Negligent powder mixing

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Ballisticrat

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I just dumped half a hopper of HP-38 from my Lee press into a 1 lb can of CFE Pistol.
Any suggestions about what I should do?
I'm considering mixing both and starting light loads and chronographing them.
I have about a 3 to 1 ratio of CFE Pistol to HP-38.
Thanks.:rolleyes:
 
If I put on my safety officer hat, I would say, dump the stuff! The basic problem of mixing different powders is that you don't know how they will interact. The burn rate may not be an average of the powders. The smartest, safest, thing to do is dump the stuff. You can't get hurt pouring it out. This is my rational brain speaking.

If I put on my risk taking, cheap skate, tin foil hat, and let my crazy brain speak, then, I would experiment, starting a load on the low side of the fastest powder, shoot the stuff over a chronograph, and develop loads that way. All the time acknowledging, that what I am doing is dangerous as all heck and likely to blow up in my face!

Crazy brain has done some stupid things over the years, so, understand the source.
 
You will see a lot of benches here. Some very tidy, some not so much. I have seen arguments over the pros and cons of EVERYTHNG here. Still, one rule to take to heart if you take no other is one powder and one powder only on the bench. I keep all rifle on a different cabinet than pistol as well but the bench has only one. Glad you caught it, probably just as soon as you did it :) but yeah, its plant food.

Even if you averaged to a lowest of both you do not know if the burn of one will act as an accelerant of the other. Feed the tomatoes.

If it makes you feel any better. I too have fed tomatoes. Although at the moment I do not recall why so, the pain will subside for you too.:D
 
As usual, good prudent advise, although I was hoping for more "tin hat" responses. I have an e-mail into Hodgon but I'm pretty sure what they'll tell me. Oh well, live and learn.
BTW I never put more than one powder on the bench at a time, I just failed to empty my hopper after the last session. Problem was, I put my powder can away. Guess that's the same thing, huh? Expensive mistake. My best yet.:mad:
 
Another way to dispose powder of course is by burning it. But be aware when burning. Do not just dump it in a pile and drop a match; the flame will jump several feet upwards. Instead, spread it out in a line and light one end. Then the flame shouldn't rise much more than seven or eight inches.
 
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If I put on my risk taking, cheap skate, tin foil hat, and let my crazy brain speak, then, I would experiment, starting a load on the low side of the fastest powder, shoot the stuff over a chronograph, and develop loads that way. All the time acknowledging, that what I am doing is dangerous as all heck and likely to blow up in my face!
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The trouble with this approach is that it assumes that the base and the contaminant are perfectly mixed, an improbable assumption. Other than that, creative.
 
Even the very "best" reasons for attempting to use it for anything are chump at best. The ultimate goal for most of us is to make quality ammo and if you mix two different powders in ANY way except to dump equal charges of non-mixed powders together in to each and every cartridge case -- consistency cannot possibly exist, no way.

The end result is that the best you could realistically hope for is to NOT blow something up. Because consistent, accurate and predictable ammo doesn't seem possible. So what good would the ammo be?

If you simply threw it out, you will have learned a $30 lesson (give or take) and hopefully a strong memory -- so that you don't do it again.
 
obviously it SHOULD absolutely be tossed out.

I doubt I would toss it though. I would probably set the can on top of my vibratory tumbler next time and let it mix very well. and try it out at way under lowest charge for both. it would be an interesting experiment and I don't forsee anything blowing up...... I would shoot it slow and purposeful though.

they are both very close on the burn rate. might be super dirty because one is burning faster than the other, and very well may cause squibs. you def need to be very careful with it and stay way low.
 
Too many unknowns, unless you are a member of a bomb squad, I'd say toss it and take the loss.

Stay safe, and I mean it. But then you knew the answer before you asked the question.
Jim
 
I did the same thing with a fresh can once. I never had more than one can on the bench again. Throw it out and consider yourself lucky you caught it.
 
I did that about a year ago with some blc2 and varget. Dump it. You lose 45 bucks or so in powder and save a gun and some fingers.
 
I doubt I would toss it though. I would probably set the can on top of my vibratory tumbler next time and let it mix very well. and try it out at way under lowest charge for both. it would be an interesting experiment and I don't forsee anything blowing up...... I would shoot it slow and purposeful though.
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Actually, this is not likely to mix anything, but it can be a good way to separate them, especially if they are different shapes or weights. The vibration patterns set up currents in the powder that naturally cause the different particles to group together.

I once made the same mistake with W296 and W473. Both are similar size ball powders, but very different shades of grey/black, which made them easy to tell apart. I poured the mix into a hard plastic round bottom bowl and held it against the tumbler long enough to start the separation, then began scooping out the clear groups into three different piles: 296, 473, and still mixed. Then repeat. Took me a number of hours to complete, but I was able to recover the vast majority of it with absolutely minimal contamination.

I am NOT advising that anyone attempt to separate mixed powders - there are still significant risks from ANY contamination. But do not think a vibrating tumbler will MIX them - it will not.
 
If I put on my risk taking, cheap skate, tin foil hat, and let my crazy brain speak, then, I would experiment, starting a load on the low side of the fastest powder, shoot the stuff over a chronograph, and develop loads that way. All the time acknowledging, that what I am doing is dangerous as all heck and likely to blow up in my face!
Click to expand...

I'd be inclinded to set it aside for this purpose, and after its on the shelf for another 10-15 years, I'd eventually chicken out and toss after taking that long to talk myself out of it.
 
As the popular solution listed above I agree; dispose of it. Just print this thread and post it on/near you reloading station to remind you of your faux pas every time you sit down to reload...

I established my "safety powder handling" methods very early on in my reloading career. My storage area (under my bed) was a good distance from my loading area (dining room) so I only took what was needed to the reloading area (one jug of powder and one flat of primers). Kept that habit; only one jug of powder on the bench at a time...:rolleyes:
 
That's one of those live and learn accidents. I'd just use it as fertilizer.
I know you'll never do that again, but it's one of the reasons I don't keep my spare powder in my reloading space. I only bring out one powder at a time, and it stays there till i put everything away from the reloading session.

When I was 20 i had a great memory, now at 50, i can tell it isn't as sharp as it was... kinda sucks.
 
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