scarbelly Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 I just discovered the wonders of a blender (as opposed to a coffee grinder) You can run it for a longer period of time, it holds a LOT more volume of chems, and you can essentially stick in whole chunks of lump charcoal (which is mostly what I plan to use it for) straight out of the bag (even hardwoods!) and it'll come out in various sizes anywhere from 12 mesh to -100 mesh. It certainly allows for easy preparation for the ball mill. One thing, as has been said before about coffee grinders, is that it will not mill to anywhere near the fine-ness of a ball mill. It is certainly a useful tool, but I would not even consider it to be in the same area of tool as a ball mill. They both serve their purpose in pyro, but should not be confused, because their purposes are different.
dagabu Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 I just discovered the wonders of a blender (as opposed to a coffee grinder) You can run it for a longer period of time, it holds a LOT more volume of chems, and you can essentially stick in whole chunks of lump charcoal (which is mostly what I plan to use it for) straight out of the bag (even hardwoods!) and it'll come out in various sizes anywhere from 12 mesh to -100 mesh. It certainly allows for easy preparation for the ball mill. One thing, as has been said before about coffee grinders, is that it will not mill to anywhere near the fine-ness of a ball mill. It is certainly a useful tool, but I would not even consider it to be in the same area of tool as a ball mill. They both serve their purpose in pyro, but should not be confused, because their purposes are different. Remember to wear the PPE and take it outside. The reason a lot of us don't use blenders is because of the volume of the chems and the heat that is generated by the blades. Airfloat charcoal is every bit as explosive as gasoline, use it in the place of creamer in a creamer bomb and you will see what i mean. D
Twotails Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 I use the 3lb tumbler from HF, it works pretty good, 300g lift quality BP in 12+/- hours, 200g in about 8, and 100g in about 4-5 hours. The belt has not broken yet, but when it does i have better belt. works ok for my needs
scarbelly Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 Remember to wear the PPE and take it outside. The reason a lot of us don't use blenders is because of the volume of the chems and the heat that is generated by the blades. Airfloat charcoal is every bit as explosive as gasoline, use it in the place of creamer in a creamer bomb and you will see what i mean. D I didn't think of that, thanks for the tip. I have been wearing a dust mask and a face shield, but I'll have to improve my practices a bit I guess. Another positive of a blender over a coffee grinder is that the jar on the blender can be removed and washed, unlike coffee grinders, which (from experience) can be destroyed if you put too much water in them. I also would expect (correct me if I'm wrong here, I'm speculatin') that due to the indirect drive of the blades, there is less chance that any powders will make it to the inner workings of the blender, which could be potentially more dangerous than the blades themselves (as far as sparks go).
KruseMissile Posted February 2, 2010 Posted February 2, 2010 I use to use a HF 6lb tumbler but thought that it was too slow for my liking, so i made my own. But with a good mill, you can mill lbs of BP at a time(3 hours if you have the right jars and media). I'll try to take a picture of mine and post it sometime today.
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