Mixed powder advice

LukeB · July 9, 2021, 11:31 PM

After 12 years of reloading I still run into careless mistakes. I was pulling some 9mm rounds that didn’t make the cut. I had pulled a few rounds with CFE Pistol and one with Alliant Blue Dot. I poured each into desperate piles in a large Tupperware to separate the bullets from powder. I was picking up each powder by the pinch (finger and thumb) and putting them back into each powder container. I accidentally put just 1 pinch of Blue dot into a full can of CFE pistol. I tried pouring out the CFE to see if I could separate a few blue dot flakes but that didn’t work out (needle in a hay stack). Here is my question- will a pinch of blue dot, diluted by a pound of CFE pistol be ok, or have I ruined a pound of pistol powder?

mehavey · July 10, 2021, 12:45 AM

Quote:

. . . 1 pinch of Blue dot into a full can of CFE

Shake it up and forget it.

**44 AMP** · July 10, 2021, 12:59 AM

How much is your "pinch"?? 5gr?? less??? probably less but lets say 5gr..

A pound is 7000 gr. so a 5gr "pinch" is what?? 1/1400 of the total, that's not very much to worry about.

Follow the rule of only ONE open powder on the bench at a time and you probably won't have this problem again. If you're pulling down ammo with more than one kind of powder in it, don't.

Meaning, do ONE kind, all the way through, including returning all powder to the proper storage can and putting the lid on it, before beginning work on ammo with a different powder in it.

Geezerbiker · July 10, 2021, 04:39 AM

Back when I was in college (in the dark ages,) I was given a very old can of Red Dot that someone had dumped in what looked like one cartridge full of extruded powder. I was so broke back then, I sifted out all the extruded powder and used up the Red Dot. I made a lot of .38 special loads with that can of powder...

Like others have said, only one open can at a time. I'll defer to others if your mistake ruined a can of powder or not...

Tony

dahermit · July 10, 2021, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geezerbiker

Back when I was in college (in the dark ages,) I was given a very old can of Red Dot that someone had dumped in what looked like one cartridge full of extruded powder. I was so broke back then, I sifted out all the extruded powder and used up the Red Dot. I made a lot of .38 special loads with that can of powder...

Like others have said, only one open can at a time. I'll defer to others if your mistake ruined a can of powder or not...

Tony

It may have been possible to mechanically separate the Red Dot from the extruded stick powder by using the technique used to separate marijuana seeds from the buds and leaves. A one foot square of plywood with added raised sides. Pour out and spread the mixed powder (or bag of marijuana) on to the top of the plywood board. Gently shake and tilt the board. The flakes of the Red Dot (or marihuana) will will settle and not roll whereas the extruded stick powder (and/or marihuana seeds), will roll down to one corner (if you have an opening at that corner, you can pour the round things off into a container).

That method would not work for two mixed flake type or two extruded stick powders that were errantly mixed of course.

jetinteriorguy · July 10, 2021, 11:27 AM

I wouldn’t sweat that amount, but definitely lesson learned.

FITASC · July 10, 2021, 11:37 AM

'Tis not a big deal; now if you mixed half and half, different story

Seedy Character · July 10, 2021, 01:16 PM

I had 25-30 shotgun shells that had accumulated. I was breaking them down to save the shot, wad and primer. A rainy day, watching an old, John Wayne movie.

Since they were all mixed up, powders varied; Green Dot, Herco, Blue Dot, 800-X. So, I got an old ashtray and was dumping the powder.

I had gone to the garage to put up the wads and shot. Just as I was returning, I see a flash and hear screams.

I had told daughter several times about smoking in my house. Didn't have to tell her, again. Wife was not amused, though.

**Unclenick** · July 10, 2021, 06:04 PM

No wife I am aware of seems much amused by that sort of thing. Neither are parents. Something similar happened to me when I was about nine and playing with trying to make my own black powder. I left some in a mortar and pestle on a table in the living room and one of my parent's friends was visiting one evening and put a cigarette into it. I won't say he "put it out" in it, as it obviously didn't go out. But that fellow had a goatee at the time that several other friends had remarked looked devilish, so when he was lighted from below by the flaring powder, they thought the tableau was appropriate. That didn't save me from a scolding about leaving my experiments lying around, though.

cdoc42 · July 11, 2021, 08:18 PM

Ha, Ha, that brings back memories,Unclenick. Let me first say I wouldn't concern myself about the OP's concern, just from the perspective that the error is well diluted. As well, I don't think every granule/flake of Blue Dot is Blue, so it makes little sense to try to separate the Blue as described.

