Mixing powder

[Lilswede1]

Have 3 - l lb. bottles of Accurate 2230 and 1 - 8 lb. bottle of same 2230 which is half full.
Is it safe and prudent to combine the 3 smaller bottles with the 8 lber.

Only one of the 4 bottles have a batch number on it.

Any suggestions?

[zippy13]

Good question. I just looked at the closest powder container I could put my hands on. The handling precautions on the label include:
Do not repackage, and
Do not mix this powder with a powder of any other type.
Can the second precaution be interpreted to mean it's okay to mix powders of the same type without violating the first precaution?

The container in question was a pound of Alliant Red Dot. There's a star-burst on the label with the text: Cleaner Burning. To me, that means the older Red Dot wasn't as clean -- so the old Red Dot may be a little different and probably shouldn't be mixed with the new Red Dot. OR, does it meat that Red Dot is cleaner burning than some other powders, and there has been no change?

The closest I've come to mixing power, of the same type, is when my loader's powder tube gets low and I have to feed it from a fresh container. I pour the new powder over the last of the old, but I don't attempt to mix them. Thus far, I've not had a problem.

[WESHOOT2]

He mixes all his powders into big jugs, blending his lots.
But he's crazy.

Although I know for a fact he bought enough same-lot WAP to never have to worry....

[Qtiphky]

Each batch has different burn charactersitics, even though they may be "the same". When a bottle gets near the end, where there isn't enough to fill the hopper enough to cycle or use in the dropper, then combine them and shake/mix together.

Some of the more experienced members here taught me that and it makes sense to me.

[William T. Watts]

+1 for Otiphky, usually I purchase multiple same lot containers of powder, then in a sense your not really mixing powder when you take and dump the remained into a fresh container. I am reminded of a problem I had many years ago of assuming that it was o.k. to open a new lot of powder and load as usual, I didn't reduce the load to a starting load and found the new powder was much faster. Luckily there was no damage except my pride for violating a cardinal rule never assume anything when loading ammunition! William

[hogcowboy]

Rather than mixing powder lots, when I have small amount of powder left from one bottle, I just sprinkle it around the drip line of a tree. I'm not sure it helps the tree that much but it doesn't appear to hurt it either. I think it's safer to this than mixing lots. I am talking small amounts here!

[4runnerman]

I never mix.I load down to the last bullet.If you have 3 oz's left i would thinkit's ok to mix with a lb and shake till mixed,other than that i have always been told it's a no no

[roc1]

If it is not of the same lot don"t do do it. Load ammo till it is done throw it away.
roc1

[temmi]

"Each batch has different burn charactersitics, even though they may be "the same". When a bottle gets near the end, where there isn't enough to fill the hopper enough to cycle or use in the dropper, then combine them and shake/mix together. "


+1 on that

[k4swb]

Go ahead and mix them. 2 pounds of WST, or any other powder from different lots mixed together just make another lot. Start out just as if you had gotten a new can of some lot you never used and work from there.
I'd never mix different types of powder but the same type? Been doing it for 30 years.

[oneounceload]

Powder makers blend their powders specifically to achieve consistent burn characteristics. Since you are talking about the same powder, not different types, I seriously doubt a thorough mixing in one jug will prove catastrophic. I have been doing it with powders for 30 years. As I get low and get a new jug, the remaining has always gone into the next jug.

[snuffy]

Geeze, some people must be afraid of their own shadows!

Powder companies that sell canister grade powder have to be sure the powder is the same from one batch/lot to the next. They actually mix powder themselves, from different batches of powder, to achieve the correct burn rates. What that means is; from one batch to the next, there's no difference.

They wouldn't be in business very long if that wasn't the case.

I routinely mix one pound of powder with what's left of the previous pound. I've had no problems, ever.

This does NOT apply to surplus or pull-down powder. Each 8# bottle of that stuff has to be treated like it's a different burn rate, it usually is!

[CPTMurdoc30]

Seeing as reloading and shooting are dangerous I try to error on the side of caution and If I don't have enough to make a full batch of 50 I will load 5 or ten more then what ever is left goes in the grass in the back yard.

You should be able to do it as long as they are all from recent productions as in the last few years. I would not mix 3031 from 1950 and IMR 3031 from 2009. But if I have a partial can of 3031 from 2009 and one from 2008 I would mix and forget. Maybe back down a few tenths but other than that you should be ok. Different lots are just that. They are all made with the same formula.

[hogcowboy]

I don't see myself as being afraid, I just don't see the need to salvage one or two thimbles full of powder. And I think a person could get into a bad habit quite easy. Reloading is a hobby for me, so just throwing a little left over on the ground is just safer in the long run. Besides it takes all my brain power to reload safely to begin with.

