Electronic Powder Dispensers speed

[Walkalong]

Hi, my name is AC, and I am a Luditte too.

 

[JohnM]

I'd hardly consider myself a luddite when it comes to high tech electronics.
I'm an amateur astronomer and I have way more money tied up in optics and very sophisticated electronics than in firearms.
You would not believe the complexity of electronics and computer controls used on modern telescopes, especially when doing digital astrophotography.

But when it comes to reloading I'll stay with proven mechanical systems.

 

[kingmt]

Since this thread is way off anyhow I'd like to give my 2 cent. I started with a beam that would never measure the same twice & took forever to stop swinging but I didn't know there was a better way until I bought a cheep electronic one that measured great but would turn off in between charges. I went & spent $100 on another beam but it was still slow & not that consistant. I took a chance & bought a Smartreloader & was happy right away. About 5K(maybe more) rounds later I'm still happy.

 

[sugarmaker]

Many electronic consumer grade devices are built using very low quality components. - Motors that cost 30 cents, wires soldered by low wage workers paid by the solder joint (they learn to make a joint just good enough to pass final QA but not reflowed enough to last - it's faster), poor wire routing (pinched and pulled), lowest cost circuit boards w/o soldermask and with punched (not drilled) holes, surplus parts, sometimes "pulls" from scrapped equipment, etc...

It can really surprise you what they can build things for...a bargain unless you need to rely on that item. It's luck of the draw. I know what's in there and I'm not buying it.

 

[littlebob3]

As far as electronics I retired as the server manager for major electronics company. Most electronics that are going to go bad will do so in the first 40 hours. I am very happy with the ChargeMaster knocking out 200 357 Sig’s today.

 

[solman]

I recently got an RCBS chargemaster and so far I really like it. Yeah it can be a little slow at times but I do the bullet seating while the next charge is being thrown. It throws right on the money 98% of the time. when its off its over by .1 which is as good as it gets anyways. What I really like is the fact that it keeps count of how many charges it has thrown. If I am loading 50 rounds and its show 50 charges thrown I know I didn't miss any. I don't worry about double charging for rifle it's not possible without spillover. A bit pricey but they have a $50 rebate going right now at Cabelas.

 

[Sin City Shootist]

I too have been fighting a beam scale problem. My Lyman beam is the most inaccurate piece of crap I've ever used, right next to their scale check weights. Anyway, my new Chargemaster will be here today. I did a lot of research before I stepped up to a $330 unit. What I discovered in making the Chargemaster accurate is, one, you will need a straw from Mickey D's, the straw gets cut and inserted in the dispense tube. From what I hear, powder will get clumped up in the threads and from time to time overcharge, this prevents that from happening. Two, florescent light ballast will throw the charge off so go back to incandescent bulbs in the gun room. Third, power fluctuations will cause inconsistent throws, and while some places that may not be a problem but here in Vegas the summers with all the A/C going variations in power are a norm, so I bought a cheap uninterpretable power supply to condition the line.

Sorry for the bump if the thread was dead.

 

[Trent]

Figure .02 more won't hurt.

I use an RCBS automatic powder dispenser and absolutely love the damn thing.

Worst problem I ever have is it trickles .01 over sometimes and I have to grab a few grains of powder out.

Use it with 300 Win Mag, and by the time I'm done seating / boxing, and grab another round and funnel, she's all ready for me to dump another down the chute.

 

[Sin City Shootist]

Trent, try the straw trick. I understand that fixes that over charge.

 

[USSR]

My Lyman beam is the most inaccurate piece of crap I've ever used, right next to their scale check weights.

How can scale check weights be inaccurate pieces of crap, they're just weights?

Don

 

[Sin City Shootist]

Because they don't weigh what they claim to weigh. I verified the weight on a second scale and they are definitely off.

 

[USSR]

Ah, I see, it couldn't possibly be that the second scale was off.

 

[Trent]

Trent, try the straw trick. I understand that fixes that over charge.

You mean put a piece of straw in the tube so the threading inside don't cause powder to bunch up?

Fantastic idea dude. Thanks!!!!

 

[Sin City Shootist]

Don't thank me Trent, my chargemaster isn't even at my door yet(in a hour or two it should be here). I got that trick from the guys at snipershide.

 

[Sin City Shootist]

Ah, I see, it couldn't possibly be that the second scale was off.

3 of the smaller check weights were over weight. I don't hate all Lyman stuff, 49th is pretty good and the universal decapping die works good.

