same powder?

V

VaniB

New member
Gents, I'm getting ready to place an order with the folks at Powder Valley.

If for example I mailordered three 1 lb canisters of powder (which could all end up being from different lots), instead of having to buy one 5 lb can of it, is it OK if I mix the 3 cans together to assure the same uniform results from shot to shot? I may never shoot off the full 3 lbs of powder as it is.....never mind my having to buy a 5 pound can of it at $85 !!

Before I buy the stuff and proceed with doing this, I'd feel better knowing that this is actually an acepted practice that you target shooting guys often do.
 
Mixing lots of the same powder ...

has never been part of my repertoire. Art
 
Vanib

Mixing different lots of the same powder is a very common practice among the more knowledgable shooters. Actually, the better word is "blending".

The factories do it as a normal course of powder manufacture and there is no reason you can't do the same.

It's the best way to use up all those dregs of the different lots.

Some shooters, either on purpose or by accident, blend different numbers also. VV N131.5 was a powder used by several shooters a few years back. I used it in my LR BR Pistol.

Just be sure you know what you are doing. And blend it until you are sure it is really blended and then blend it some more.

Ray
 
the only real issue is that you now have a unique powder, not the same as any one lot. so in the end you will still have to retune when you run out...just later than with one pound..........
mike in co
 
mike in co said:
the only real issue is that you now have a unique powder, not the same as any one lot. so in the end you will still have to retune when you run out...just later than with one pound..........
mike in co
Click to expand...

Yes Mike,
But the point is that I would have to "retune" anyway, even if I bought a 5 lb can, or a 20 pound can. No?

My intent is to have the same results over a longer duraton of time with 3 pounds of it.....instead of having three different results after completing three seperate 1 pound cans.
 
Watch out for static electricity. It can ruin your day when blending powder.
 
vic

I will admit that the thought of static electricity does indeed occur to me and raises the pucker-factor, a lot.:rolleyes: But the fact that I'm typing this with both hands means something.;) ;)

Okay, two fingers, not two hands.:D

ray
 
Forgive me if I'm taking this wrong..... but I think something isn't jiving here, and am wondering if any of you guys have actually done this yourself.

Is not "blending" when you join two differen't powders to make your own formula? I'm talking about dumping 3 cans of the same powder together in one larger plastic container, and mixing it together to make one powder with less possible variances.



Static electricity?? :rolleyes:

OK....I can't let statements like this go unanswered. It almost sounds like that line in that Christmas movie "You'll shoot your eye out."

This isn't the fine 400-600 mesh grade aluminum flash powders that they stuff into a firecracker at the Macau Fireworks factory.

Go put 2 grains of smokeless powder in a heap and see if you could could even deliberately succeed in igniting it with the spark of an electric cigarette lighter.....no less via static electricity.
Yea crap happens.... but have any of you guys on your way to work had your gas tanks in your car blow up lately?
 
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Mixing powders of the same type but different lots is done all the time and I wouldn't worry about it any. I do it all the time.
 
One of the classic "gun" books is Phillip Sharpes "Guide to Handloading". This book was written in the mid 1930's but Mr. Sharpes findings still apply.

He has a chapter titled "The manufacture of modern smokeless powders". This chapter is about the development and manufacture of the many of the powders we use today. Get your local library to Inter Library Loan (ILL) it from whatever source they have that holds a copy. (You might luck up and find a copy for sale but don't count on it).

After reading how the IMR's and Unique's families are made and the major explosions they had in establishing safe process, it'll scare the hair off your head.

Bottom line, mix all the powder you want. Howard Levy and Allie Euber among others have won matches with "blends". Just don't mix them in my house!!!! I mix some powders occasionally, but not in my house.
 
VaniB said:
Yes Mike,
But the point is that I would have to "retune" anyway, even if I bought a 5 lb can, or a 20 pound can. No?

My intent is to have the same results over a longer duraton of time with 3 pounds of it.....instead of having three different results after completing three seperate 1 pound cans.
Click to expand...


thought that is what i said....
 
Manufacturing smokeless powder is very dangerous, which is probably why most of it is manufactured in some other country, these days. The libility is just to great, to manufacture much of it in the USA.

If you mixed your various lot numbers of powder in the middle of an open field, at lease 50 yards from the nearest house or building, then if the unexpected happened and static electricity or some other ignition sourse accidently set it off, at least the only one in danger would be the powder mixer.

Bob
 
Guys, I think I finally got a couple of guys with hands-on experience here which serves to affirm that mixing two or 3 cans of the same smokless powder is a common practice. To those who provided the answer.....Thank you very much.






Now, off on a tangeant....

You know...I really don't understand a couple of you guys. :( We are talking about pouring the contents of 1 pound cans into a single container to mix it together. Who said anything about MANUFACTURING THE STUFF!

Yes, there have been some horrific explosions and deaths through the decades caused by wheat dust in grain elevators, or by high concentrations of saw mill dust in the air at furniture mills. But when was the last time you caused an explosion while pouring Wheaties out of your serial box, or using your Skill saw to build shelves? Are you guys pulverizing your smokeless powders into fine atomized airborn dusts? No....then beyond exercising a normal amount of prudency when handling anything flammable, what is all this hysteria about?

If anybody would take your concerns seriously, they would need to fear fire or explosion when they poured the smokeless powder out of its container and into their RCBS powder hopper. (And dread the thought of doing that back and forth, and stirring or crunching it up with that metal throw lever!.......Geees.... every throw of the lever is an explosion just waiting to happen!)

Just so you know how explosive this powder ISN'T (short of manufacturing quantities), I suggest you experiment and see for yourself by lighting a little bit of it in your fireplace. I don't care if you burn a cup of it! You will see that it is a very stable and slooow burning compound. However, I never suggested having a lit cigarette hanging off your lip while you are mixing the 3 cans together. This is not a good idea......because while 3 cans of it won't ignite or explode by itself just short of a cattle prod spark, it can still light when subjected to gross carelessness or stupidity. (Funny thing about most flammable substances.)


If I were you...

I'd park the car 50 yards from your house. Better yet, I'd call the bomb squad to have them remove the battery. Did you ever see what an electrical spark can do to 20 gallons of gas? :eek:

But since I'm not you....I do wild and crazy things like pour the powder out of my 5 lb canisters without calling haz-mat.
 
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Why do you think powder measures are being grounded?

Better safe than sorry, or having a fire and/or kaboom. Especially over a few pounds of powder. Mixing a few spoons full of one lot number with a larger amount of another lot number, same brand and burning rate probably wont hurt anything. Much else is taking an unnecessary risk.

Dedicated BR shooters buy 40-100 pounds of the same lot number at a time, just so they don't have to mix different lot numbers of powders. A few highly experienced BR's have been known to blend two different powders togeather trying to get an ideal burn rate, but the practice is risky and probably not worth the effort and/or risk.

Better to stick with what is know to be safe and what works.
Bob
 
Saftey First

I thought i was being safe when i would broadslide around the curves on rock roads in the 60's. I called it a controlled slide;) Being really safe was putting 2 sticks of dynamite under the log jam in the river instead of 3.:cool:

Dave
 
Don't Worry?

Ever since I saw a Bell 206 helicopter burn up into a small pile of ashes as a result of static electricity while refueling I have had a lot of respect for safety.

Yes, the odds are slim, but there are a lot od dead and injured people whose slim odds caught up with them.

And yes, I have blended different powder lots together--nervously!
 
Thanks again for the input. Opposing views, or varying degrees of a point is how any one of us might learn something new at the end of the day.

Stay safe. See ya'll later.

:)
 
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