[Lilswede1]

Combine the 3 - l lb bottles with the partial (1/2) 8 lber. 2 of the lbers are full and unopened and the 3rd is 3/4 full. I was trying to eliminate several trips to the range. Whenever I start a new container of powder I load up a few rounds to make sure it doesnt shoot any different.
If I mix them together then I make only one trip to the range.
Then if the load proves out I would be able to load up approx. 1500 rds. which would all be from the same "batch".
Couldn't imagine that combining apples and apples would create a bad apple but thought I had better ask in here to see if anyone had done that and had a bad experience.
.

[P-990]

How did you have 1/2 an 8-lber and an open 1-lber going? At any rate, I would feel pretty safe mixing the two open containers and rechecking the load. If they are recent manufacture, as long as you recheck, I don't see "Kaboom". I've done the same thing with 1-lb jugs over time.

Remember, those canisters are all blended lots in the first place.

[oneounceload]

Seeing as reloading and shooting are dangerous

Reloading isn't dangerous - not paying attention is...reloading is not rocket science - it is the repetitive motion of replicating a known recipe. Blend the powders, it's all good

[8ring]

I would never mix two different kinds of powder, ever, under any circumstances.

However, I have routinely mixed different lots of the same powder without any problems whatsoever. I believe I can get an average of the two lots of the same powder. This yields more consistent results.

I've read that IMR powders could have up to a 10% lot to lot variation but Hodgdon wanted to reduce this variation after it took over production. On the other hand, Vithavouri powders are known to be extremely consistent between lots. Probably Winchester, Hodgdon, and Alliant powders have somewhere between the 10% and near 0% lot to lot variation.

Since I never make "maximum" loads, I'm completely confident that mixing different lots of the same powders will not cause any problems.

Chris

[44 AMP]

A small blend of the EXACT SAME POWDER of similar vintage won't hurt anything.

Be aware, however, that the same powder of different vintage might have a significantly different burning rate. Back in the late 70s, there were three different burning rates discovered for different lots of H110. And it did make a difference at max load pressures!

Powder makers try hard to make every lot uniform and exactly the same as the previous ones. But you are looking a chemical processes, involving tons of materials at a single time, and variations do occur.

A few ounces of the same powder blended together should make no difference. Half a can of something a couple decades old, mixed with half a can of the "same stuff" you bought last month might make a significant difference. Or it might not. You can't tell until you pull the trigger, and thats a pretty poor & risky way to find out!

I load each can until there isn't enough left to load a single cartridge, then toss the few remaining grains, or dump them into my new can of the same stuff, but that's just me.

[Elkshed]

You guys are making it sound like none of the powder mfgrs have quality control from batch to batch. Maybe they never did. Shooting max loads would mean risking you life. This could be why the newly published manuals have lower powder charges?

[Wildalaska]

I load each can until there isn't enough left to load a single cartridge, then toss the few remaining grains, or dump them into my new can of the same stuff, but that's just me.

better advice has never been given. However, if I only have a little left, I mix it with all other sorts in a little can for my survival kit as fire starter

WildidothatmyselfAlaska ™©2002-2010

[snuffy]

You guys are making it sound like none of the powder mfgrs have quality control from batch to batch. Maybe they never did. Shooting max loads would mean risking you life.

Yes they DO! They have many batches of powder stored along with data from each batch that pertains to it's burn rate and other characteristics. When a new batch is made, they test it to see if it's right where it should be. If it's too fast, they mix it with some that's too slow. Thus regulating it's overall burn rate. To make it the same from lot# to lot#.

This could be why the newly published manuals have lower powder charges?

Newly published manuals are reflective of new, better ways of testing pressures. The old copper crusher,(cup), numbers have been shown to be wrong. They showed a flat maximum high pressure, but did not show a pressure curve. Strain gauges hooked to computers show the pressure curves to be a better measure of powder burning characteristics. The old top loads from the CUP era are sometimes much too high, it had/has nothing to do with the burn rates of older powder.

[wncchester]

"Have 3 - l lb. bottles of Accurate 2230 and 1 - 8 lb. bottle of same 2230 which is half full. Is it safe and prudent to combine the 3 smaller bottles with the 8 lber."

Yes. I would do it in a hearbeat just to uniform the lots for use. Roll and shake it around a lot to insure the mix is completely done.

You would NOT be mixing different powders, you would only be uniforming different lots of the SAME POWDER! And, in the long run, that would be a good thing.

[10-96]

I'm not going to pitch a vote one way or t'other about mixing- I just thought it was ironic that I've prefered my powder to be in the smaller and handier 1lb jugs. The 8lb ones are just kinda big and bulky to pour out of. It's a small thing, and not much of an issue- just thought I'd rattle my head and keyboard a bit.

[4runnerman]

10-96 thats a big 10-4 im with ya. I do the same thing. When i add 8 one lbs together price wise i save 10.00 buying a 8 lb'er. Not a big deal