Electronic powder dispenser repair costs?

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Kyndrick

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I’ve been looking to get an electronic powder dispenser though have been hesitant primarily since they all seem to only offer 1 year of warranty which seems insane for a $300-1200 device…

I’ve been trying to understand which company offers the most “reasonable” repair fee’s for electronic dispensers should the scale/dispenser fail. I understand that the frankford Arsenal intellidropper is probably a bad idea as they don’t even offer warranty services in Canada and instead lean on the distributors. I suspect it’s not a big deal for their other products, though the electronics and scale parts scare me with cost creep should it need repair.

Does anyone have experience with having to repair an rcbs chargemaster, or Lyman gen 6, or Hornady auto charge pro? Are there company’s in Canada that are qualified and able to work on these devices? Or perhaps it’s just not that big of a market so we have to ship everything to the states?

How concerned should I be with buying a used product? I’ve heard horror stories of scales being damaged just by tipping them upside down so I’m guessing it’s unlikely a used one would not require some sort of service/repair.

Lots of questions I know, unfortunately everything I’ve read online has painted the picture that after the warranty period ends, it’s likely people just throw them in the garbage If they fail…
 
Can't answer a lot of your questions, my RCBS Chargemaster has never needed repair in the time i have had it. Close to 10 years i think. Buying a used scale i would want to demo it first and that includes a beam type as well. Not sure why you would tip a scale upside down except for some postal worker during shipping.
Hopefully somebody else can be of more help in the repairing end of things.
 
If it dies after a year your RCBS can be sent in to be refurbished. My keypad was displaying a 3 if I hit the 1 key. The shipping to and from the states was around $110. I think the referb was another hundred. So the warranty was over 10 years ago (2017) and I took it apart and blew it all out with air. Reassembled it and it worked again. Be going since 2007.
It is an RCBS Charge Master.
 
my first chargemaster had a power adapter problem during warranty and received a new one once I sent them pics of me destroying the whole unit.
 
tigrr said:
If it dies after a year your RCBS can be sent in to be refurbished. My keypad was displaying a 3 if I hit the 1 key. The shipping to and from the states was around $110. I think the referb was another hundred. So the warranty was over 10 years ago (2017) and I took it apart and blew it all out with air. Reassembled it and it worked again. Be going since 2007.
It is an RCBS Charge Master.
Click to expand...

...Good to know...I'm am not opposed to taking things apart
 
My old Hornady quit.

Called and it was replaced (and upgraded ) by Hornady through Korth in Okotoks AB. No BS done fast.

Korth does Leupold warranty as well. They have treated me like gold for years. They are the only reason I would buy another Leupold product.
 
That’s really comforting to hear about Hornady. I have had good experiences with their warranty with their presses so I’m glad to hear it’s the same for their electronics even out of the warranty period. Thanks for the feedback, it does help paint a more positive picture from what to expect for post-sales support from the main reloading companies.
 
legi0n said:
my first chargemaster had a power adapter problem during warranty and received a new one once I sent them pics of me destroying the whole unit.
Click to expand...

Mine was a RCBS with a bad key-pad. It was off warranty so I called down about repair. First they wanted me to send it in with 60 bucks, until I told them I was from Canada. Then it was send 60 bucks and pictures of it smashed. I shot it with a .458 Win Mag and videoed it and sent that in instead.;);)

I got on the Chargemaster thing early and there were a lot of problems. They sure seem to have figured it out after that though, I never hear of any issues now.
 
RCBS apparently has a Cdn repair address, Bushnell owns them now, so it goes to Bushnell in Vaughn Ont. Whether it gets repaired there or trans shipped to US facility, have to ask them. https://www.rcbs.com/primos-customer-service/po-canada-repair-services.html
Or there is Lone Mtn Communications in Pearce Arizona, who I believe, you can buy refurbs and parts from. And there are DIY repair vids on YT now, for those who are capable.
 
My Hornady is in its 8th year, no problems. Did a beeper-ectomy on it, otherwise as it was out of the box. Run it against my beam scale every once in a while to make sure it is still good- and it always has been. If I'm really being persnickety I run 0.3gn low and trickle up on the beam but if a load is tuned well enough the hornady throws with enough accuracy for my needs. If it ever has a problem I'd look into getting it fixed- really like the automatic power throw, not sure I could go back to throwers and trickling...
 
I've had my RCBS chargemaster for over 10 years, no issue with it so far. I played with the programming to speed it up a bit, and stuck a piece of McDonald's straw in the tube which seemed to make it less likely to spit out an extra tenth or two.
Kristian
 
This is the best on the market without spending $5k

https://ceproducts.shop/products/deposit-for-autotrickler-v4-a-d-fx-120i

Will cost you about $1300 CAD but dispenses quickly (you can adjust the speed) with a 0.02 gr accuracy.

Cut my loading time in half. Definitely worth the coin and the wait.

I know people who have the the mainstream ones and they all complain they suck and are slow. This will dispense 50 gr/sec, accurately too. I can load 223 just as fast as 338 with it.

super easy to use, you set the weight with an app on your phone. as soon as you replace the glass container it refills it.

5 yr warranty too
 
209jones said:
RCBS apparently has a Cdn repair address, Bushnell owns them now, so it goes to Bushnell in Vaughn Ont. Whether it gets repaired there or trans shipped to US facility, have to ask them. https://www.rcbs.com/primos-customer-service/po-canada-repair-services.html
Or there is Lone Mtn Communications in Pearce Arizona, who I believe, you can buy refurbs and parts from. And there are DIY repair vids on YT now, for those who are capable.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on Lone Mtn.
 
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