ShootMeStraight
Member
So lately I've been thinking about getting an automatic powder dispenser. Just looking for some input from people that use them. Thank you!
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Automatic Powder Dispenser
- Thread starter ShootMeStraight
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You will get many answers of what works good and what does not... I am happy with my RCBS Chargemaster. I did add 2 “chokes” to the power cord to stabilize the current for more accurate drops. I put a small section of a McDonald’s straw in the tube and it made an improvement. You can probably YouTube that.
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I have been using the RCBS Chargemaster for some years now. No problems at all. I did not mess with factory settings. It goes fast enough for me. Did the straw thing though.
tndrfttom
Member
Lyman Gen 6 Powder System.
I got one in 2017. Seems to work good - meters out charges fast but had one occasion where it lost zero in the middle of charging a bunch of cases. I had to re-program it to finish up the batch of cartridges. I never did figure out what went wrong.
I've only used it for IMR rifle powders. Emptying out the powder hopper is a chore. I thought the instructions could be written better and I'd like the warranty to be longer.
I got one in 2017. Seems to work good - meters out charges fast but had one occasion where it lost zero in the middle of charging a bunch of cases. I had to re-program it to finish up the batch of cartridges. I never did figure out what went wrong.
I've only used it for IMR rifle powders. Emptying out the powder hopper is a chore. I thought the instructions could be written better and I'd like the warranty to be longer.
I also use the RCBS Chargemaster for my rifle loading...and for the few max charged handgun loads with the 296 type powder. I am somewhat leery of that powder...Oh and I used some 800X to load some handgun loads. The Chargemaster worked great with it too. Horrible metering powder in a regular powder measure
noylj
Member
I must have one of the early ChargeMasters since a McD straw does NOT fit mine nor do I need one.
It may overshoot by 0.1-0.2gn once in a while, but a very slightly damp finger will pick up a kernel or two and I get the right weight.
That overshoot is also what EVERY powder measure gives occasionally also.
For pistol loads, it does a good job keeping up with my rather slow cycling of my 1050s, so I have never needed to adjust any settings. The only issue is that load of about 3.0 gn or less will NOT get the measure out of trickle mode, so the dispensing is rather slow (but, I trust the charge weight for such low charges better than any powder measure).
It may overshoot by 0.1-0.2gn once in a while, but a very slightly damp finger will pick up a kernel or two and I get the right weight.
That overshoot is also what EVERY powder measure gives occasionally also.
For pistol loads, it does a good job keeping up with my rather slow cycling of my 1050s, so I have never needed to adjust any settings. The only issue is that load of about 3.0 gn or less will NOT get the measure out of trickle mode, so the dispensing is rather slow (but, I trust the charge weight for such low charges better than any powder measure).
Twoboxer
Member
The Chargemaster (& CM Lite) are probably as good or better than other dispenser/scales available in their price classes.
As for how good is the Chargemaster at doing its job . . . below is a link to a thread where some test results were discussed. There are a few tests shown throughout the thread, but FYI the first post is more or less representative of all the results.
RCBS Chargemaster vs A&D FX120i
As for how good is the Chargemaster at doing its job . . . below is a link to a thread where some test results were discussed. There are a few tests shown throughout the thread, but FYI the first post is more or less representative of all the results.
RCBS Chargemaster vs A&D FX120i
boatbum101
Member
Had a PACT it quit working & I got a RCBS Chargemaster . If like me you do a bunch of load developement for different calibers with different powders it's a work saver . If you load the same loads a top of the line powder dispenser will do the same .
I've had a Pact Precision electronic scale since 1994. Put off buying a powder dispenser for many years. Couple years ago bought the RCBS Chargemaster Lite and regret not buying a dispenser years ago. Totally satisfied and I greatly speeds up my loading. Only issue is I occasionally bump the dispensing tube and spill a few grains of powder. Also you have to be careful when emptying the hopper to not spill grains of powder.-
Hasbeen1945
Absent Comrade
Had a Pact. With the upgrades it was still slow. Bought a chargemaster several years ago. It’s hard to beat for loading rifle ammo. I use a Harrell pistol measure for handguns.
Ditto the RCBS Chargemaster. Had Mine for 4 years and not one hiccup.
