Anyone with open or available SN - Can you weigh a Tablespoon?

[jgm63]

I did some research into the tablespoon / teaspoon area when I made the SN amount thread :
https://sanctioned-suicide.net/threads/sn-water-amount-lookup-table-v2.32241/

Quoting from that thread :

Theoretically, 1 tablespoon is 15ml, and SN density is about 2g per ml, so a tablespoon should be about 30g of SN. However, people here taking measurements have had lower results eg 23g or even 15g.​

Regular salt (sodium chloride) has about the same density, yet a tablespoon of salt is typically quoted as about 17g (not 30g), so applying official densities doesn't always seem to pan out (perhaps it depends on how fine or coarse the substance is).​

Based on the various factors above, an assumption of 1 tablespoon = 18.5g of SN has been used. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons is also assumed.​

The figures quoted assume a "normal" tablespoon, eg a "moderately rounded" tablespoon (or perhaps a "level" tablespoon if using an actual measuring spoon rather than a tableware spoon). Ditto for teaspoons.​

If you use "heaped" tablespoons then you may need less, eg if the lookup table states 1.5 tablespoons, then you could use 1 "generously heaped" tablespoon. Ditto for teaspoons.​

So in summary, I treat a tablespoon of SN as being 18.5g.
It's better to underestimate, and take a little extra, than go the other way.

To try to get an "accurate" value, you would have to define many things, eg are you using an actual measuring spoon, how has the SN been ground, and to what coarseness, etc. But then that "accurate" value would only be useful under a limited set of circumstances (and you may be unsure whether your circumstances match those circumstances, etc....)

My figure of 18.5g is intended to be a "practical" value that can be used, while avoiding using too little SN.

 

[ReallySillyOtter]

If anyone has access to SN, and a scale, can you measure a Tablespoon

Can do. I have eight ounces of sodium nitrite in two bottles, purchased from "named-after-a-large-South-American-river" marketplace, USA site, from a company abbreviated LW and named similar to "Vocal-Feral-Doggie".

The bottles have been stored for several weeks now in a hot, humid climate (coastal southeast USA, where I live). Both were professionally sealed, and unopened until now. There was some slight clumping in both, unsurprising and normal given the conditions. Vigorous shaking broke up the clumps. The bottles were labeled as "fine powder / 99.6% Pure /Reagent Grade" The crystals were smaller than table salt crystals, and an off-white color. I have no doubts of their purity, or effectiveness.

25 grams (a weight measure) of sodium nitrite (SN) is the generally agreed-upon amount to reliably CTB. We need to find out how many tablespoons that is (a volume measure).

IMPORTANT STUFF:

1. You must use MEASURING spoons for this, NOT utensil dining spoons!! MEASURING spoons will have a number and unit on them, like "1 tbsp". DINING spoons will not. THERE IS NO AGREED-UPON definition for the size of a utensil dining tablespoon in ANY county! If your spoon does not have a measuring unit on it, it is an utensil dining tablespoon and thus the volume can vary greatly and thus it's totally unsuited for precise SN measuring. Don't use it! From Wikipedia on tablespoons:
   
   

   The capacity of the utensil (as opposed to the measurement) is defined by neither law nor custom, and it may or may not significantly approximate the measurement.

   
   
2. SN measures are in GRAMS (g), NOT milligrams (mg), and NOT grains (gr). I've seen several typos and mistakes in other threads. Also, tablespoon is abbreviated tbsp, NOT tsp. That's teaspoon and much smaller.
   
   
3. Tablespoon volumes DO vary from country to country:
   1 USA tablespoon = ~ 14.8 mL. 1 UK and Canadian tablespoon = 15 ml. 1 Australian tablespoon = 20 mL.

Here's the supplies:


Here's the weight, 8 ounces plus the bottles, 9.5 ounces total. I was careful to tare the weight by zeroing out the scale with empty spoons on. You can see they weigh 1.6 ounces (about 45.35 grams):


Then I weighed 1 USA level tablespoon of sodium nitrite. It came to…(drum roll)…16 grams. Pictures:




So: 1 level measured US tablespoon of Vocal-Feral-Doggie Sodium Nitrite, freshly opened in a humid climate, equals 16 grams. Thus 25 grams of same equals 1.5625 level tablespoons, or 1 ½ tablespoons plus a pinch. This is inline with:

So in summary, I treat a tablespoon of SN as being 18.5g.
It's better to underestimate, and take a little extra, than go the other way.

