Eliminating static in powder measure

[Kirmdog]

Any tricks to eliminate static in a new powder measure? After 30 years of service I replaced my old Lyman #55 with a Redding 3BR with a handgun meter. The Redding works much better with bullseye and other fine grained and flake powders that the old 55 except for one thing. I have a hard time emptying the measure because of all the static that is in the plastic powder holder. I have tried the rubbing with a dryer sheet and it helped some but did not eliminate the static. Am I forever required to remove the powder hopper and wipe down the plastic with a dryer sheet to get the stuck gun powder out? I don't mind doing that but with the powder baffle there are some spots that I cannot reach with my fat fingers and it's a real PITA compared to my old 55.

Kirmdog

 

[flat top]

Kirmdog; I have heard of the dryer sheet thing, but have never tried it. I have a couple of power measures, rarely have the "static" problem, but, if I do, i just get agressive with them to empty them out. Try unmounting the measure and just give it a good "tapping" while everything is opened up...that is usually enough to dislodge those stubborn particles.

 

[john traveler]

Apply a bit of powdered graphite. That is what the powder manufacturers use to reduce static charge clinging of the granules. Coating the powder hopper, and running the charge drum a few times to coat every surface that the powder touches usually does the trick.

 

[TAROMAN]

Dryer sheet worked perfect for me. Now I keep a sheet crumpled inside the measure when its not in use. Zero static cling.

 

[Kirmdog]

I'll give the powdered graphite a try. I have tried washing the plastic cylinder and tried rubbing it down with a dryer sheet. When the granuals of Bullseye stick it's like they are almost glued in. No amount of tapping or even banging will dislodge them and are removed only after the fickled finger of faith is put to good use. If the graphite doesn't work I'll try leaving the dryer sheet in it after I empty the powder.

I always remove the powder after every reloading session and use differant powders like Herco, 231 and titegroup. The 231 and titegroup come out clean but the Herco and Bullseye are troublsome. I know that there isn't much of the powder left in the cylinder but it bothers me knowing that it is possible to get some Bullseye or Herco mixed into another powder if I don't remove the clinging granuales. I'm sure that there isn't enough different powder to make a difference but then I don't want to find out the hard way either.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Kirmdog

 

[Cary]

Kirmdog,
Another thing you can do is remove the plastic parts form the unit and wash them with soapy water. Don't rinse the parts but let them dry with the soapy water on them.
Cary

 

[pownal55]

same problem with my powder funnel. very frustrating when i tap it with my finger and the kernals move up instead of down.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Another vote for the AS dryer sheet. I cut a 1"x7" strip and leave it hanging right in the measure ( with the end captured by the cover.). As a bonus, I write the powder type and charge on the strip with a sharpie so that if I leave it for a while , I always know what's in there.

hth

 

[Kirmdog]

I did the soapy water wash that Cary suggested and it seemed to help a lot. Although some granuals still stick for the most part they pour out. I'll try the dryer sheet in the future if the problem returns because it seems that most people are suggesting that. It didn't work as well as I thought it would when I first tried it but maybe now that the soapy water has removed most of the static the dryer sheet will work better.

Thank you to all that helped!

Kirmdog

 

[DeadAye]

Does the box your dryer sheets came in say Anti Static (or something similar)?
If it doesn't == They aren't.

I took over the laundry when I retired... Not MY idea

 

[mkk41]

We use a topical anti-stat spray at work on plastic bins used to hold sensative electronics componants. Ya can get it from Techni-Tool or maybe Radio Shack.

Ya might also look into an Electro-Static Discharge work mat. Also available at T-T or R-S , it's a conductive mat that ya hook to the ground pole of any outlet.

 

[VonFatman]

Yep, dryer sheet (AS that is) for me too.

Bob

 

[maglvr]

Kirmdog,
Another thing you can do is remove the plastic parts form the unit and wash them with soapy water. Don't rinse the parts but let them dry with the soapy water on them.
Cary

+1, and recommended by LEE for the powder dippers.

 

[Sevenshooter]

I had the static problem with a Hornady powder measure on their LNL progressive set up. I did the dryer sheet and it helped a bit, but what seemed to work the best was to put a good amount of the powder I was going to use in the measure, with the measure removed from its bracket, and just tumble the powder all around in the measure by turning it over and over by hand. After that I would dump it back out and practically every grain of powder came out, then set it up to use and the static problem wasn't there. I am not sure why this worked but since it did I'm not gonna give it much more thought.

One thing I use that is kinda helpful, to get every last grain and powder residue out of the measure, is a long skinny fan shaped paint brush that I got at an art supply store. The LNL AP powder measure has a "drain funnel" Hornady makes that you can put in place after removing the powder adjusting meter from the rotor. I put the drain in place, the powder drains back into powder container, then I run the paintbrush up and down and all around inside the measure. There is nothing left in there after that.

It works good too, if you have a powder measure you have to remove and turn upside down to dump. Run that paint brush all around up in there and it'll clean it out nearly perfect.