Electronic powder dispenser

savagelh

savagelh

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My old hornady beam scale doesn't seem overly reliable batch to batch. Ill get different fps averages every time I load a different batch. The components are all the same lot so it must be a powder charge issue. Are any of the electronic powder dispensers reliable? I don't want to spend $800 on the rcbs but is the FA intelledropper a decent one? I've read pretty mixed reviews but I've met too many people to hold much value on online reviews
 
savagelh said:
My old hornady beam scale doesn't seem overly reliable batch to batch. Ill get different fps averages every time I load a different batch. The components are all the same lot so it must be a powder charge issue.
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There is no powder measure on earth that will guarantee the exact same average from batch to batch because there are a huge number of variables involved in the velocity shot to shot.

You don't specify how many shots are involved in generating a batch average nor how much the average of those sample sizes varies? The number of shots (samples) and the standard deviation of each batch will tell you how consistent your velocities are.

And then of course, for shots under about 500 yds, velocity variation makes little difference to accuracy. Velocity variation is really only important at long distances. What distance are you shooting at?

How are your group sizes? If the thing shoots into a single hole then velocity consistency is totally irrelevant.
 
I run 2 RCBS Chargemasters and an Acculab scale. The Chargemasters are both equally inaccurate but are usually +/- .5 gr. However I am looking for an exact weight +.02 gr. So every charge comes off the Chargemaster and is reweighed on the Acculab and trickled up before being dumped into the case.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
There is no powder measure on earth that will guarantee the exact same average from batch to batch because there are a huge number of variables involved in the velocity shot to shot.

You don't specify how many shots are involved in generating a batch average nor how much the average of those sample sizes varies? The number of shots (samples) and the standard deviation of each batch will tell you how consistent your velocities are.

And then of course, for shots under about 500 yds, velocity variation makes little difference to accuracy. Velocity variation is really only important at long distances. What distance are you shooting at?

How are your group sizes? If the thing shoots into a single hole then velocity consistency is totally irrelevant.
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Batches are usually small. 25-50 at a time. I shoot out to about 1250 yards from time to time but most is sub 650 yards. You're right about a small change in velocity not making a huge difference at the closer ranges. I just want a bit more consistency and maybe lower es/sd.
 
savagelh said:
Batches are usually small. 25-50 at a time. I shoot out to about 1250 yards from time to time but most is sub 650 yards. You're right about a small change in velocity not making a huge difference at the closer ranges. I just want a bit more consistency and maybe lower es/sd.
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Are you measuring velocity for all 25-50 to calculate your average vely? What is the SD you are currently seeing? How much variation is there between batches? It is entirely possible the variation between averages is within the SD, in which case, going to a different powder system won't make any difference in powder charge consistency.

I have an RCBS Chargemaster Supreme and quite like it. Previously I was using an RCBS powder measure. I wanted increased consistency without greatly slowing down the reloading process and without spending $2000. I think the Chargemaster Supreme is a good middle ground machine. It is reasonably accurate, reasonably fast and not overly expensive. There are certainly better systems but they cost a lot more.
 
I stepped up to an auto trickle v4 on an acculab scale. It breaks the stated budget by a lot but my god... the thing is a wizard. As an experiment I used tweezers to pull a stick of powder from anything that went over 0.02 grains. After 100 rounds, I had only collected 7 sticks of H1000.

That being said, I have my original RCBS chargemaster 1500 with basically every imaginable upgrade i could find or do, is available to a good home. (mcdonalds straw for dispenser, re-programmed drop rate, area 419 aluminum sensor plate and area 419 powder bowl)
If you're interested, shoot me a PM.
 
I've had the rcbs link for a few years. It use to be painfully slow but was always dead nuts accurate.
Lately it has been throwing much faster and then over throws. Not sure what is going on,l.
 
savagelh said:
I've read a few reviews that said the link(lite) wasn't overly accurate. Do you find that to be true
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Mines been pretty good, but I don’t think it measures as fine as the normal charge master, eg it will do 10.2 grains not 10.25
Some powders throw better then others too but if it gets too much it tells you that it went over and if too little it says under
If your a hard core precision shooter the lite might not be good enough but for most of us it is wonderful and beats using a beam scale or a regular digital one
 
