Dillon 550B leaking varget

L

luckey

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
Hi guys, not sure if you have encountered this problem and have any fix.

I have been loading pistol rounds in different calibers on my 550b for the past 2 years without any issues. now I am starting to load 308 & 223. Tonight is the first time I tried to load up some 308 and I got varget leaked all over! I check everything was setup correctly, nice and smooth. also read online some people had this issue, but no real fix.

so, I am here to ask the CGN gurus again. Thanks in advance!
 
Thanks Ganderite and TeeJay. I have been loading 6 pistol rounds for the past two years without any issues. so I am pretty sure I have all the basics covered. no upside down powder funnel, large powder bar is in place for sure as small powder can't even put out over 15gr powder and I am loading 308 with minimum 43gr.

just noticed one thing, when I lower the handle in extreme slow motion, sometimes there is NO leak, or just drop one or two pieces extruded powder, the powder charge is all over the place. I think I have a defected large powder bar as it's the first time I use it. even though the 308 conversion kit is also new, it cannot affect powder change. I will call dillon tomorrow.

TeeJay said:
Did you swap to large powder bar?
Click to expand...
 
If it is leaking when you lower the ram, try pausing for a couple seconds at the top of the up stroke to allow the powder to fully drain into the case. I slow down when I reload 223 on my 550 compared to reloading pistol rounds.
 
I think you just have a "bridging " problem with the courser/increased powder volume from your pistol loads to your rifle loads, just giving the die body a little tap with a kitchen knife handle on every pour and giving the powder additional time to drain thru the drop tube should help out.
 
Bridging sound like the problem and I assume the area is not damp or anything.. Dillon will probably say the same thing other than cleaning the drop tube..
 
As mentioned - bridging.
Polish the snot out of the internals on the powder measure, charge bar and drop tube you plan on using with any extruded powder. Secure a new 'bounce' sheet to the powder measure with an elastic band. And, as already mentioned, the consistancy of the throw is of utmost importance - include tapping of the powder measure and drop tube in that to ensure the course kernels of powder don't bind up. You'll need to experiment with your technique to find a process that works for you.
All of the bare metal on the affected parts of the powder throw stage on my Dillons look like chrome.
 
Nope.

Your problem is probably case lube inside the neck of the case.

I had this problem with mine, because the case lube is sticky, it'd gum up the inside of the neck, as the powder fell into the case, it'd stick on the inside walls of the neck causing a blockage, not letting all of the powder fall into the case meaning it'd spill my precious varget all over the press.

A bit of a problem with .308, BIG problem with .223 due to the small diameter of the neck.

Here's the solution.

You have to run the brass through the press once to size it (and de-cap) then you feed it through your tumbler to polish off all of the lube, then run it back through the press to load it.

Basically, you need a second tool head, and set the two of them up as follows:

Toolhead 1.
-Size/Decap
-Empty
-Empty
-Empty

Tumble/polish/clean

Toolhead 2.
-Prime
-Powder/flare
-Seat bullet
-Crimper

Make sense?

NS
 
Case lube is no where near my cases when loading rifle on my Dillons, and I still get spillage due to bridging on the odd occasion, especially if I start to get a little sloppy with the routine - Ymmv.
 
Last edited:
for all the tests I have done, even though I don't think it's bridging(which happens when large amount of powder going through smaller space, like when loading 223 with extruded powder), I think what you suggested is the only possible way out, and still no guarantees.

what I found is that the varget I got is very sticky(I assume this is normal??) because even when I handload with spoon and trickler, the powder sticks on different spots of the spoon and trickler and won't get off even I shake them slightly. from what I could see, from powder measure, powder bar, die and funnel, there are just so many un-smooth surface for the powder to stick to. dillon should really do a better job on polishing those surfaces from the get-go, instead of letting customers dealt with them.

so I will not only polish everything as you said, but also use rubbing alcohol to clean all those surface as well. worst case, switch to ball powder.

it's not case lube issue as I am using brand new factory case which was individually measured, went through case gauge and deburred/chamferred. no resizing done and thus no lube.


beltfed said:
As mentioned - bridging.
Polish the snot out of the internals on the powder measure, charge bar and drop tube you plan on using with any extruded powder. Secure a new 'bounce' sheet to the powder measure with an elastic band. And, as already mentioned, the consistancy of the throw is of utmost importance - include tapping of the powder measure and drop tube in that to ensure the course kernels of powder don't bind up. You'll need to experiment with your technique to find a process that works for you.
All of the bare metal on the affected parts of the powder throw stage on my Dillons look like chrome.
Click to expand...
 
see my other post, it's not lube issue and I do have dedicated lee press for size/decap. dillon is for other operations. the varget is too sticky to begin with, combined with the not so smooth surface on the dillon powder measure components. I believe that's the problem.

NavyShooter said:
Nope.

Your problem is probably case lube inside the neck of the case.

I had this problem with mine, because the case lube is sticky, it'd gum up the inside of the neck, as the powder fell into the case, it'd stick on the inside walls of the neck causing a blockage, not letting all of the powder fall into the case meaning it'd spill my precious varget all over the press.

A bit of a problem with .308, BIG problem with .223 due to the small diameter of the neck.

Here's the solution.

You have to run the brass through the press once to size it (and de-cap) then you feed it through your tumbler to polish off all of the lube, then run it back through the press to load it.

Basically, you need a second tool head, and set the two of them up as follows:

Toolhead 1.
-Size/Decap
-Empty
-Empty
-Empty

Tumble/polish/clean

Toolhead 2.
-Prime
-Powder/flare
-Seat bullet
-Crimper

Make sense?

NS
Click to expand...
 
If after messing around you get fed up or just want to try something different, Ramshot TAC and Accurate 2520 are two quite decent double based spherical powders that work awesome in .223 with heavier weight bullets.

I now pretty much save all my Varget for my precision .308 loads.
 
thanks again. how the two powders work with 308 with 165 sst?

beltfed said:
If after messing around you get fed up or just want to try something different, Ramshot TAC and Accurate 2520 are two quite decent double based spherical powders that work awesome in .223 with heavier weight bullets.

I now pretty much save all my Varget for my precision .308 loads.
Click to expand...
 
Varget sticky? Try polishing every thing and then rub a dryer sheet on it and try again. Try a dryer sheet on spoon and see if it still sticks. Only seen Varget static cling to plastic, never metal but first time for everything.
 
luckey said:
thanks again. how the two powders work with 308 with 165 sst?
Click to expand...

Both TAC and 2520 are said to work well with .308. I've used the 2520 with .308 but not TAC.
I now try to stick with just a few powders for each caliber, because I could spend all my time with load development and not shooting.

Static absolutely is an issue even on metal - at least in Calgary where it is extremely dry.
 
I have some good news to report. After polishing everything along the way and cleaning with rubbing alcohol, now varget drops smoothly without leaking. I don't even have to tap on it. The metering is ok too with +/- 0.1g. Not the greatest, but maybe acceptable. I will still try some cfe 223 to see if I can get the same spot-on metering as I got with all my pistol rounds.
And since I have plenty metal polish left, I have an excuse to try the 25 cent glock trigger job on all my glocks now. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom