eletronic powder trickler

[rcoody]

Ok guys I am giving up on the electronic powder measures like the RCBS Chargemaster. 0.15 grains just doesn't cut it for me. I am presently dumping charges and then weighing and trickling on a 0.02 gr jewelers scale. The chargemaster is just too slow.

I am getting an old timey manual powder measure where I can dump fast and weigh and trickle on the digital scale.

I am not the best manual trickler and it is a real pain in the *** so my question is do any of you have any experience with either of these electronic powder tricklers

Omega Powder trickler or the Omega automatic power trickler

Ammo Reloading | Reloading Equipment | Omega Powder Trickler | Dandy Reloading Tools

or the vibrashine

vibratest

 

[Corey Schwanz]

I've not used the Vibrashine model at all, but given what I've seen and know about the Omega, I wouldn't feel the need to look anywhere else if I were in the market for one. I like the dual speed option and adjustability of the Omega. Lot of people using it with success.

 

[parshal]

I recently got an Omega Auto and have been messing around with it and the Chargemaster. After playing with the programming on the CM I was able to ge it to weigh out very quickly. Adding the straw to the tube made a huge difference in overcharges. Before the straw, it would stop and show perfect weight but if left on the scale untouched it would then read over by a tenth or two. The straw stopped that.

I set the CM to drop a couple tenths low and then put it in the manual scale and used the Omega to trickle up. I played with different charge weights for an hour or so. The Omega is nice once you take the time to tune it to stop right where you want it on a manual balance scale. You need to wait a couple seconds for the scale to settle before trickling.

For me, the Omega will be nice to use at the range if I'm there for a while since I have no AC power for the CM. At home, using it in conjunction with the CM is slower and I don't think it's that much more accurate after having tuned the CM. With an ultra accurate digital scale the Omega would be perfect, though. The CM drops powder faster than the Omega so I'd use that to get close and trickle with the Omega. You'd only need the $65 Omega with your scale so that's a no brainer to me.

 

[barefooter56]

Ok guys I am giving up on the electronic powder measures like the RCBS Chargemaster. 0.15 grains just doesn't cut it for me. I am presently dumping charges and then weighing and trickling on a 0.02 gr jewelers scale. The chargemaster is just too slow.

I am getting an old timey manual powder measure where I can dump fast and weigh and trickle on the digital scale.

I am not the best manual trickler and it is a real pain in the *** so my question is do any of you have any experience with either of these electronic powder tricklers

Omega Powder trickler or the Omega automatic power trickler

Ammo Reloading | Reloading Equipment | Omega Powder Trickler | Dandy Reloading Tools

or the vibrashine

vibratest

rcoody,
I use the Little Dandy Omega trickler with the auto shut off for use with the RCBS 1010 beam scales.
Takes a little effort getting the electric eye shut off set up and the vibration weight on the spout . Once you have that though it throws spot on every time. Be sure to get a set of the RCBS check weights to confirm your scale weight set up too!

 

[rcoody]

rcoody,
I use the Little Dandy Omega trickler with the auto shut off for use with the RCBS 1010 beam scales.
Takes a little effort getting the electric eye shut off set up and the vibration weight on the spout . Once you have that though it throws spot on every time. Be sure to get a set of the RCBS check weights to confirm your scale weight set up too!

Thanks guys

Omega is in the mail

I will let you know how it works out after playing with it a while

 

[AZShooter]

That Omega is interesting with its automatic shutoff.

I doubt I would switch with my "high tech trickler". I use a tiny medical scoop to take powder from a 4" diameter 3" deep cylindrical container on to my electronic scale. Then I use my fingers to add the last bit of powder. If I get over the top I remove some powder with fingers. It is the fastest way I know. Been doing this for almost 40 yrs.

 

[rcoody]

That Omega is interesting with its automatic shutoff.

I doubt I would switch with my "high tech trickler". I use a tiny medical scoop to take powder from a 4" diameter 3" deep cylindrical container on to my electronic scale. Then I use my fingers to add the last bit of powder. If I get over the top I remove some powder with fingers. It is the fastest way I know. Been doing this for almost 40 yrs.

pretty much what I have been doing. but my fat stubby fingers are not that accurate.

I would try the balance beam scale with automatic cutoff but what I have discovered that even the balance beam scales are only accurate to about 0.15 grains some even more. About like the chargemaster I have now.

For most reloading that is plenty accurate but when you are doing load development and trying to squeeze out the last bit of accuracy out of a rifle I want to eliminate all the variables.

trying to get my powder charges +/- 0.02 grains just for the hell of it.

 

[jonthomps]

I've heard good things about the Omega. Between that and a high quality digital scale you should be set.

