Dual chargemasters, worth it?

[bm11]

Always looking to speed up my reloading process, and I have seen pics of two chargemasters side by side on reloading benches before, which makes me curious- is it faster to have two?

For those who have run twin chargemasters, I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

Ah, I have wondered this myself. I love the one I have and surely there would be twice as much love if I had two.
I think I would get a headache trying to run two at the same time. But, I can be easily confused in my old age.

 

[groovinpickle]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I've often considered buying a second one, because I can easily seat two bullets (in primed cases) in the time that it takes the Chargemaster to accurately throw a charge. You'd have to do some testing to make sure that they stay in sync, but if you're loading hundreds of rounds a month on a continuous basis I'd go for it. Worst case you've got a backup in case one goes out.

 

[TBass]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I run dual auto chargers (one RCBS and one Hornady). It's nice to always have a charge ready to go; additionally, if one throws over you simply dump it back into the powder dispenser and grab the other charge. It does indeed speed things up.

 

[madd0c]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I was considering it, then I reprogrammed my chargemaster. Plenty of threads here and elsewhere on how to reprogram.
Now it throws a charge BEFORE I can seat a bullet and place the finished round in the box. Absolutely no waiting for the chargemaster anymore.

I highly recommend it. As for overthrows, last weekend I loaded up 100 .308 rounds for a match, Of the 100 I had 4 that went over by .1 grains that I had to dip out before dumping the powder into the case.

Try it, you may be able to save a few hundred dollars and be just as happy.

madd0c

 

[memilanuk]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I use my Chargemaster alongside my Dillon 550... even with the programming changes, sometimes it will dispense a charge real quick, other times it takes a bit to creep up on the final charge - kind of like when you do it by hand, actually.

In any event, with the modest speed increases from tweaking the program settings, mine dispenses ~46-48gn of powder just about as fast as I can lower the ram, place a new bullet in the charged case, rotate the shell plate one notch, insert a new case @ station #1, then rotate the shellplate again to put the new case @ station #2 (powder die w/ funnel) and the case w/ bullet @ station #4 (micrometer bullet seater), and raise the ram. Usually there are a few (between 0 and 10) seconds extra in which I can grab the round that just fell into the finished bin, wipe off the lube with a blue shop towel, and sit it in the ammo box. I gotta do that anyway, so I don't really begrudge the time it takes - I just do it now rather than later.

I suppose if you were trying to run flat out you might be see some benefit from two dispensers... otherwise the only person I know who does that has two of the *old* grey Pact dispensers... which are slower than frozen molasses.

 

[kombayotch]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I dispense my powder with two Chargemasters (calibrated with the same set of check weights), that I verify with an Acculab VIC-303 scale. I'm weighing charges on the Acculab and dumping them into cases without ever having to wait on one of them to finish dispensing.

The Chargemaster can be tuned for better performance: http://www.sahuntingrifle.co.za/index.ph...id=8&id=185

I adjusted the parameters to:

HSP_A1 = 8.00
HSP_B1 = 3.00
HSP_C1 = 1.00

I also use a reducer, that restricts the powder and makes it so that it doesn't come out in clumps when it trickles:

It's made by just wrapping paper around a 3/16" rod until it fits in a Starbuck's straw. I've been meaning to machine a more permanent reducer, but haven't gotten around to it and I've been using this for a couple years now.

One of the biggest enemies of the Chargemaster is static buildup. To cope with it, I wear an anti-static wrist strap that is grounded. This dissipates any charge that is starting to build each time I grab the pan.

If you want to improve the accuracy further, know the weight of your powder pan. When you remove the pan with the powder in it, the display should read -(pan weight). If it's not EXACTLY that weight, it's off. This works very well, I have verified it with the Acculab. My charges are consistently within 0.02 gr. (a kernel) of each other UNLESS that empty tray reading is off, which sometimes happen and is always 0.1 gr. higher (ex: -148.3 vs. -148.4) on my units (zeroing offset/error). Then the Acculab also shows the charge being low by 0.08-0.1 gr.

In most cases, I only need to add a single kernel of powder to make the exact weight. When I get the 0.1 gr. low reading, then I drop in 4-5 kernels. If I didn't have the Acculab, I would just dump that charge back into the top of the Chargemaster.

