Aquarium Air Pump Taped To The Powder Measure

[2@low8]

Can anyone who is using an aquarium air pump taped to the powder measure tell me your procedure? On all of the time; on at first for x minutes and off until… or??? Thanks.....Frankie

 

[Centurian22]

Interesting idea. I'm curious to read as well.

 

[Scooter22]

Why? Is your powder suffocating?

 

[joeschmoe]

In science class I learned that compression = heat. Heat + air + fuel = fire.

 

[2@low8]

In science class I learned that compression = heat. Heat + air + fuel = fire.

I would be more concerned with the heat caused by friction induced by the vibrating pump than the compression of the powder being more tightly packed by it’s own weight. Hence the timing part of my question.

 

[Walkalong]

Yea, it will never pack enough to worry. I would insulate the mounting to keep the motor heat from building up.

I have never tried anything on my measures to help them drop more consistently. I have read where folks have done it and are happy with the results.

 

[joeschmoe]

To illustrate this effect my high school science teacher packed corn starch into a drinking straw until it detonated. He did this to explain why several of our local grain elevators had exploded even without an ignition source.

Dust Explosion Using Corn Starch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLFUlDv8n8M

 

[2@low8]

joeschmoe - Your link was not consistent with your explanation. The demonstrator clearly stated that the dust, not a compression of the dust, required an ignition source. In his demonstration it was fire (definitely not a good idea to try that with gun powder) and that in the case of grain elevators static electricity was the common cause igniting the dust and there was no mention of compression.

 

[2@low8]

Yea, it will never pack enough to worry. I would insulate the mounting to keep the motor heat from building up.

Good idea as a precaution. I'll keep that in mind...thanks!

 

[Muddydogs]

O my hell, really we are going to die because we use a little vibration to help the powder flow. Its funny how one post can change what a thread does. Any other forum and guys are telling how they do this.

Anyway I just taped an aquarium pump to the outside of the hopper and let it run. Make sure the air outflow is pointed up, if pointed towards your scale you might wonder why it keeps jumping around. I moved away from the pump to a bullet vibrator, purchased off Amazon for less then $10, that is corded to a control head and run off of AA battery's. When filling the powder I drop the bullet in the hopper to just above the baffle then fill the hopper with powder. Hook the cord up to the battery pack and turn it on. Both move powder very well and help a lot when metering powder like Unique.

 

[2@low8]

O my hell, really we are going to die because we use a little vibration to help the powder flow. Its funny how one post can change what a thread does. Any other forum and guys are telling how they do this.

Muddydogs - Agreed. It took up to post #10 before someone with actual experience chimed in.

Thanks for your response. A couple of questions please. What is a “bullet vibrator” and why did you switch to it?

 

[Reloadron]

This subject has come up before so you may want to give this thread a read.

Using a RCBS Uniflow and weighing my charges I have never seen a need for a vibrator but I guess it becomes a matter of the powder being loaded.

If I were to think about a source for vibration I would skip the aquarium pump and look for a tiny motor like those seen in this link. Scroll down to the TaDa to see what I am getting at. That or go to an adult toy store and get a small vibrator. The merit is adjustable speed. You can control how intense the vibration is and see what works well with the powder. Oh yeah, on a side note I would enclose the motor for obvious reasons.

<EDIT>
A Bullet Vibrator is what I was getting at. As mentioned by Muddydogs and not quite the bullets we tend to think about.

Ron

 

[Muddydogs]

Yes a sex toy. I switched because I think being in the powder just above the baffle it works better. Also its easier to deal with then taping the pump on the outside then removing it when i'm done. To get the vibe out just slowly pull on the cord.

 

[2@low8]

Yes a sex toy.

Muddydogs - I missed the whole (hole?) point on that one! Too funny!!!

Thanks for your candor. If I decide to do that I’ll have to conjure up a disguise so I won’t be recognized by fellow parishioners!

 

[Muddydogs]

Muddydogs - I missed the whole (hole?) point on that one! Too funny!!!

Thanks for your candor. If I decide to do that I’ll have to conjure up a disguise so I won’t be recognized by fellow parishioners!

Amazon, it comes in a brown Amazon box and there is no chance of running into your neighbors at the store. It can make for some interesting reloading room conversations when your buddies see it.

 

[rfwobbly]

The idea is to get constant density inside the hopper by having a consistent vibration. So the vibration should happen at the same place in the dump stroke, but it doesn't have to be constant. Some powder measures (like the Dillon) simply get a jolt once per stroke. That does the same thing. On a manual powder measure you can achieve this same effect by whacking the handle against the stop at the end of each stroke.

I think the constant buzzing of a pump would distract me.

 

[rcmodel]

I have never tried anything on my measures to help them drop more consistently. I have read where folks have done it and are happy with the results.

What he said!

I have never needed to do anything like that.

Because I use Lyman Ideal #55 powder measures with the little hammer whacker flipper bill mounted on them.

And I use it each powder throw.

Maybe that's why I have such great success using Unique powder that everyone else says can't be measured in a powder measure??

O.K., enough of that.
If you want to try it?
Buy a Oral-B Pulsar toothbrush.
And tape it to your powder measure with masking tape.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/14245828?...1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem

Fill the hopper, turn it on, and adjust the drop for the weight you want.

The little cordless hummer will vibrate the powder measure into a Big-O for less then $6 bucks.

And will prove or disapprove whether it helps or not.

rc

 

[peels]

I epoxied a micro vibrating motor (radio shack) to a lower part of a Lee PPM. Rigged up a switch that will activate the motor for a preset time (typically 1 second) at the end of the up (fill) stroke. I find that it helps me improve powder drop weight consistency by about 50%...meaning if the normal variance is +/- 0.1 grains, with vibration, it would improve to +/-0.05 grains.

What I found was that if you leave the motor running all the time, the drop weight tends to drift higher and higher as the time goes during a reloading session. So by activating only in the upstroke, I make sure the powder gets settled into the fill tube just right before I drop it.

Timer and relay is controlled by an Arduino Uno.

 

[gshipps]

The air pump works good for me. Used a hose clamp big enough to go around the whole deal. Clamped as low as I could get it. My procedure is to leave it on while loading. Don't take a break with it on cause it will pack a few more 10ths in there. Of course you have to set your charge with it on also.

 

[grandpawj]

I posted a picture in a thread a couple months ago. I am not 'puter savey enough to post it again here. But to answer your question, I let mine run the whole time I am reloading on my Pro2000. For me, it seems to make my Unique powder throws more consistent. The pump is new and the hum produced is faint. After I finish my reloading session, I unplug, take the bands off and remove the pump, then remove the uniflow to dump my unused powder back into the bottle. As they say, "to each, his own."

 

[Walkalong]

And here it is. Try "user options" then scroll down to "attachments" for pics you uploaded here. I just searched your posts.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=181217&d=1363046817