 

[noylj]

I don't know about sticking a straw up my CM. All you get is an occasional 0.1-0.2gn over weight. This is probably less than you get with any powder measure.
Simply touching the powder in the pan and removing a few kernels will almost always bring you right to the target weight.
I have had my CM plugged into a power strip with a fluorescent light and the over head fluorescent light and never had a problem in over 5 years.
However, if go a load in the winter and the I some how turned the unit off (or forgot to turn it back on after emptying it), the zero will drift for maybe 15 minutes. I never use it until it has warmed up for 30 minutes.
IF YOU HAVE a problem, then consider how to cure it.

 

[noylj]

The problem with cheap check weights is they are no more accurate than the scale and, unless you can go to an analytical balance to check, you can't be "sure" of the weight.
The important thing is if you use check weights, to always use those weights so all your readings are consistent.
Trust me, beams are no more accurate than digitals. However, if used correctly, they are affected by fewer environmental issues and thus can be more repeatable.

 

[Trent]

I don't know about sticking a straw up my CM. All you get is an occasional 0.1-0.2gn over weight. This is probably less than you get with any powder measure.
Simply touching the powder in the pan and removing a few kernels will almost always bring you right to the target weight.
I have had my CM plugged into a power strip with a fluorescent light and the over head fluorescent light and never had a problem in over 5 years.
However, if go a load in the winter and the I some how turned the unit off (or forgot to turn it back on after emptying it), the zero will drift for maybe 15 minutes. I never use it until it has warmed up for 30 minutes.
IF YOU HAVE a problem, then consider how to cure it.

It's just a threaded tube. Not anything magical there. Powder will still get pushed forward by the rest of the threaded tube if you have a little bit (say 1") of straw in the end. The straw will keep powder from "bridging" at the business end - this is what causes the inconsistency in the first place; powder bridges on the threads in that tube.

So it will prevent that last bit of trickle from dropping a lot more powder than you want.

It's a good idea.

 

[Sin City Shootist]

I did the straw trick on mine last night. Works great and the straw pulls right out without any damage if you don't like it.

 

[AABEN]

I have 2 PACT. The first one was slow then they came out with a faster one. So I got it and called PACT and told them that the new one was much faster than there old one. The man on the phone ask if I own the old one if so send it in and they would up date it.Now I have 2 very good loaders.

 

[littlebob3]

I have a Lee Safety Powder Scale and a new ChargeMaster 1500 Scale/Dispenser.
I also purchased RCBS Standard Scale Check Weights.

First I adj. the Lee balance scale to zero (0) then check with 7.5 gr of weights… Shows 7.5gr

Next I turn on the ChargeMaster 1500 and after 20 minutes I Calibrate the 1500… then check the with 7.5 gr of weights… Shows 7.5gr

Now I dispense 7.5gr of unique power… ChargeMaster and Lee balance both agree.

I check about every 10 dispenses… some times the Lee will tell me that it over or under by .1gr or .2gr so I put it back on the ChargeMaster.
The ChargeMaster tells me its 7.5…. so I recheck on the Lee, again it tells me it’s off by .1gr to .2gr… so I put it back on the The ChargeMaster again it tells me its 7.5gr.

So I recheck both units with the 7.5gr RCBS Standard Scale Check Weights… both units tell me it’s 7.5gr… but if I re test the same powder… both units disagree.

Odd....

 

[p5200]

I also use the straw trick on my ChargeMaster seems to work pretty good!

 

[noylj]

You have to remember, both scales are ±0.1gn and the check weights are probably ±0.1gn. You have a load that is off so little that one is reading the 0.05gn weight variation as 7.6 and the other sees it as 7.5.
If you had two Lee SPSes, you would still find times like this. What is surprising is that you haven't had one of them show 7.5 once and 7.6 the next time.
Heck, for those with OCD, you could remove a couple of powder kernels and get both to show 7.5gn. It would also show how insignificant the difference is.
You could spend a small fortune (~$1000+) on a set of ASTM E 617 class 2 weights. Your check weights need to be about an order of magnitude more exact to really calibrate a scale.

 

[littlebob3]

Noylj

I am sure you are right... the ChargeMaster may be close to rolling over to the next ±0.X number but is not close enough to do so... Thanks

 

[Sin City Shootist]

One odd thing I did notice on mine the other day, and its because its new, is, if you put the wind cover on the scale would read 2.8 grs higher even with a empty pan that was reading 0. As I swung the cover to one side or the other the charge would come back a little at a time till the cover was completely to one side or removed. Static charge.