asdercks Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Hi guys,hope someone can help me with this one, there is some compositions where once you convert the parts into grams the results are in 100th of a gram and since my scale just weighs in 10th gram, I was wondering how and what chemicals should I round up to the nearest digit (10th gram) Pyroscience blue parts weighkclo4 66.1 62.95copper oxide 13.4 12.76parlon 10.7 10.19red gum 9.8 9.33dextrin 5 4.76 TOTAL 105 100............. with this formula I was just thinking of adding all the chemicals by part except the dextrin that way I was getting a total of 100 and then I would add 5 parts of dextrin, do you guys think it would work if I just do it like this or should I really round up the numbers and if so how would you round them up,should I buy a 100th gram pocket scale?
asdercks Posted March 12, 2014 Author Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) Thanks mumbles,that's pretty much what I was thinking to do! Edited March 12, 2014 by asdercks
marks265 Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 The scale or the wind can easily be in slight error or work against you to negate any thoughts of a perfect measurement. I just round them to the nearest whole number because the amount of error is unnoticeable. I would have some choice words for someone that were to look at my stars and swear that I was off six tenths of gram with my chlorine donor and my fuel content was a smigeon too much. I wouldn't let that thought bother you one bit. Just keep it close and as practical as you can. Mark
asdercks Posted March 12, 2014 Author Posted March 12, 2014 Thanks marks265, but what number would you increase and what would you decrease for instance Pyroscience blue parts weigh my round numbers examples 1 & 2kclo4 66.1 62.95 63 or 62.9copper oxide 13.4 12.76 12.8 12.8parlon 10.7 10.19 10.2 10.2 red gum 9.8 9.33 9.3 9.3dextrin 5 4.76 4.7 4.8........ I think example No. 2 would be more accurate to the formula what do you think?
marks265 Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 By weight I would go: Kclo4 63Copper Oxide 13Parlon 10Red gum 9Dextrin 5 I'll call it example #3 :-) When you make lets say a 500 gram batch, the margin of error is much less because it you're not rounding a 105 gram batch (so to speak) 5 times over. You are weighing for one large batch which really makes the error even less. I rarely make 1 pound batches just so you know. Sometimes there will be chunks in the screen I just toss those and don't try to correct. Sometimes when I'm screening the parlon I will add 5 or 6 grams more for said batch because my fine mixing screen will catch the chunks which I discard. A little off won't hurt.
Bobosan Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 The scale or the wind can easily be in slight error or work against you to negate any thoughts of a perfect measurement. I just round them to the nearest whole number because the amount of error is unnoticeable. I would have some choice words for someone that were to look at my stars and swear that I was off six tenths of gram with my chlorine donor and my fuel content was a smigeon too much. I wouldn't let that thought bother you one bit. Just keep it close and as practical as you can. Mark Speaking of scales, I started recalibrating my scales before weighing out chems. I found the cheaper ones drift after a while due to stabilization and battery depletion. Maybe a higher grade scale won't be as prone to drifting. Mark, from what you said, a few tenths of a gram either way won't really be a big issue?
marks265 Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Because of the things we talked about already my opinion is still "It will not be a big issue". Let alone our own inaccuracies as well as our equipment we have to realize that people often modify formulas either by choice or by accident. If we were to try to make a 10 gram batch then the amount of error would be much more severe. In a 10 pound batch 10 grams is of no consequence for the hobby pyro or pro. Like I was hinting to earlier, try to tell me that you believe you should have at least seen 3 more spritzles of glitter in that 3 break 6 I just shot. Being as accurate as we can is still a good choice so that we are sure to be consistant. This is all fine and dandy until you get a new lot of chemical. But at least we try. Mark
asdercks Posted March 12, 2014 Author Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) well, after all, I think you're right and a few tenths of a gram won't make a huge difference in the performance of a compostion, I was reallly worried that if I would either add or reduce a fuel or an oxidizer etc would alter the formula negatively Edited March 12, 2014 by asdercks
psyco_1322 Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 A lot of the formulas you see are either not really tuned in perfectly, or are tuned for the creators specific chemicals. Don't be afraid to switch around some numbers and try things differently. Another thing to mention is to watch out for really cheap pocket scales. Some of the extra crappy ones have a hard time reading small increments of weight being added. You can always invest in a nice Ohaus triple beam balance, manual scales don't lie much 1
asdercks Posted March 12, 2014 Author Posted March 12, 2014 I have a my weigh i700 digital scale, I know it isn't the best but so far it has worked just fine
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