A short while ago, I queried the CGN membership as to which would be the best. The answer was the RCBS Chargemaster wins hands down. But, I decided to bring both of them home and give them a try. Here's my unbiased opinion without predujices:
I brought the Lyman 1200DPS home first. I proceeded to the warm up period first which takes a half hour. This was then followed by calibration in accordance to the manual. Then I proceeded to load the hopper with IMR4350 and decided that I would check thrown weights agains tanother digital scale and that of my RCBS 5-0-2 balance. The results were dissapointing to say the least. The Lyman turns at high speed which causes powder to bounce out of the pan and lay all over the platform. Some kernels actually find their way underneath the scale table. The powder charges were 1.3 grains heavy for a 22.0 grain load and 2.8 grains heavy for a 66.0 grain load. The worse experience came during clean up. I ended up with powder all over the table and on the floor. The unit nearly requires a full dismantling to clean up.
Then I returned it and spent an extra $80.00 or so to take the RCBS Chargemaster home. I notice right off that even packaging was superior. There was no required warm up period. After calibration also according to the manual, I proceeded to throw the same charges of IMR4350. The Chargemaster starts out in high speed mode, then switches to a slower speed as it approaches the required load. When it gets within a grain or so, it goes into what I would describe as an indexing mode. It literally throws in tenths of grains until the desired amount is reached and the scale has stabilized. When I checked the results on the 5-0-2 I was within 0.2 grains. But I threw another charge with the protective cover open, and it threw charges dead-on the money. Probably a more comparable result to that of the balance scale because it is not contained under a protective cover. Clean up was a breeze, not a single grain lost.
Hands down, the RCBS Chargemaster is worth the extra money. I've had and still use good Lyman products, but their Autodispensing/scale combo 1200DPS in my books is not even close to being in the same class as the RCBS Chargemaster combo. What's the point of having a faster unit if the charges are inacurrate?
Bottom line, by my humble opinion anyways is .... go green.
git....
I brought the Lyman 1200DPS home first. I proceeded to the warm up period first which takes a half hour. This was then followed by calibration in accordance to the manual. Then I proceeded to load the hopper with IMR4350 and decided that I would check thrown weights agains tanother digital scale and that of my RCBS 5-0-2 balance. The results were dissapointing to say the least. The Lyman turns at high speed which causes powder to bounce out of the pan and lay all over the platform. Some kernels actually find their way underneath the scale table. The powder charges were 1.3 grains heavy for a 22.0 grain load and 2.8 grains heavy for a 66.0 grain load. The worse experience came during clean up. I ended up with powder all over the table and on the floor. The unit nearly requires a full dismantling to clean up.
Then I returned it and spent an extra $80.00 or so to take the RCBS Chargemaster home. I notice right off that even packaging was superior. There was no required warm up period. After calibration also according to the manual, I proceeded to throw the same charges of IMR4350. The Chargemaster starts out in high speed mode, then switches to a slower speed as it approaches the required load. When it gets within a grain or so, it goes into what I would describe as an indexing mode. It literally throws in tenths of grains until the desired amount is reached and the scale has stabilized. When I checked the results on the 5-0-2 I was within 0.2 grains. But I threw another charge with the protective cover open, and it threw charges dead-on the money. Probably a more comparable result to that of the balance scale because it is not contained under a protective cover. Clean up was a breeze, not a single grain lost.
Hands down, the RCBS Chargemaster is worth the extra money. I've had and still use good Lyman products, but their Autodispensing/scale combo 1200DPS in my books is not even close to being in the same class as the RCBS Chargemaster combo. What's the point of having a faster unit if the charges are inacurrate?
Bottom line, by my humble opinion anyways is .... go green.
git....
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