Cleaning the powder measure

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Mikeinkaty

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I use the one that came with my $160 Lee single stage press. I had never cleaned it until I started using H110. It is a very fine grained powder and caused it to become harder to activate the charging handle as loading progressed. I now disassemble the charger and give it a good cleaning after about 50 rounds of H110. The other powders I use (TB & TG) cause no problem.

But now the first thing I do when starting a load or changing powder is clean the charger. I also readjust the screw for proper pressure. Takes very little time and makes me feel better!

Also, I'm now finding that the drops are more consistent.

Mike
 
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Mind sharing the procedure you use to clean it?
 
The Lee Perfect Powder Measure is rather easy to clean, remove one screw and it comes apart. That is about the ONLY feature of this powder measure that is convenient. I found trying to adjust the charge weight to be excessively fussy, almost as bad as the Lee beam scale.

When I stared loading with Accurate Handgun powders and H110 the constant leakage drove me to get in my car and make a 70 mile drive to the Cabelas in Dundee, Michigan. There I picked up an RCBS Competition Powder Measure and an RCBS #505 scale. While the total for both items was well over 200 dollars I have to say it was one of my wiser purchases. No leakage at all with fine granule powders, extremely consistent charge weights with these powders, and it is so EASY to reset to load a previously developed charge weight.

I like Lee Dies and have their Factory Crimp Die for every single caliber, Rifle and Handgun, I load for. IMO Lee die sets are a very good value for the money spent, even if that decapping pin has to be made painfully tight to keep it from slipping.

However the Lee Safety Scale and Perfect Powder Measure are anything but what their product name would lead one to believe. If you have the scale on the same bench as your press the vibration of the press will cause the zeroing weight to shift and throw the scale out of calibration. As for the Perfect Powder measure, they leak miserably with fine granule powders, the hopper has to be taped in the open position to keep it from vibrating closed, and it's just miserable to re-adjust to a previous charge weight. About the only positive is they are dirt cheap and good for reinforcing the simple fact is you do get what you pay for.
 
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I have found the Lee powder measure to be very consistent. It can be a little fussy to dial in the charge but once set I have had no problems with it. It will leak a little W231 but not enough to be a concern. I weighed 10 drops of 3.7 grains and it totals out at 37.4 grains. I have done this a couple times.

Mals
 
I have a PPM for rifle drops, an auto disc pro (which doesn't see use anymore), and the newer autodrum. The autodrum is infinitely adjustable, it doesn't leak like the auto disc does, it is more consistent than the auto disc pro.

I've been using it for over a year, and have yet to need to clean it.
 
My 2 Dillons will spill powder H110/W296 quite a lot and a little bit with other fine grain ball powder(W231/HP38).My friends who use Dillons also have the same problem.I also have it with a Lee in my turret press.So I'd say the problem is with the powder since with any flake(like Unique)or stick powder(like IMR 4227) it won't do it.I use them and then clean the mess up.
Qc
 
I've never cleaned a powder measure once I start using it, before yes, after no. If powder is sticking to it, wipe it out with a used drier sheet, but other than that, should require no "cleaning".
 
Lee PPM's seem to have a love/hate thing going. If you google lee PPM fix all kinds od stuff shows up. I had one when I first started out and as you state it always threw accurate charges.

I had the stickshon and leakage issue as well with AA#5. The major cause seems to be the cone in socket arrangement not fitting together precicely. For each rotation a kernel or two of the powder gets between the two pieces and slowly jams up the works. When you dissasemble to clean next time you will probably see the scar from the powder grinding on the highs and gaps on the lows of the two pieces. Over time theoretically the two pieces should wear in together and extend the times between cleanings/adjustment.

Mine was somewhere in the middle and after a couple hundred or so rounds it would start to bind. I got a tube of graphite powder lock lube from the local hardware store to "lube" the works that seemed to help and the graphite wouldent contaminate the powder.

I have read that some folks have gotten some fine lapping compound for grinding automotive valves and lapped the two pieces together to hasten the wear in process.
 
I've cleaned my Herters powder dropper once since 1975. It doesn't leak either. They don't make them like that anymore.
 
I have been using the Lee Auto Drum powder measure. I mounts on the powder die. The drops are very consistent. It takes some tweaking to get the drop you want but once it is dialed in it's good to go. I don't clean mind other than to make sure all powder is out of the drum and the chamber. The only powder I have had trouble with is 4166 when I was trying to load some 223 rounds. I guess the case mouth is too small for the size of the powder grains.
 
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