Benefit of a Electronic Powder Dispenser?

[General RE LEE]

I've been reloading for a couple years now with great success using a Hornady powder hopper, scale and trickler. I load to the tenth of a grain and have developed sub MOA loads with low SD, ES numbers.

Is there a benefit to an electronic powder dispenser like the RCBS Chargemaster? I'm considering one to simplify a step but I don't want to sacrifice results.

 

[Eric H]

I've used the RCBS Chargemaster for quite a few years and it hasn't let me down yet. Quick and easy. Calibrate and let'r rip. Really cuts down the time in reloading.

 

[RegionRat]

This is another "it depends" answer....
Some electronic powder dispensers are inexpensive and drop to within about the same as what you are doing now. They are not particularly fast.

I still own and run two ChargeMasters, the older designs. This was to get done with big batches. They are not as tight as folks typically report, but good enough for many tasks. I have given some of the new ones as gifts, but they are also known to be less reliable and don't throw tight or fast in my opinion.

What that does for you is allow you a lower fatigue level for days when you are loading a larger batch. Your focus level and fatigue are higher when you are the machine trickling loads to within a tenth of a grain. With a dispenser, you can relax a little and just watch for over-throws.

You end up spending higher to get faster and better throws. It takes a fast scale with good resolution to do better and those are not cheap. These days, the only servo operated trickle unit to add to a beam scale I know of comes from UK. If you have a good beam scale, this is a good unit.

http://www.targetmasteruk.com/page2.htm

Your options for regular dispensers are reviewed here. You can get an idea of the results as well as the speeds and reliability issues.



And you can see the A&D FX120i with Autotrickle here.

https://autotrickler.com/pages/autotrickler-v4

And the latest competitor to that here.

https://supertrickler.com.au/

The Supertrickler is so new I have no opinion or time on one yet. A Prometheus isn't cheap or easy to get, but was the gold standard for a long time. I now run two AutoTricklers with an Ingenuity modification for the trickler.

https://ingenuityprecision.com/product/ingenuity-powder-meter-preorder/

These are from cottage shops so you get in line and wait. I got mine early and like them very much, but we are talking a significant amount more than a ChargeMaster. In the end, it depends on how much you are loading and how fast you want to go... YMMV.

 

[Eric H]

This is another "it depends" answer....
Some electronic powder dispensers are inexpensive and drop to within about the same as what you are doing now. They are not particularly fast.

I still own and run two ChargeMasters, the older designs. This was to get done with big batches. They are not as tight as folks typically report, but good enough for many tasks. I have given some of the new ones as gifts, but they are also known to be less reliable and don't throw tight or fast in my opinion.

What that does for you is allow you a lower fatigue level for days when you are loading a larger batch. Your focus level and fatigue are higher when you are the machine trickling loads to within a tenth of a grain. With a dispenser, you can relax a little and just watch for over-throws.

You end up spending higher to get faster and better throws. It takes a fast scale with good resolution to do better and those are not cheap. These days, the only servo operated trickle unit to add to a beam scale I know of comes from UK. If you have a good beam scale, this is a good unit.

http://www.targetmasteruk.com/page2.htm

Your options for regular dispensers are reviewed here. You can get an idea of the results as well as the speeds and reliability issues.



And you can see the A&D FX120i with Autotrickle here.

https://autotrickler.com/pages/autotrickler-v4

And the latest competitor to that here.

https://supertrickler.com.au/

The Supertrickler is so new I have no opinion or time on one yet. A Prometheus isn't cheap or easy to get, but was the gold standard for a long time. I now run two AutoTricklers with an Ingenuity modification for the trickler.

https://ingenuityprecision.com/product/ingenuity-powder-meter-preorder/

These are from cottage shops so you get in line and wait. I got mine early and like them very much, but we are talking a significant amount more than a ChargeMaster. In the end, it depends on how much you are loading and how fast you want to go... YMMV.

Wish I had a friend that gifted me a Chargemaster.

 

[Mikecr]

Is there a benefit to an electronic powder dispenser like the RCBS Chargemaster?

Convenience only.
But I really like mine

 

[vedauvoo]

What that does for you is allow you a lower fatigue level for days when you are loading a larger batch. Your focus level and fatigue are higher when you are the machine trickling loads to within a tenth of a grain. With a dispenser, you can relax a little and just watch for over-throws.

Well said.

 

[Kmccord]

I have two chargemasters one died after 21 years, I can tell you the original would throw a weight off by a grain and the only way I found out was the horrible Chrono results. I pulled the old balance beam out and found they were not the same weight from one to the other. That is when I just started using it to throw a powder charge to a half a grain less than needed and trickled to the weight needed on the beam. The second Chargemaster, purchased two years ago, out of the box, I tested against the balance beam on first charge and it was perfect, at this point I would check every third on the beam and they were perfect. Then, later on, started having Chrono problems again, checked with the beam and it was throwing out charges up and down, sometimes up to a full grain. If you have a system that works for you and you are not concerned with time, it is no faster if you end up doing what I have to do, then save the money and continue with your methods. Just my .02.

 

[Eric H]

Hornady wad my first and it died within 1 year. They replaced it for free and I never took the new one out the box. Found the RCBS on sale during the downtime and never looked back. Sold the Hornady.

 

[Ol' Red]

Following this one. I have been using RCBS 10-10 beam scale since the eighties.

 

[Wolf76]

I use the hornady dispenser. It's okay, but I only use it to get close. I have a much better scale that I dump the dispensed powder into. With the better scale I trickle up to the nearest 2 hundredths of a grain.
The electric dispenser really speeds up the process.

 

[257WHBY13]

I use RCBS, love the accuracy & speed. I used to always weight each charge on beam scales, now no longer, RCBS Chargemaster has been best investment I've made in reloading gear!

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have had a Hornady Lock n Load Autotrickler for about 9 years and probably thrown hundreds of thousands of charges on. I throw to .4 under, then transfer to an RCBS 5-0-5 and trickle to the individual kernel. I would not trust it to just throw a charge and go. It is only for getting my bulk charge ready while I trickle and seat the bullet. Mine is not accurate at all. It will read the same, but will actually be anywhere from .4gr under to .1gr over on the beam scale. Or read .3gr overcharge and actually be under .1gr to over on the beam scale. And yes, I trust the beam scale according to my ESs at the range.

When it dies, which I think it is getting close, I will switch to an A&D FX120i gen 4. Or the newest equivalent.

 

[Allen Kitts]

I use the Chargemaster to throw the load then verify the weight with a second digital scale before dropping the powder into the brass. This method has worked great for me for years.

 

[Mark37082]

I have been considering upgrading the powder throw and scales over the past year. Every time I get ready to place an order, I just come to my senses and realize that I really don't need it. I'm a slow and meticulous reloader. I don't shoot the volume that would require churning out faster finished rounds. I will buy a A&D FX120 at some point for more precise and easier weighing of charges.