Si-Snipe Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Before I start to develop a new load with the new bullets I have ordered of which I will be using N140 to propel them, I'm considering mixing my N140 batches to create a consistent load from. I personally can't see any issues as the powder is the same and once mixed will have a consistent burn rate for the entire tub. Does anyone have any knowledge on why it's not a suitable practice? Thanks Si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cumbrian 1 Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 It sounds like a good idea as you would get consistent results from all your tubs however as to the technical downsides I haven't got a clue I'm sure someone more technically minded will be along soon to comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srvet Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 I have always added the last bit of one tub to the new tub of the same sort. I figured that any differences would be diluted down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 I have always added the last bit of one tub to the new tub of the same sort. I figured that any differences would be diluted down Same here , when the level in the tub gets low I add it to my next new tub a rotate it a good few times to mix it -- never had any problems . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John MH Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Don't pour the contents of one tub into the next. Mixing lots wont improve consistency, when one tub is empty start on the next. At some point if you get into the habit of topping up tubs of the same powder type from a nearly empty tub to one you've just opened you'll cock up and find that you have just mixed the remnants of some of type A with a fresh new tub of type B which will now need to be scrapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbal Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 JMH is right twofold.Don't mix. One,you may eventually make a mistake and add Powder B to Powder A....all has to be ditched. Two,even i it's the dregs of powder A to a new tub of A,the mix might alter a tad-must do-if you keep on doing this your mix gradually drifts.....inconsistent. Why not finish off each tub in the same batch of loaded ammo.(you can only have less than one full load left as dregs- 20p?) Start a new batch of loads with the new tub (label them as such if you like),until down to the last part case full again (20p) and ditch it (that is a 'waste' of 20p in say £70 kilo of powder.Is a bad habit worth that? Absolutely do not mix up 1/2 tub and 1/2 tub size proportions-though some powders are more consistent batch to batch,none are reliably the exact same. (one reason batches are so marked). Take a risk for 20p? I don't think so.Better as fertiliser. gbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggersqueezer Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 i have mixed tubs of varget sorced from different people and works for me.just poor all tubs into one big bowl and do it once rather than left overs each time. or i would find myself tweaking the load after each tub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwood Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Before I start to develop a new load with the new bullets I have ordered of which I will be using N140 to propel them, I'm considering mixing my N140 batches to create a consistent load from. I personally can't see any issues as the powder is the same and once mixed will have a consistent burn rate for the entire tub. Does anyone have any knowledge on why it's not a suitable practice? Thanks Si I do this quite regularly, just make sure it's evenly mixed, nothing to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggy Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 As I understand it the powder manufacturers 'blend' their different lots of powder in order to keep the burn characteristics and heat of explosion similar from lot to lot. However some manufacturers appear to be more diligent about this than others, so lot to lot consistency can vary with some brands. IMO I wouldn't mix different lots together, just in case you were pushing the limits of a safe load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si-Snipe Posted March 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 I'm not talking about putting a small amount into a larger tub but rather adding a 1kg tub to 1.5kg of powder to create 2.5kg of the same burn characteristics for load consistency. Thanks for the replies. Si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Powder that's simply different lots of the same brand and type? Personally, I blend it without a second thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si-Snipe Posted March 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Those were my thoughts too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 My wife buys her H4831SC 5 tubs at a time, pours the whole lot into a large ceramic mixing bowl, gives it a good mix with a wooden spoon and pops it back into the containers, she has always done this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotch_egg Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Powder that's simply different lots of the same brand and type? Personally, I blend it without a second thought. Not that you even own a rifle long enough to develop a load Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustyman Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Nice one Scotch egg :-))) Oh and ive always mixed when I get powders down to about 50% of the tub . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbit fingers Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 You could always load up a few rounds from each batch and run them over the chrony? If velocities are very close mix away, although you may not feel the need to. If wildly different you might want to reconsider and would definitely want to be sure they were mixed throughly if you went ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si-Snipe Posted March 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 You could always load up a few rounds from each batch and run them over the chrony? If velocities are very close mix away, although you may not feel the need to. If wildly different you might want to reconsider and would definitely want to be sure they were mixed throughly if you went ahead. If the velocities were very different I'd be looking for a different powder. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeman Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Si-snipe, Put me in the no worries camp, as I've been doing it with ADI/Hodgdon and Vit powders for well over two decades. Pour it into a large bowl, give it some swirl time and decant back into the plastic bottles and quite frankly if you think there's any danger of mixing two different powders, then maybe handloading is not for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggy Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 45 ft/sec lot to lot variation with Varget and 100 ft/sec with H4831. Is that significant? http://arxiv.org/pdf/1501.07163v1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbal Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Same powder,same batch.....bad practice But " different powders "???......surely not....as in the original "anti mix" advice posts....mixing is just bad practice leading to seriously bad habits and then risk....... I seriously doubt if any expert or authority would condone mixing,and certainly not powders with any possible differences....come on mixers,name one..... "Frankly" it's irresponsible to suggest it.....unsuspecting newbies might adopt the habit....."it's Brand X and Brand X,so that's ok,I read it on a forum...." Mixing is 'no gain,risk pain'. "DIY" double base mixes are a very big 'no-no" gbal PS,seriously guys,this isn't just coming from sensible reloading practice,or a low red blood cell count,but from a professional interest in how words influence behaviour....eg fatalities resulting from a new guy dropping his fag end into a gas tank some experienced old hand had described as ''Empty" (really meaning ' been returned for full pressure refilling'). I'll admit the story of the elderly lady councillor who fainted at a meeting about a proposed new inner ring road being given planning consent close to a cemetery,"if all the relevant bodies agree' isn't minuted...but you get my drift on this! If you don't,it's that 'different' means different things to different people with different results. Let alone any 'chinese whispers' effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggy Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 George, read carefully, I don't think that anyone in this thread has suggested mixing different powders! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Same powder,same batch.....bad practice But " different powders "???......surely not....as in the original "anti mix" advice posts....mixing is just bad practice leading to seriously bad habits and then risk....... I seriously doubt if any expert or authority would condone mixing,and certainly not powders with any possible differences....come on mixers,name one..... "Frankly" it's irresponsible to suggest it.....unsuspecting newbies might adopt the habit....."it's Brand X and Brand X,so that's ok,I read it on a forum...." Mixing is 'no gain,risk pain'. "DIY" double base mixes are a very big 'no-no" gbal George, No one has said 'yes' to blending different powders, that would be Darwinian. All the answers have related to blending different lots of the same brand and type. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbal Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Shuggy,BD- yes,that's why no comment was needed until 'different powders' slipped in-I've added a PS to explain-what words are taken to mean is a slippery slope. And adds to the 'bad habit'/error point,especially for the 'inexperienced'. We will all have examples,if you think on't for a few minutes. "Same/different' are especially weasel words,because almost any two things are alike in some way(s) and different in other(s). Different tins of same batch....different tins of same make..different tins of same burn rate.... different tins of nearly the same...it morphs all too easily,and faster than darwinian! There is another thread on here currently (Are AR15 bolts...) about a reloading error....."same weight of a different powder...." I hear what you say,and thanks-of course its these other guys I am concerned about,and anyone in their vicinity.... g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbal Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 " ADI,Hodgdon and Viht.....mixing two powders......" *18 But maybe this is somewhat loose expression of ideas....though that is my point! Ok maybe overstated,but a separate current post (Are AR15 bolts..) relates a tale of error..." loading the same weight of powder of a different sort". But I may have overstated....reminds me of a seminar with some students on the topic of language,our assumptions,often un-noticed,culture,how children only gradually come to share these,and how to get robots to do so,and how to program,and the kitchen sink (only kidding). So I invited them to write a little programme describing "Getting up". Thus: Wake up Switch off the alarm,if ringing (nice one) Turn on shower Step in Apply soap....."ERROR" - need to remove wet pyjamas... One of the girls put up her hand: "George,I don't wear pyjamas." Sometimes you just have to concede gracefully,with a smile. gbal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeman Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Gbal, Sorry you misunderstood my post, it was in reply to the topic of mixing the same powder but different lots. The second paragraph relates to your concerns about mixing two different powders (I presume you meant different brands or burning speeds) One,you may eventually make a mistake and add Powder B to Powder A....all has to be ditched. So just to clarify I wasn't trying to advocate mixing different brands or burning speeds, only between lots of the same powder and that anybody who can't distinguish between different types of powder or burning speeds, whether simply filling a powder hopper or mixing between lots shouldn't be in the business of handloading. Happy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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