 

[marcuscrobinson]

I built an electronic trickler/dispenser. I originally planned it to dispense the full charge onto a beam scale but its a lot faster to either use a manual powder dispenser or a dipper and trickle up. I use the dippers from Lee and the electronic trickler. It has a push on button and a speed dial. When it gets close I slow it down until the charge is perfect.

 

[johnnyk]

Hopefully, I will never have to go back to a mechanical scale for my reloading.

I have included a file for reprogramming the ChargeMaster1500. I would suggest you write your current settings down while you're in there, just in case you make a boo-boo. Between these instructions and the straw, the CM takes on a whole 'nother personality.

I also included a pic of my current setup. The Omega works great in concert with the high precision (0.001gn) Mettler Toledo AB104-S, but these balances cost more than most folks want to invest in their reloading hobby. I always imagined folks that were in to National competition having a setup like this, but I think a lot of them use a powder thrower! That's something to ponder

I run 2.0gn less than desired on the ChargeMaster, transfer the charge to the Mettler and use the high speed trickle then low speed to get my desired charge. With this method it is possible to get consistent charges that run +/- .004gn. This (+/- .004gn) is my tolerance too.

After all is said and done, a lot of rifles and shooters probably can't shoot the difference between +/- .4gn, much less .004gn (me included), but I like to think it helps me. Consistency and confidence go a long way in this game. JohnnyK.

 

[rcoody]

Hopefully, I will never have to go back to a mechanical scale for my reloading.

I have included a file for reprogramming the ChargeMaster1500. I would suggest you write your current settings down while you're in there, just in case you make a boo-boo. Between these instructions and the straw, the CM takes on a whole 'nother personality.

I also included a pic of my current setup. The Omega works great in concert with the high precision (0.001gn) Mettler Toledo AB104-S, but these balances cost more than most folks want to invest in their reloading hobby. I always imagined folks that were in to National competition having a setup like this, but I think a lot of them use a powder thrower! That's something to ponder

I run 2.0gn less than desired on the ChargeMaster, transfer the charge to the Mettler and use the high speed trickle then low speed to get my desired charge. With this method it is possible to get consistent charges that run +/- .004gn. This (+/- .004gn) is my tolerance too.

After all is said and done, a lot of rifles and shooters probably can't shoot the difference between +/- .4gn, much less .004gn (me included), but I like to think it helps me. Consistency and confidence go a long way in this game. JohnnyK.

and I thought I was going a bit overboard in the pursuit of perfection. I though I would see what my results were with more accurate powder charges. I know now going from an electronic powder dispenser with its best accuracy being 0.15gr and often much worse to +/- 0.02gr has certainly shrunk my groups.

how do you trickle +/- 0.004gr? That is awesome!

 

[parshal]

I was just messing around with the Omega and a digital scale (accuracy to .05 grain) and I found it somewhat tough to get the speed just right. Perfect speed for the high speed was intolerably slow when using the trickle. I almost have to get within .1 grain with high speed and trickle from there but it's tough to hit that .1 grain on high speed.

Any tips on setting the speed on the Omega so that I don't have to mess with the adjustment once switching to trickle?

 

[johnnyk]

With the Omega it comes down to that last grain before going over your desired set point. Some powders are more consistent, wrt actual weight, that others. Retumbo comes to mind, great (consistent) powder to measure. One grain (granule) weighs approximately .033gns, so you kinda know what to expect (what's coming down the tube ). RL25 is horribly inconsistent.
When I get to the Mettler balance and Omega, I use high speed to get within .1 or .2 and slow jog from there.
This is where the "anal" part comes in; sometimes the load ends at say 80.985gn. This is below my tolerance of +/- .004, and another grain (.033) will push me over 81.018gn, so I use pieces of kernels that I have cut with a knife. I know, I know, some of you will say "BS, it's not necessary" or that "I'm messing up the kernels burn properties", etc, etc. At this point I'm looking for a specific number and a Kernel of dirt might work just as good. I dunno. Think back to the benchrest guys who are "throwing" all their loads and still shooting tighter groups, albeit short range, that most of us. It's the process I use anyway in building custom, tailored loads for a specific rifle. Good luck. JohnnyK.

 

[rcoody]

Well I got my omega today. Bought a cheap lee powder measure to go with it.

simple setup. thing works like a charm. you can trickle fast or drop one grain at a time.

my setup is an Ohaus YJ 102 scale, the omega and the powder measure. Much faster and more accurate than my chargemaster.

my recommendation to anyone thinking of buying a electronic powder dispenser is

buy the omega and a cheap powder measure and put the rest of the money into a truly accurate powder scale accurate to at least hundredths of a grain.

you can dump charges much faster than the chargemaster can.

With the omega you can watch single grains of powder as they come down the line and get ready to drop. No problem getting dead on measuring to 100ths of a grain.