But to follow upon Unclenicks experience. I forget how old I was, but it had to be close to his, when I went to the drug store and bought sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, mixed them 1-1-1 because I had no recipe, then stuffed the end of an old fountain pen with mixture, incorporating broken match heads to assure continued ignition, and added a fuse made from a cotton-based string, saturated with alcohol, rolled into the potassium nirate, and placed it on a popsicle stick headed for the moon. I set it off and it only headed about 3 feet from the launch pad, simulating what would be expected from the fireworks display called a flowerpot. That ended the experiment because neighbors wondered where the sulfur smell came from.....

dahermit · July 11, 2021, 08:40 PM

Quote:

I don't think every granule/flake of Blue Dot is Blue, so it makes little sense to try to separate the Blue as described.

Although all the flakes of Blue Dot are actually Blue (are they still coloring some of the flakes Blue?), there is a visually obvious difference between a flake powder and extruded stick powders.

gwpercle · July 12, 2021, 10:59 AM

I would just rotate the container and mix all real well and ... keep on keeping on .
A pinch to a pound ...Not enough to pose a danger .
Be careful , Load Safe ...
Gary

P Flados · July 12, 2021, 09:25 PM

I agree with the "no big deal" position.

Not only is the Blue Dot portion small (a pinch to a pound), but they are not far apart on the burn rate charts and the Blue Dot is slower than the primary component, CFE Pistol. If you were to mix in say 10% Blue Dot in with 90% CFE Pistol (by weight) and load the mix using CFE Load data, you would get lower than expected pressures and velocities.

dannyknox · July 13, 2021, 11:57 PM

this all depends on how much you value your safety. I would not risk it.

101combatvet · July 14, 2021, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukeB

After 12 years of reloading I still run into careless mistakes. I was pulling some 9mm rounds that didn’t make the cut. I had pulled a few rounds with CFE Pistol and one with Alliant Blue Dot. I poured each into desperate piles in a large Tupperware to separate the bullets from powder. I was picking up each powder by the pinch (finger and thumb) and putting them back into each powder container. I accidentally put just 1 pinch of Blue dot into a full can of CFE pistol. I tried pouring out the CFE to see if I could separate a few blue dot flakes but that didn’t work out (needle in a hay stack). Here is my question- will a pinch of blue dot, diluted by a pound of CFE pistol be ok, or have I ruined a pound of pistol powder?

As long as you do that without a lite cigarette, you should be okay.

7.62 man · July 14, 2021, 11:07 AM

As long as you don't always load to MAX gr loads I wouldn't worry about it.
But I would mark that bottle of powder to be only used for lower than max loads just to be on the safe side.

FITASC · July 14, 2021, 02:16 PM

I wouldn't worry about a pinch in a full container at all; that's like comparing a drop of lemon juice in a gallon of water - you won't even know it's there.

Don Fischer · July 14, 2021, 03:33 PM

I think it probably is no big deal but, I'm not the one using your powder, what do you think? I know I did about the same thing one time, putting some of the wrong powder back into a new can of different powder and I threw the new can of powder away. One of the very few case's where I believe the saying, "It's only money"!

July 9, 2021, 11:31 PM	#1
LukeB Member Join Date: November 21, 2017 Posts: 15	Mixed powder advice After 12 years of reloading I still run into careless mistakes. I was pulling some 9mm rounds that didn’t make the cut. I had pulled a few rounds with CFE Pistol and one with Alliant Blue Dot. I poured each into desperate piles in a large Tupperware to separate the bullets from powder. I was picking up each powder by the pinch (finger and thumb) and putting them back into each powder container. I accidentally put just 1 pinch of Blue dot into a full can of CFE pistol. I tried pouring out the CFE to see if I could separate a few blue dot flakes but that didn’t work out (needle in a hay stack). Here is my question- will a pinch of blue dot, diluted by a pound of CFE pistol be ok, or have I ruined a pound of pistol powder?

