I got one of these things recently to speed up my primer tube filling. I looked at their Primer Pro device first but it only works with small primers and I wanted to use large primers as well. Plus it is much more expensive. So I thought I would try this PrimaFill out.
So far I've tried it with CCI and Federal small primers. It seems to work great for me. First I insert the tube in the slot and lock it in place. Make sure your retaining pin is in place so you don't end up with primers all over!
Then I sit it down on the edge of the bench and get the primers ready.
When using Federal primers I try to line the primer slots up with the grooves in the primer tray. I tried it both ways and this way seems to make them shake into proper position easier. With CCI they are flat on the tray so even easier to get them on the right side.
The grooves are straight, unlike most primer trays that have circular grooves. I don't know why they went the straight route (maybe easier to manufacture?) but it seems to work almost as well. I usually end up with a few stubborn primers that wont' flip but this isn't a big deal.
Once you put the cover on the primer tray you need to hold it pretty tight as it doesn't lock on and if it's left loose you might get a primer flip on you. Maybe primers that are larger won't do this but I haven't tried yet. Then you hold it up facing yourself and give it a very slight tilt and activate the vibrating button. You want to keep the primers from bunching up when they are going into the tube so they don't jam. I keep them spread out or they will jam like in this pic (see how two primers are trying to make their way down the chute at the same time)
It doesn't jam often but if it does you just tap it a bit and it frees up. Jams are usually operator error, trying to go too fast and letting the primers bunch up. It takes a couple of packages of primers to get the hang of it but then it's easy.
I made a short video but was holding my phone with one hand and the PrimaFill in the other so it actually took longer than normal to fill a tube as it was a bit awkward and didn't get the angle just right. But you should be able to get the idea.
Overall I like it and it's much nicer than poking primers into a tube manually, with the bonus that there is no work involved switching from large to small primers. One other thing- It needs a 9V battery to work. I don't use 9V batteries much so when it first arrived I didn't have a spare 9V at home and wasn't going to drive into town just for the battery so I tried kind of shaking it and it did work pretty good. So if your battery dies you can actually use it manually but it's more effort and not as cool of course.
r
So far I've tried it with CCI and Federal small primers. It seems to work great for me. First I insert the tube in the slot and lock it in place. Make sure your retaining pin is in place so you don't end up with primers all over!
Then I sit it down on the edge of the bench and get the primers ready.
When using Federal primers I try to line the primer slots up with the grooves in the primer tray. I tried it both ways and this way seems to make them shake into proper position easier. With CCI they are flat on the tray so even easier to get them on the right side.
The grooves are straight, unlike most primer trays that have circular grooves. I don't know why they went the straight route (maybe easier to manufacture?) but it seems to work almost as well. I usually end up with a few stubborn primers that wont' flip but this isn't a big deal.
Once you put the cover on the primer tray you need to hold it pretty tight as it doesn't lock on and if it's left loose you might get a primer flip on you. Maybe primers that are larger won't do this but I haven't tried yet. Then you hold it up facing yourself and give it a very slight tilt and activate the vibrating button. You want to keep the primers from bunching up when they are going into the tube so they don't jam. I keep them spread out or they will jam like in this pic (see how two primers are trying to make their way down the chute at the same time)
It doesn't jam often but if it does you just tap it a bit and it frees up. Jams are usually operator error, trying to go too fast and letting the primers bunch up. It takes a couple of packages of primers to get the hang of it but then it's easy.
I made a short video but was holding my phone with one hand and the PrimaFill in the other so it actually took longer than normal to fill a tube as it was a bit awkward and didn't get the angle just right. But you should be able to get the idea.
Overall I like it and it's much nicer than poking primers into a tube manually, with the bonus that there is no work involved switching from large to small primers. One other thing- It needs a 9V battery to work. I don't use 9V batteries much so when it first arrived I didn't have a spare 9V at home and wasn't going to drive into town just for the battery so I tried kind of shaking it and it did work pretty good. So if your battery dies you can actually use it manually but it's more effort and not as cool of course.
r