Erich
Member
Longtime user - this might be of interest.
I bought my RCBS 1500 Chargemaster in 2006 (I know for a fact; I was just looking at the receipt from Midway USA last week), when I was doing a lot of close-to-the-edge handgun loads. I've always stored it inside the house on a temperature controlled, low humidity shelf. It had issues with overthrows of some powders but the McDonald's straw trick helped. (I've talked about this here in the past if you want to search on my name for "Chargemaster.") I've recommended the Chargemaster for years . . . but do read on.
I used the Chargemaster a lot for a few years, but then it started developing "ghosts in the machine." The top keypad wouldn't work. It wouldn't reset correctly. It wouldn't calibrate correctly. It wouldn't automatically throw subsequent charges. Etc.
All these things could be solved - eventually - by turning the thing off and on. Kinda - some features just stopped working, but the basic ones could be convinced to work after spending some time fussing with on/offing/re-recalibrating the machine. But they were a hassle and since I wasn't dropping nearly so many close-to-the-edge loads anymore, I found the Lee dippers to be pretty handy most of the time. Especially since the overthrows (more than 20% with 3N38 or Unique) were a giant hassle.
This past week, I couldn't get the top keypad to work at all. RCBS customer service suggested I take the dispenser off the scale and clean the connections with rubbing alcohol. I did . . . and it eventually worked again (after five more restarts and another call to RCBS customer service).
I was giving it a lot of thought as I was going through this latest bunch of hassles. I'm retired now so I've got time and I don't need speedy reloads. Honestly, if I were giving advice to my younger self, I think I'd tell myself to avoid the annoyances and not buy the Chargemaster. It cost a lot and it didn't last nearly as well as I'd expect. With the increased hassles over the years, it's almost faster to use a combo of a scale, dippers and a trickler.
Good luck!
I bought my RCBS 1500 Chargemaster in 2006 (I know for a fact; I was just looking at the receipt from Midway USA last week), when I was doing a lot of close-to-the-edge handgun loads. I've always stored it inside the house on a temperature controlled, low humidity shelf. It had issues with overthrows of some powders but the McDonald's straw trick helped. (I've talked about this here in the past if you want to search on my name for "Chargemaster.") I've recommended the Chargemaster for years . . . but do read on.
I used the Chargemaster a lot for a few years, but then it started developing "ghosts in the machine." The top keypad wouldn't work. It wouldn't reset correctly. It wouldn't calibrate correctly. It wouldn't automatically throw subsequent charges. Etc.
All these things could be solved - eventually - by turning the thing off and on. Kinda - some features just stopped working, but the basic ones could be convinced to work after spending some time fussing with on/offing/re-recalibrating the machine. But they were a hassle and since I wasn't dropping nearly so many close-to-the-edge loads anymore, I found the Lee dippers to be pretty handy most of the time. Especially since the overthrows (more than 20% with 3N38 or Unique) were a giant hassle.
This past week, I couldn't get the top keypad to work at all. RCBS customer service suggested I take the dispenser off the scale and clean the connections with rubbing alcohol. I did . . . and it eventually worked again (after five more restarts and another call to RCBS customer service).
I was giving it a lot of thought as I was going through this latest bunch of hassles. I'm retired now so I've got time and I don't need speedy reloads. Honestly, if I were giving advice to my younger self, I think I'd tell myself to avoid the annoyances and not buy the Chargemaster. It cost a lot and it didn't last nearly as well as I'd expect. With the increased hassles over the years, it's almost faster to use a combo of a scale, dippers and a trickler.
Good luck!
OP
ShootMeStraight
Member
Thanks for the input guys! Sounds like the RCBS Chargemaster is the one to get!
I have the Generation 2 since 2002, upgraded to gen 4 with a factory upgrade kit. I use it for flake, ball and stick powders. I like it though nothing is perfect. I still run every 10th -15th charge across a balance scale. It has changed how I load. I previously worked in blocks of 50. I now size and prime rifle cases, then pour powder and seat bullets. By the time I am ready for the next case the measure is waiting for me.
Florescent lights can mess with the scale. Mine usually tells me I need to rezero during the session so as a practice I rezero every 20 loads or so. The process is one button and takes about 1/2 second. I wouldn't be without one.
