Accidentally mixed two powders=kaboom?

"I'd rather be on the ground wishing I was flying, than flying wishing I was on the ground"

Ain't that the truth.... I was thinking about that line once when I was VFR on top, over mountains, and the electrics failed.

I have survived 2700 hours in a Mooney without a scratch to the plane or myself.
 
-------" I was thinking about that line once when I was VFR on top, over mountains-------"

Much, much more dangerous that mixing a bit of powder!
I once helped search for a Mooney with four people on board and a pilot who never turned back, because of weather.
Quite dramatic to see the RCAF paratroopers jump into a very rugged mountainous area and clear a spot so a helicopter could land to take out the bodies.
 
Andy said:
Ganderite is guilty of thinking again, rather than just jumping aboard the safety train.

To be fair though, there's not a lot of info here. To the point, how much Unique was dumped in? 1%? 10%? Was any scooped off, and if not does the opportunity remain? It will stay on top unless vigourously shaken, which is tough with an almost full container. I suppose there are those who would throw out 8 lbs of powder if one grain of a different powder was dropped in, but with a few grains of Unique in almost a pound of Blue Dot (either initially or after removing the top layer), I'd certainly mix it up and use it.
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My best estimate is around 1 part Unique to 10 parts Blue Dot. It was a 3rd full Lee powder measure that got dumped into an almost full one pound bottle of Blue Dot. The bottle was then put on its side and put away in my tool box ( roller drawer) so scooping off the top was not an option.
 
1:10 Unique to Bluedot is too much in my opinion to consider it safe for pistol or shotgun reloading. I've used both Unique and Bluedot in reduced loads for 45-70 with cast bullets and would try it out in that myself. I am operating at around 25% max pressure with a straight charge of either so have a huge safety margin. Pistols and shotguns don't.

I once accidentally mixed some Unique and Reddot before but it was closer to 50gr Unique into 7000gr Reddot. I just shook it up and still loaded it with Reddot data since it was around 1:140. Light charges in rifle cases with cast bullets couldn't tell the difference.
 
LUTNIT said:
1:10 Unique to Bluedot is too much in my opinion to consider it safe for pistol or shotgun reloading. I've used both Unique and Bluedot in reduced loads for 45-70 with cast bullets and would try it out in that myself. I am operating at around 25% max pressure with a straight charge of either so have a huge safety margin. Pistols and shotguns don't.

I once accidentally mixed some Unique and Reddot before but it was closer to 50gr Unique into 7000gr Reddot. I just shook it up and still loaded it with Reddot data since it was around 1:140. Light charges in rifle cases with cast bullets couldn't tell the difference.
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Good points.

Now that we know it's about 10% that's been added and it can't be removed, that's the same approach I'd take. Even though Unique and Blue Dot have similar burning characteristics, the new mix will be like a "Slow Unique", or "Fast Blue Dot" (as noted) and I would find a pound of that unsuitable for handgun cartridge loads that are assembled in the range of max or near max pressure loads (if I had 10 pounds or more, that's another story). For rifle cartridges using cast bullets at well below max pressure, it could be useful (except I don't care for Blue Dot for that purpose, but that's a personal problem).

If it was just a trace of Unique, or 1-2%, I'd shake and use. As mentionned there can be noticeable differences between powder lots with the same powder, and it's fairly common practice to for example mix 4 lbs of Lot A with 4 lbs of Lot B (a 50:50 mix) with no ill effects, producing 8 lbs of a more consistent powder.
 
I wouldn;t roll cartridges with it, but there has to be something fun you can do with it other than just tossing it out.

Again, let's talk saftey - you throw it out, and some unsuspecting garbage man or kid pulls it from the trash and has an accident. Its basically your responsability to do something with it. Make little satchels of it with kleenex, dangle them a foot over a candle and shoot them from 50 yards with a pellet gun.
 
Ganderite said:
"I'd rather be on the ground wishing I was flying, than flying wishing I was on the ground"

Ain't that the truth.... I was thinking about that line once when I was VFR on top, over mountains, and the electrics failed.

I have survived 2700 hours in a Mooney without a scratch to the plane or myself.
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I'm not a pilot, I'm just a retired aircraft mechanic with a perfect maintenance record......................

Not one of the aircraft I worked on ever got stuck in the sky or crashed. :rolleyes:

Get rid of the powder SKS-Stu and stop taking bad advice from people who are not going to be pulling the trigger.

You could mix it with some cattle feed and watch the results...................



And always remember $hit happens
 
You people are nuts.

I'd use it for light shotgun loads, anyday. Unique is faster than Blue Dot and you haven't mixed a 50/50 deal. I am coming down on Ganderite's side here. I would use it without hesitation. And like c-fbmi, I too, use unknown powders recovered from surplus rounds for fireforming. Really people, experience, research, and careful common sense will get you most anywhere.

Try to identifiy an unknown powder. Can you? You can come pretty close. This is my process...pull a bullet (or cut open a shell)...oh look, a ball powder, or a flake, or a stick...whatever. Dump it out and weigh it. Now fire a string for chrony. Next, find load data for that cartridge that approximates the weight of the powder and the velocity you chronied. Make sure you choose a ball, stick, flake powder. Start LOW, carry on until you get where you want. Although you are dealing with projectiles and propellants, this ain't rocket science, and actually rocket science ain't that difficult. They did it with common sense and slide rules. Yes, there were some accidents because they were doing this new, not with 100yrs of data behind them..

I have seen so much useless crap about safety here it really makes me wonder how you guys reload or shoot at all. How can you when there is NO WAY to 100% guarantee that there can be no mishap?

It usually comes from someone messing up. It happens. Some threads I have read here that stand out are :

"How do I remove live primers?" Answers run the gamut from soak in oil or water to deactivate explosive, to fire it and then deprime. When true answers are given (just chuck it in the press and de-prime) from some of us old guys, the self appointed "CGN Safety Council" jumps on any guy using common sense and beats him down with their Crap.

"I got ammo from the 30's, is it safe to fire?" Nope, chuck it. Nope, pull the bullets and dump the powder (they more likely contain sticks of cordite) and deactivate the primer, then toss the brass. Etc. When the real answer is, If the cases are undamaged, not corroded or heavily stained then, shoot the dang stuff, for crying out loud!

How do you guys even get in a car and drive each day...

It is stuff like this that makes me re-think the sensibilites of our populace. Let's remove the warning labels and let nature take its course.

OP, don't want to chance using the powder? Listen to the nay sayers on here and chuck it...toward me. I'll use it.
 
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