[gluedudeguru]

Here is the problem:

I have terrible instrumentation and even worse funding in my tiny lab.  I make hobby airplane solvent glue.  I normally make it and let it stand for a few days and then package it.  For some reason, lately it takes 3 weeks plus for this setting to be achieved.  The way i test if it is ready is by testing viscosity using an explosion proof brookfield viscometer.

Question being, i am looking for a more applicable test to see how the flow of this stuff is.  For instance, taking a piece of glass and putting it on an angle and applying x grams of the glue and seeing how far it travels.  My lab is not air conditioned so the ambient environment is always changing, often to the warm side (i wish it was snowing...)

Any ideas or alt. instruments, cheap

Austin

[Stepan]

A very old way of measuring viscosity is to measure time which require for a heavy ball (glass, steel, ceramic) to travel a certain distance through the liquid (in your case glue). Do search on "Stokes' law viscosity". You can perform the test in closed tube or cylinder to reduce solvent evaporation, and you can also stabilize temperature by placing the closed tube with the sample into thermostat. If you do not have thermostat, you can use ice/water bath which gives you 0 C, or buy one from pet store which is used for fish tanks. And of course check Yellow Pages you may find a used lab equipment shop, which will sell it to you for $100-200.

[gluedudeguru]

I will have to create some type of rig to use this method in my 30 gallon drums for ease of use.  I cant get a thermostat because i have an explosion proof building so my outlets are explosion proof and my very small collection of instruments are explosion proof (and expensive) as well.

Thank you for the idea and i will give it a shot.

[Stepan]

It would be very unusual to run a test on such large volume as a drum. Usually you take a representative sample (aliquot), and test liquids's property. Also this will allow you to take the sample away from the working environment, and bring its temperature to the target value (suitable for your test).

On a different note - I believe there are methods for glues and viscous liquids, when viscosity is measured based on the glue flow rate through calibrated tube/pipe. This is likely achieved by using a special kind of funnel. This you might be able to do near the drum. Temperature adjustment likely can be calculated