July 10, 2021, 12:59 AM	#3
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 30,503	How much is your "pinch"?? 5gr?? less??? probably less but lets say 5gr.. A pound is 7000 gr. so a 5gr "pinch" is what?? 1/1400 of the total, that's not very much to worry about. Follow the rule of only ONE open powder on the bench at a time and you probably won't have this problem again. If you're pulling down ammo with more than one kind of powder in it, don't. Meaning, do ONE kind, all the way through, including returning all powder to the proper storage can and putting the lid on it, before beginning work on ammo with a different powder in it. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

July 10, 2021, 11:37 AM	#7
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,655	'Tis not a big deal; now if you mixed half and half, different story __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

July 10, 2021, 01:16 PM	#8
Seedy Character Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2021 Location: SW Okla Posts: 201	I had 25-30 shotgun shells that had accumulated. I was breaking them down to save the shot, wad and primer. A rainy day, watching an old, John Wayne movie. Since they were all mixed up, powders varied; Green Dot, Herco, Blue Dot, 800-X. So, I got an old ashtray and was dumping the powder. I had gone to the garage to put up the wads and shot. Just as I was returning, I see a flash and hear screams. I had told daughter several times about smoking in my house. Didn't have to tell her, again. Wife was not amused, though. Last edited by Unclenick; July 10, 2021 at 06:06 PM. Reason: typo fix

July 10, 2021, 06:04 PM	#9
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,743	No wife I am aware of seems much amused by that sort of thing. Neither are parents. Something similar happened to me when I was about nine and playing with trying to make my own black powder. I left some in a mortar and pestle on a table in the living room and one of my parent's friends was visiting one evening and put a cigarette into it. I won't say he "put it out" in it, as it obviously didn't go out. But that fellow had a goatee at the time that several other friends had remarked looked devilish, so when he was lighted from below by the flaring powder, they thought the tableau was appropriate. That didn't save me from a scolding about leaving my experiments lying around, though. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

July 10, 2021, 04:39 AM	#4
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,909	Back when I was in college (in the dark ages,) I was given a very old can of Red Dot that someone had dumped in what looked like one cartridge full of extruded powder. I was so broke back then, I sifted out all the extruded powder and used up the Red Dot. I made a lot of .38 special loads with that can of powder... Like others have said, only one open can at a time. I'll defer to others if your mistake ruined a can of powder or not... Tony

July 10, 2021, 11:27 AM	#6
jetinteriorguy Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2013 Posts: 3,476	I wouldn’t sweat that amount, but definitely lesson learned.

July 11, 2021, 08:18 PM	#10
cdoc42 Senior Member Join Date: March 13, 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,772	Ha, Ha, that brings back memories,Unclenick. Let me first say I wouldn't concern myself about the OP's concern, just from the perspective that the error is well diluted. As well, I don't think every granule/flake of Blue Dot is Blue, so it makes little sense to try to separate the Blue as described. But to follow upon Unclenicks experience. I forget how old I was, but it had to be close to his, when I went to the drug store and bought sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, mixed them 1-1-1 because I had no recipe, then stuffed the end of an old fountain pen with mixture, incorporating broken match heads to assure continued ignition, and added a fuse made from a cotton-based string, saturated with alcohol, rolled into the potassium nirate, and placed it on a popsicle stick headed for the moon. I set it off and it only headed about 3 feet from the launch pad, simulating what would be expected from the fireworks display called a flowerpot. That ended the experiment because neighbors wondered where the sulfur smell came from.....

July 12, 2021, 10:59 AM	#12
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,915	I would just rotate the container and mix all real well and ... keep on keeping on . A pinch to a pound ...Not enough to pose a danger . Be careful , Load Safe ... Gary

July 12, 2021, 09:25 PM	#13
P Flados Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2017 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 265	I agree with the "no big deal" position. Not only is the Blue Dot portion small (a pinch to a pound), but they are not far apart on the burn rate charts and the Blue Dot is slower than the primary component, CFE Pistol. If you were to mix in say 10% Blue Dot in with 90% CFE Pistol (by weight) and load the mix using CFE Load data, you would get lower than expected pressures and velocities.

July 13, 2021, 11:57 PM	#14
dannyknox Junior Member Join Date: July 11, 2021 Posts: 4	this all depends on how much you value your safety. I would not risk it.

July 14, 2021, 11:07 AM	#16
7.62 man Senior Member Join Date: April 30, 2009 Location: Cyber-world USA Posts: 258	As long as you don't always load to MAX gr loads I wouldn't worry about it. But I would mark that bottle of powder to be only used for lower than max loads just to be on the safe side.

July 14, 2021, 02:16 PM	#17
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,655	I wouldn't worry about a pinch in a full container at all; that's like comparing a drop of lemon juice in a gallon of water - you won't even know it's there. __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

July 14, 2021, 03:33 PM	#18
Don Fischer Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2017 Posts: 1,868	I think it probably is no big deal but, I'm not the one using your powder, what do you think? I know I did about the same thing one time, putting some of the wrong powder back into a new can of different powder and I threw the new can of powder away. One of the very few case's where I believe the saying, "It's only money"!