Dillon 550 Primer Feed Problems

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grinder08

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I am new to reloading and am having trouble with the primer feed on my Dillon 550. I am getting approximately 10% of the primers either flipped over or occasionally on their side. Is this a common problem and does anyone have a solution. Everything else seems to be working really well but the primer problems are really slowing things down.
 
I've loaded thousands and thousands with my 550, and never had that issue. Not once.

It could be that the 'drop' mechanism is improperly adjusted or timed... it might be dropping them before the primer holder has slid ALLL the way back, and the lip of the 'cup' might be flipping them over? A quick call to dillon might be in order.

Are you sure they aren't flipping when you load them into the drop tube? Or flipping when you load them in the pickup tube?
 
I have that happen every now and then, usualy because the cup gets a spec of dirt. I keep an air bottle and a small brush near by to clean it. Also if your bench is not sturdy enough the extra jaring may contribute.
 
I am being super careful with the pickup tube and when I load the drop tube. It seems worse at the beginning and end of the run of 100 primers. I wonder if the primer loading cup is touching the bottom of the feed tube but I don't know how to check that. You can't really see in that area when the loading cup is in there.
 
Small or large primers?

Is the PU tube tip the right color? (yellow for small, Green for large)

Is the mag tip the right size? (Blue for Small Primer... Red for Large Primer) new versions are brass and ??

Are the using the right carrier (primer cup) for the primer size ?
 
Make sure that the primer feed mechanism is clean. Also, make sure that the plastic tip of the feed tube is properly seated, both on the end of the tube and in the feed mechanism on the press.
 
When I say spec of dirt, I am talking when you de cap and prime, the brass creates sometimes small dirt and brass particles that fall in and arround the cup. Sometimes they even dent the seated primer.
 
bear.23 said:
Small or large primers?

Is the PU tube tip the right color? (yellow for small, Green for large)

Is the mag tip the right size? (Blue for Small Primer... Red for Large Primer) new versions are brass and ??

Are the using the right carrier (primer cup) for the primer size ?
Click to expand...
this is my bet.
also are you trying to only drop in a few primers, or 100 at a time? I found putting in less you will get some tumble over when dropping into the tube.
 
bigi said:
When I say spec of dirt, I am talking when you de cap and prime, the brass creates sometimes small dirt and brass particles that fall in and arround the cup. Sometimes they even dent the seated primer.
Click to expand...

Not to get off track.. But how would that happen.. When you are depriming there is a primer in the cup.. (AKA nowhere for the debris to fall) and since the cup is tapered it can't stay anywhere

From my experience what does get in the cup is powder from the shell plate . To dent the cup means that something is underneath the primer that shouldn't prevent the primer from getting in the cup and with the pressure you apply to seat the primer it's can't be tall enough to cause the primer to flip..
 
bear.23 said:
Small or large primers?

Is the PU tube tip the right color? (yellow for small, Green for large) Small primers yellow tip

Is the mag tip the right size? (Blue for Small Primer... Red for Large Primer) new versions are brass and ?? New version brass for small primers

Are the using the right carrier (primer cup) for the primer size ?
Click to expand...
Yes according to the Dillon manual and visually it checks as the small cup.
 
I had the same problem with my 550. I had the correct primer tube; it was clean; and it was adjusted properly. I called Dillon support on the phone and we walked through everything together. He waited on the line while I tried everything. When the primers were still flipping, he sent me an entire priming system for free, with new bar, posts, springs, cups - everything. He didn't want the old parts back. After I installed all the new parts, it was slicker than fresh goose poop. It operated perfectly. I can't say enough about their service and their no B.S. warranty.
 
It had a 550B that had a few issues like yours when I assembled the priming system according to the manual. What I did was loosen the screws holding the priming arm, bring the shellplate down onto it, and then tighten them. That way it was aligned better. Also, I put a wee bit of lube on the cases before loading a batch, as I noticed that once in a while if a case stuck a bit, the bounce could flip a primer over. It's been years since I sold that machine, so I might not have gotten the names of the parts right.
 
Thanks everyone. Found the problem. Turned out to be me being an idiot. I forgot to put the small primer magazine tube in. The primers were rotating in the oversized tube. Changed tubes no more flips.
 
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