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The most important thing for mixing
alginates is the water and powder temperature. If one were
to measure and find the water temperature to be in excess
of 23 degrees C, then it would be safe to assume the powder
temperature to be the same or perhaps a slightly higher.
Therefore, the following rule should
apply (approximately): the temperatures of powder and liquid,
when added together, should be about 46 degrees C ( 23 degrees
each for powder and water ). Take the ambient temperature
of water, subtract from 46. The remainder should be the temperature
of mixing water.
Starjel
is very stable from 20 to 24 degrees C. In warmer climates
even if one were to used refrigerated water, Starjel
would still be around 3.0 to 3.5 minutes work time, very
much in the work time specification for regular set alginates.
It is always good to start with a
fast set alginate and then use colder water. This will generally
give a very good rubber quality that is less prone to tearing.
Of course, the best way to approach
alginates is to use a high alginate content product such
as Starjel
or Superjel.
Both of these products provide a very high quality rubber.
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