I run an RCBS MatchMaster It's super pricey now. It was a Grand when I bought it. I think it was mislabeled. Should have been 1300 hun. I think there more now. But it is pretty accurate to .00+- .04 The extra decimal point has made a difference quite a bit. Accuracy of any scale is subject to air currents regardless of money spent or even if it's a beam type. I own and have used an RCBS beam, basic digital and now a Matchmaster.
Ask yourself how accurate the charge needs to be for your reloading needs before budgeting an electronic dispenser. There are many other factors that come into play to creating consistent ammo. A big one is case capacity. If your using unsorted brass by weight you will find a wide variation in velocity regardless of weight charge accuracy. Then there's consistent seating and crimping. the list goes on. It's not your average rabbit hole. So ask yourself how much it matters for your needs. Chasing clovers is a different game. Here's a Vid for some basic ones that make reloading easier just by doing stuff for you. Cheers
 
savagelh said:
I use another digital scale to check and I use a known weight to calibrate the digital one. The beam scale is always .2-.4 gr higher.
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I used a powder dropper to get to a basic undercharge, then drop it on the electronic scale pan, then bring it to charge weight with a trickler, did that for years. All that stuff is back in it's original packaging now. I'm very happy with my RCBS Match Master. Their customer service is beyond exceptional too.
 
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savagelh said:
My old hornady beam scale doesn't seem overly reliable batch to batch. Ill get different fps averages every time I load a different batch. The components are all the same lot so it must be a powder charge issue. Are any of the electronic powder dispensers reliable? I don't want to spend $800 on the rcbs but is the FA intelledropper a decent one? I've read pretty mixed reviews but I've met too many people to hold much value on online reviews
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Invest in another mechanical scale, many of the electronic scales loose any sort of accuracy they once had quickly, fragile easily broken, loose their zero and frequently need to be re calibrated and the ones I've had I was always double checking against a beam scale simply because I never trusted the dam things. A powder measure, trickler and a mechanical scale is all you need.
 
bibatoad said:
Invest in another mechanical scale, many of the electronic scales loose any sort of accuracy they once had quickly, fragile easily broken, loose their zero and frequently need to be re calibrated and the ones I've had I was always double checking against a beam scale simply because I never trusted the dam things. A powder measure, trickler and a mechanical scale is all you need.
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To imply that a beam scale is more accurate is just wrong. Sorry. It just is. Come on.. They work fine for basic reloading but they are not more accurate. If they were they would still be used commercially. Go to a jeweler and insist on them using one. they will gleefully agree, if they have ever had one. The OP wants a dispenser. For whatever reason he asked about dispensers. Perhaps he's interested in actually doing things faster with a higher level of accuracy. Cheers
 
270WSMXBolt said:
To imply that a beam scale is more accurate is just wrong. Sorry. It just is. Come on.. They work fine for basic reloading but they are not more accurate. If they were they would still be used commercially. Go to a jeweler and insist on them using one. they will gleefully agree, if they have ever had one. The OP wants a dispenser. For whatever reason he asked about dispensers. Perhaps he's interested in actually doing things faster with a higher level of accuracy. Cheers
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I dunno.

I have a V4 Autotrickler and it is a darned impressive unit but being electronic it has the weaknesses that electronics do (interference / drifting etc etc).

The most high end scale I am aware of is the Prometheus which is pretty fancy but below the hood it is an elaborate mechanical scale. As it says in the literature for the product "Due to its mechanical balance beam, the Prometheus Gen II is immune to electrical interference." & "The Prometheus Gen II delivers to-the-kernel precision, cycle after cycle."
 
The main reason people have trouble with beam scales is, they leave them out on the bench , and even with a cover , they get dust buildup in the agate bearings . Had the issue , thought my scale had gone bad, bought electronic one, spent more time calibrating it than it was worth, went back to a RCBS 505, keep it in the box with a cover over the box until I am ready to use it, no issues. Set powder measure a bit light , trickle to weight. Been reloading for over 50 years and 100’s of thousands of rounds , never a problem, won a few provincial championships to boot.
 
Sniffer said:
I dunno.

I have a V4 Autotrickler and it is a darned impressive unit but being electronic it has the weaknesses that electronics do (interference / drifting etc etc).

The most high end scale I am aware of is the Prometheus which is pretty fancy but below the hood it is an elaborate mechanical scale. As it says in the literature for the product "Due to its mechanical balance beam, the Prometheus Gen II is immune to electrical interference." & "The Prometheus Gen II delivers to-the-kernel precision, cycle after cycle."
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It is not actually a beam scale but utilizes the mechanical attributes. I'm not poo pooing the beam scale but it simply is not more accurate even by your statement. Your talking a hybrid. The OP was asking about electronic dispensers. To provide opinion that the OP is wrong for asking about them is just wrong. I provided pertinent content to the question that was asked. talking about beam scales is irrelevant to the real subject presented by the OP. Cheers
 
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