Originally Posted By Jimshaw
After reading every article in the list from the above lab I learned a couple of things:
"Down testing has changed in the last 10 years". Meaning that as we surmised, the new high loft down may just be the same old down measured differently.
The USA system is cubic inches per ounce - with absolutely no reference to how it is measured, compression, weighted piston etc, except that it may be steamed and fluffed prior to testing.
There are many international volume measurement satndards, like different shoe size standards, which may be compared using a table.
NO WHERE IN ANY OF THEIR INFORMATION WAS THERE A DEFINITION OF HOW THE LOFT IS ACTUALLY MEASURED.
so stuff it, the down I mean. goodjob
Jim smile


Did you read the document on "Test names and Standards" and did you understand it? Did you see the standard below:
"Fill Power (Steam Conditioning) IDFB – 10-B"

Did you notice the lack of public access to the many detailed standards that they have?

You might be able to call them and get a copy. It could be something that they sell as a product. There is no real reason why they should freely publish this. The US FTC has done a poor job of standards control in many consumer areas, and private organizations like ASTM step in to fill that void, and to eliminate the need for the more federal regulation - a big selling point in getting corporations to join ASTM.

You pay to get access to ASTM standards, as a general rule. Private industry does things like this.



Quote:
Test Names & Standards List
INTERNATIONAL DOWN AND FEATHER LABORATORY AND INSTITUTE Page 1 9 January 2008

Test Name Standard(s)
Content Analysis (Composition) ASTM D 4524, IDFB-3, JIS 6.6, EN 1162
Oxygen Number IDFB – 7, JIS 6.6, EN1162
Turbidity IDFB – 11, JIS 6.5, EN1164
Species Identification IDFB – 12
Fill Power (Steam Conditioning) IDFB – 10-B


You probably glossed over the document "Fill Power Evaluation of Conditioning Methods". It says the following, in part, ...

Quote:

Many different measuring systems and cylinders exist to measure fill power:

• IDFB/Lorch mm/30g
• IDFB/Lorch cubic inches per ounce
• EN 12130 mm/20g or cm3/g
• USA Cylinder cubic inches per ounce
• JIS Cylinder cm/30g
• China GBT Cylinder cm/30g

All of the above systems can normally be converted to the approximate value of another system with standard factor tables.

However, the most critical part of fill power testing is the conditioning method.Any of the conditioning methods can be used with any of the cylinders and measuring systems. Most countries and regions specify which conditioning method should be used with which cylinder.


So they are telling you, generally, that one uses a SPECIFIC CYLINDER and weight. The standards for each test will specify the cylinder in detail.

So, it appears as if once again, you are stuck with needing access to standards .... which may or may not be free. And, you may need specialized knowledge to figure out how to obtain them.

Not unusual in engineering. You are taking on a specialized knowledge problem and trying to stuff it into a simple Google search.

At least we can see the differences in the approach of a research amateur and a retired professional.

I won't take the trouble to Google the names of the different test cylinders to see if you can get the details free or not. If you are REALLY interested, you can do that.