To try to get an "accurate" value, you would have to define many things, eg are you using an actual measuring spoon, how has the SN been ground, and to what coarseness, etc. But then that "accurate" value would only be useful under a limited set of circumstances (and you may be unsure whether your circumstances match those circumstances, etc....)

My figure of 18.5g is intended to be a "practical" value that can be used, while avoiding using too little SN.

"Gee ReallySillyOtter, why do you have TWO bottles of deadly SN?"

I ordered one bottle from "Vocal-Feral-Doggie" company. It seemed to get lost in the US mail, so they promptly send a second. The first wasn't lost, just delayed, and a few days later arrived in my mail. A few days after the second, the replacement, also arrived. This prompt correction speaks well of Vocal-Feral-Doggie's customer service.

 

[Living sucks]

Very interesting .. thank you!

So in the US if you used a measuring spoon you would need more than a TBSP. 1.5 approx to be approx 25 g. 1.25 approx for 20g (ish)

 

[GoodPersonEffed]

Vocal-Feral-Doggie

This made me laugh!

Thanks for the well-written as well as informative post.

 

[jgm63]

Can do. I have eight ounces of sodium nitrite in two bottles, purchased from "named-after-a-large-South-American-river" marketplace, USA site, from a company abbreviated LW and named similar to "Vocal-Feral-Doggie".

The bottles have been stored for several weeks now in a hot, humid climate (coastal southeast USA, where I live). Both were professionally sealed, and unopened until now. There was some slight clumping in both, unsurprising and normal given the conditions. Vigorous shaking broke up the clumps. The bottles were labeled as "fine powder / 99.6% Pure /Reagent Grade" The crystals were smaller than table salt crystals, and an off-white color. I have no doubts of their purity, or effectiveness.

25 grams (a weight measure) of sodium nitrite (SN) is the generally agreed-upon amount to reliably CTB. We need to find out how many tablespoons that is (a volume measure).

IMPORTANT STUFF:

1. You must use MEASURING spoons for this, NOT utensil dining spoons!! MEASURING spoons will have a number and unit on them, like "1 tbsp". DINING spoons will not. THERE IS NO AGREED-UPON definition for the size of a utensil dining tablespoon in ANY county! If your spoon does not have a measuring unit on it, it is an utensil dining tablespoon and thus the volume can vary greatly and thus it's totally unsuited for precise SN measuring. Don't use it! From Wikipedia on tablespoons:
   
   
   
   
2. SN measures are in GRAMS (g), NOT milligrams (mg), and NOT grains (gr). I've seen several typos and mistakes in other threads. Also, tablespoon is abbreviated tbsp, NOT tsp. That's teaspoon and much smaller.
   
   
3. Tablespoon volumes DO vary from country to country:
   1 USA tablespoon = ~ 14.8 mL. 1 UK and Canadian tablespoon = 15 ml. 1 Australian tablespoon = 20 mL.

Here's the supplies:
View attachment 38058

Here's the weight, 8 ounces plus the bottles, 9.5 ounces total. I was careful to tare the weight by zeroing out the scale with empty spoons on. You can see they weigh 1.6 ounces (about 45.35 grams):
View attachment 38061
View attachment 38062
Then I weighed 1 USA level tablespoon of sodium nitrite. It came to…(drum roll)…16 grams. Pictures:
View attachment 38059

View attachment 38060

So: 1 level measured US tablespoon of Vocal-Feral-Doggie Sodium Nitrite, freshly opened in a humid climate, equals 16 grams. Thus 25 grams of same equals 1.5625 level tablespoons, or 1 ½ tablespoons plus a pinch. This is inline with:



"Gee ReallySillyOtter, why do you have TWO bottles of deadly SN?"

I ordered one bottle from "Vocal-Feral-Doggie" company. It seemed to get lost in the US mail, so they promptly send a second. The first wasn't lost, just delayed, and a few days later arrived in my mail. A few days after the second, the replacement, also arrived. This prompt correction speaks well of Vocal-Feral-Doggie's customer service.

