Formula for weighing gold in vial of water?

[Crookedrecords]

Hello all!

I've seen the instructions for finding gold content in a rock by comparing dry and wet weight but I was wondering if there was a formula to find the weight of gold in a vial of water?

I just got a new scale (jennings js-xv 100) and I have all my vials that I have acquired over the years but I don't want to go through the hassle of emptying them or pouring them out to weigh the gold inside.

If all of the vials are exactly the same weight +/- and I filled an empty one with water and compared that to one with gold in it filled with water I would get the difference in weight but that wouldn't be exact because the volume that the gold took up would have been water so i need to find the difference in weight between water and gold by volume and figure that in as well. But I wouldn't know the volume unless I knew the weight, or maybe I need to know the volume of water that the vial holds? Anyway, I don't need to know the answer to the nearest .000001 gram or anything I just wanted to get an idea of what I have gotten over the years.....

Haven't had my coffee yet so the answer hasn't come to me but before I personally re-invent the wheel I was wondering if there is a formula that any of you may use? I did do a search but didn't find anything.....thanks in advance...

 

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[Crookedrecords]

If I start doing some real production I will throw everything into one container but at this time I have a separate vial for every trip I have been on since I was 13 years old. I can look at the color of the gold and the shape of the individual pieces inside and remember exactly where each vial is from and even where individual pieces were found.......

 

[AUDuke]

Lose the H2O, Gold dosn't require water

 

[Peerless67]

Gold is 19.3 times heavier than water.
Take an empty vial and fill it with water to the same level as the ones you have.
weigh the water filled vial to get a bench mark. Then weigh the vials with the gold in them.
for every 19.3 grams difference, you have 18.3 grams of gold because you have to allow for the 1 gram of water displaced by 19.3 grams of gold.

 

[Eu_citzen]

I've seen the instructions for finding gold content in a rock by comparing dry and wet weigh

Umm.. If you don't know the % of either substance that would be like Alchemy..
At least I don't see that happen in the near future.

 

[Crookedrecords]

Specific Gravity Test....

The Specific Gravity Test (used to calculate the gold content of gold nuggets that contain a mixture of gold and other materials) In this example of the specific gravity test, we use gold mixed with quartz. Simply put, the formula is 3.1 x the weight in water, minus 1.9 x the weight in air:

Wet nugget weighs 74.5 grams x 3.1 = 230.95
Dry nugget weighs 96 grams x 1.9 = 182.4

230.95 - 182.4 = 48.55
31.1 = number of grams per ounce
48.55 / 31.1 = 1.56 ounces of gold

Original dry weight = 96 grams / 31.1 = 3.08 ounces.
Subtract the difference between the wet and the dry:
3.08 ounces - 1.56 ounces = 1.52 ounces.
Therefore what is left is 1.52 ounces of quartz.

"Wet" = weight in water - Put container of water (enough water to cover nugget) on scale. Tare (zero) out scale. Hang nugget by string in water. Note weight.

The specific gravity for gold is 19.3.
The specific gravity for quartz is 2.65.
The ratio between gold and quartz is 7.28 X.

 

[Eu_citzen]

If you know the Ratio of gold vs Quartz I can see it could work.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Hi my Friend EU: The specific grav test just given to you will give you the actual ratio of Au to Qtz.

As for the vials, it makes no difference if they are filled with H2O or not, the gold will be the same after tare? It wil not show you the ratio of Quartz to Au.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Eu_citzen]

Hi my Friend EU: The specific grav test just given to you will give you the actual ratio of Au to Qtz.

As for the vials, it makes no difference if they are filled with H2O or not, the gold will be the same after tare? It wil not show you the ratio of Quartz to Au.

Don Jose de La Mancha

Howdy Real,
I see, however is it reliable?
I have only seen this formula on "hobby" pages.

 

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

Simplest solution would be to empty the water from each vial by evaporation. Then add the same quantity of water to an empty vial and each gold vial and then weigh. That way you know the exact weight of the gold in each vial. No formulas that way and all you need to do is subtract. Purity would be another matter. good luck, siegfried schlagrule