To empty the measure I open the rear door into a funnel over the powder container. When it is nearly empty I run the drop on fast while leaving the door open, then dump the pan. Then I use the brush to sweep up the rest. Takes about 3 minutes at most.
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A really picky fellow I know uses a Frankford Arsenal dispenser and is really happy with it.
Intellidropper Electronic Powder Measure | Frankford
He verifies every load on a beam scale too. Engineers can be like that.
Intellidropper Electronic Powder Measure | Frankford
He verifies every load on a beam scale too. Engineers can be like that.
noylj
Member
> Only issue is I occasionally bump the dispensing tube and spill a few grains of powder.
I hope you meant kernels of powder...
I hope you meant kernels of powder...
Ivan the Butcher
Member
I have a vary early Chargemaster, in fact I bought the scale before the dispenser came out (Early to mid 90's) It still works as well as it ever did.
I Have had s Dillon since fall of 1984. When they came out with the case mouth activated powder drop, I set up the old push bar drop to do duty pre-droping charges for the charge master. For many powders, the Dillon ended up being as or more accurate than the Charge Master! I would check a charge every now and then but nothing ever changed, on those situations I would go to direct case charging on loads that fluctuated I would set is a few tenths low. The powder, US 869 by Hodgdon is very similar to WW296 only much more dense! My 338 Lapua Mag uses a charge of 104.0 grains. With the magnum bar, the Dillon was right on hundreds of times! (loaded around 650 rounds that way) Sure saved a lot of time!
Ivan
I Have had s Dillon since fall of 1984. When they came out with the case mouth activated powder drop, I set up the old push bar drop to do duty pre-droping charges for the charge master. For many powders, the Dillon ended up being as or more accurate than the Charge Master! I would check a charge every now and then but nothing ever changed, on those situations I would go to direct case charging on loads that fluctuated I would set is a few tenths low. The powder, US 869 by Hodgdon is very similar to WW296 only much more dense! My 338 Lapua Mag uses a charge of 104.0 grains. With the magnum bar, the Dillon was right on hundreds of times! (loaded around 650 rounds that way) Sure saved a lot of time!
Ivan
After seeing the old AMT electronic powder dispenser back in the 80s, I hadn't these things much thought.
From what I've read, it sounds like it can take as long as 30 sec. to get a full heavier charge. (I can weigh by hand on a scale faster than that!)
Plus, sounds like there's some overcharge issues.
Would it be incorrect to assume that the electronics in these things are made in China, and likely not covered by the usual RCBS lifetime warranty?
I'm not trying to being critical when I ask, because I really don't know.....
But, why would someone want one of these things when, for roughly the same money, they could buy a benchrest grade Harrell powder measure and a nice reliable balance beam scale?
Thanks,
Jim
From what I've read, it sounds like it can take as long as 30 sec. to get a full heavier charge. (I can weigh by hand on a scale faster than that!)
Plus, sounds like there's some overcharge issues.
Would it be incorrect to assume that the electronics in these things are made in China, and likely not covered by the usual RCBS lifetime warranty?
I'm not trying to being critical when I ask, because I really don't know.....
But, why would someone want one of these things when, for roughly the same money, they could buy a benchrest grade Harrell powder measure and a nice reliable balance beam scale?
Thanks,
Jim
Erich
Member
Perhaps you should email to ask RCBS about the warranty - no one here can bind them to an answer.
I bought mine because I was doing a lot of up-to-the-last-tenth-grain max handgun loads, and I thought it would provide safety. It has. As I note supra, it was also pretty fast for these small charge-weight throws with many powders. As I said, I'm nevertheless not sure that I'd recommend one because of the issues I've experienced.
You are correct that the information in this thread can help a person use his brain to decide if such a device will be of use to him. If he's looking to throw heavy rifle loads (he's not going to be throwing 500 absolute max charges at a time), I don't see how it makes sense to buy one.
joeintexas
US Veteran
I too use the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 and use a 505 beam to verify, they both measure the same and that works for me. The 1500 is pricey but I have had really good luck with it. I load 9mm, 38 spec, 357 mag, 40 s&w, 45 acp, 222 remington and 308 Win.