In practical terms, however, some people will end up finding themselves in a situation where they only have access to a "tableware" tablespoon (or teaspoon) rather than a measuring spoon, which is why I don't "insist" on a measuring spoon on my SN amount thread.... Those that have the opportunity to prepare properly can simply focus on ensuring they have a set of scales.

 

[Living sucks]

In practical terms, however, some people will end up finding themselves in a situation where they only have access to a "tableware" tablespoon (or teaspoon) rather than a measuring spoon, which is why I don't "insist" on a measuring spoon on my SN amount thread.... Those that have the opportunity to prepare properly can simply focus on ensuring they have a set of scales.

Or not even have a clue like kibblesummer and mix the whole bottle.. (113g).... it's variable without a scale, we get that (most of us). It was good to show pictures so people can see the amount.

 

[DetachedDreamer97]

Density of salt is 2.16 g. Sodium Nitrite is nearly identical (2.17 g).
1 tablespoon of salt is 17.06 grams.
17.06 x (2.17/2.16) = 17.139

24/17.139= 1.40031507

24 grams of SN is 1.4 tbsp
That's between 1 1/3 tbsp and 1 1/2 tbsp.

 

[Living sucks]

And a good point was made in another thread.. if you only have measuring spoons to measure the water

The water should be 1/4 cup, which converts to 4 tablespoons

 

[Sunset Limited]

Really good topic. I have not a scale but another idea. This is about solubility in water of SN.

84.8 g of SN soluble in 100 mL water (25 ° C). So around 25 g of SN soluble in 30 ml water. Just put 3 tablespoons of SN in 30 ml of water. A maximum of 25 grams will be dissolved. If you separate the salt from the bottom of the water, it's ok. It is easy to measure in liters, but not everyone has a scale. Like me :) Sorry for my english.

Solubility in water

71.4 g/100 mL (0 °C) 84.8 g/100 mL (25 °C) 160 g/100 mL (100 °C

 

[Hyperbunny]

In practical terms, however, some people will end up finding themselves in a situation where they only have access to a "tableware" tablespoon (or teaspoon) rather than a measuring spoon, which is why I don't "insist" on a measuring spoon on my SN amount thread.... Those that have the opportunity to prepare properly can simply focus on ensuring they have a set of scales.

yes tablespoons in uk are muchhhhhh smaller like 1/3 of size .

 

[Shu]

I'm going to be using a measuring spoon also. I hope this information is right if not oh well. I'm still gonna go with what I've got.

 

[summers]

It's really sad that someone is planning to poison themselves but can't be bothered to buy a $10 scale on amazon. Honestly, if that's too much work, then pick a different method.

Also, don't use measuring spoons, as they are terribly inaccurate. Get some kind of graduated container, like what you get with otc cough medicine. 30ml is two tablespoons.

 

[Shu]

It's really sad that someone is planning to poison themselves but can't be bothered to buy a $10 scale on amazon. Honestly, if that's too much work, then pick a different method.

Also, don't use measuring spoons, as they are terribly inaccurate. Get some kind of graduated container, like what you get with otc cough medicine. 30ml is two tablespoons.
View attachment 88513

Dude who are you? You don't know my story or what position im in. They sell scales at the gas station. I can't have one in my house or somebody will get suspicious. I know how to order/obtain a scale.
Honestly? I don't need you telling me a goddamn thing or what to do with my life. That's funny. I measured 15ml of salt in the graduated container and it filled up the measuring spoon im using to the brim. So what is the difference?

 

[summers]

Dude who are you? You don't know my story or what position im in. They sell scales at the gas station. I can't have one in my house or somebody will get suspicious. I know how to order/obtain a scale.
Honestly? I don't need you telling me a goddamn thing or what to do with my life.

Damn, defensive much. Usually people who are wrong and know it get like that. Don't be all sad that you basically live in a prison where you can't buy a scale like a normal adult person.

Also, I've blocked for some time now. Only looked to see who responded to my post. Idgaf what you do, but hopefully someone in the future will read this thread and not follow your example.

 

[Shu]

Block me I don't give a fuck.
I don't need your criticism or advice. Especially when I didn't ask for it.
I just told you I can't have a scale in my house. I never said I was right or wrong I'm trying to work with what I've got.