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#130470 - 03/10/10 07:15 PM HOW DOWN IS TESTED IN AMERICA
Jimshaw Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
Down testing in America.
I spoke with Blake at IDFL this morning and he told me that in the manual down loft tester, the standard used is to put a weighted “piston” on top of the down for one minute and then measure the volume. The test cylinder is 288mm in diameter and the weight is 94.25 grams.

That works out to .207786 pounds and
100.973 square inches or .701202 square feet
Divided it comes to .2963 pounds (4.74 oz) per square foot for one minute, and then presumably it is measured at that time with the weight in place.
Jimshaw smile I HAVE INVITED bLAKE TO JOIN THE GROUP.

From IDFL: Jeff had some things come up and didn't make it in to the office today. I've looked more closely at the calculations and also had the inventor of the manual Fill Power apparatus look at your calculations. It looks as if they are correct.

The one thing to note is that both the Automatic and the Manual Fill Power machines use the same pressure and same weight. You are correct that at the end of the one minute the measurement is taken. After the measurement is taken, the procedure is completed two additional times to ensure that the results are repeatable, and accurate.
There are a few different things that can affect the outcome such as static, and not properly mixing the down to break up clumps of down. If the analyst notices static there are set steps the analyst must take to ensure accurate results are reported.

Good luck with the post. If possible, I would be interested in viewing the forum that you are posting on, and possibly joining to hear what people are saying about Down products. Let me know what the website is, and I'll look into it.
Thanks!
Best regards,
Blake Boyer
_________________________
These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.

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#130517 - 03/11/10 09:43 AM Re: HOW DOWN IS TESTED IN AMERICA [Re: Jimshaw]
BarryP Offline
member

Registered: 03/04/04
Posts: 1574
Loc: Eastern Idaho
“The test cylinder is 288mm in diameter and the weight is 94.25 grams.”

You found the test! Good info!

-Barry

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#130521 - 03/11/10 10:40 AM Re: HOW DOWN IS TESTED IN AMERICA [Re: BarryP]
hikerduane Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/03
Posts: 2124
Loc: Meadow Valley, CA
For folks concerned about the high fill power down being too compressable, that should satisfy them.

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#130918 - 03/18/10 04:51 PM Re: HOW DOWN IS TESTED IN AMERICA [Re: Jimshaw]
bboyer Offline
newbie

Registered: 03/18/10
Posts: 1
Loc: Salt Lake City, UT
Hi Jim,

I've joined the forum! Thanks for the invite. I'll look forward to coming on from time to time to answer any questions about Down and Feather products.

Thanks again for the invite!

Blake

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#130931 - 03/18/10 09:01 PM Re: HOW DOWN IS TESTED IN AMERICA [Re: bboyer]
Jimshaw Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
Blake, welcome to our little forum. I hope you enjoy your time here. We have had a question that you may not have an answer to, but it was a question about the long term durability of different loft down. Maybe this is something you've never considered or maybe you have a simple answer that we haven't thought about.
Jim
_________________________
These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.

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#132506 - 04/22/10 12:25 PM Re: HOW DOWN IS TESTED IN AMERICA [Re: Jimshaw]
NiytOwl Offline
member

Registered: 11/06/04
Posts: 501
Loc: California
Hello Blake, and welcome!

Something that Jim quoted you on in the OP peaked my interest. You said that static can affect the outcome of the test. Does it increase or decrease down's fill power? My guess is that it increases it (like charges repel). How much of an effect does it have?

I'm curious because if it's a significant increase in fill power and I'm using a down air mattress, maybe it's worthwhile to encourage static by drying the fill air with a desiccant.

Looking forward to your comments,
Jim (yeah, another one!)

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