 

[groovinpickle]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

FYI, through today (5/31) MidwayUSA has the Chargemaster on sale for $299 (dealer price), and RCBS is doing a $50 rebate on a $300+ purchase, so just buy a shellholder or a powder funnel or something.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

We run one of those "old grey Pact dispenser's" here and what we've done is simply get a second cup/funnel.

We drop in a lesser charge from the uniflow, and put the cup/funnel on the scale. Hit "go" and it fills up and stops at the pre-determined setting. All-the-while we are pouring from the other cup/funnel that was on the scale already.

Them motors are running darn-near continuous, but it gets the job done. Gotta look more into this "reprogramming" thing, and see if this unit is applicable.

 

[RTH1800]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I ran dual chargemasters for a few years. It is amazing. Now I use a Promethius and keep one CM set up for small lots of ammo. If I were using a CM full time, I would not hesitate to use two. I though of using 3 but do not think it would be much of an advantage. You will like the set up.
RTH

 

[vman]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

If they are in close proximity to each other do they throw each other off with their movement?

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

must i post the picture .....yet again?

i really don't see how doing something that most likely is in-accurate speeds up something that is not good ammo...




ah the un-washed..................

 

[memilanuk]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

You mean the picture of the thing that costs what, four or five times as much as *two* Chargemasters and you now can only 'lease' it, or whatever the restrictions are on the purchase agreement. Then again, where exactly do you buy one of these? Can't find a website for 'em via Google...

I sold my Acculab VIC-123 and got a Sartorius GD-503. Personally I'm convinced the Acculab is a waste of time/money but there are a lot of happy users out there... so I just let them be. Sometimes rabid fan-boys do more harm than good to product sales...

 

[Quickdraw40]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bm11</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Always looking to speed up my reloading process, and I have seen pics of two chargemasters side by side on reloading benches before, which makes me curious- is it faster to have two?

For those who have run twin chargemasters, I'm curious to hear your thoughts. </div></div>

I have two and they are a GREAT timesaver. If you have one and have sped it up but you are still waiting on it, get a second!

please excuse the poor iphone pic....

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: memilanuk</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You mean the picture of the thing that costs what, four or five times as much as *two* Chargemasters and you now can only 'lease' it, or whatever the restrictions are on the purchase agreement. Then again, where exactly do you buy one of these? Can't find a website for 'em via Google...

I sold my Acculab VIC-123 and got a Sartorius GD-503. Personally I'm convinced the Acculab is a waste of time/money but there are a lot of happy users out there... so I just let them be. Sometimes rabid fan-boys do more harm than good to product sales...
</div></div>




don't forget the secret handshake......



buck up buttercup................

 

[jasonk]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

Yes, it's worth it. Get the Acculab too though and the powered trickler then rock on.

Or go with the Gen II Prometheus as I did, but you'll have to wait at least a year so get the 2nd Chargemaster for the in between.

 

[groovinpickle]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

Did you cut your powder hoppers in half? I quite like it.

edit: ordered a second Chargemaster today

 

[kombayotch]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: memilanuk</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I sold my Acculab VIC-123 and got a Sartorius GD-503. Personally I'm convinced the Acculab is a waste of time/money but there are a lot of happy users out there... so I just let them be. Sometimes rabid fan-boys do more harm than good to product sales...
</div></div>

Sartorius bought Acculab, the VIC-123 is now known as the Sartorius AY123:
http://www.sartorius-mechatronics.com/WW...htm?view=models

I got my VIC-303 for a steal because the distributor was clearing out the scales that still had the Acculab name on them.

 

[jasonk]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: groovinpickle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did you cut your powder hoppers in half? I quite like it.

edit: ordered a second Chargemaster today</div></div>

Yes, I never filled them all the way up, no need to have those tall hoppers. Tape, marker, hacksaw and about 2 minutes.

 

[jasonk]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

For those who are wondering about the trickler, here's a review I did.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthre...968#Post1866968

and

http://www.omegapowdertrickler.com/

They rock, tell him jasonk from SH.com sent you, he knows we are shooters who want the best and he'll take good care of you.

J

 

[bm11]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

Cool Jason! I should probably get a Prometheus myself, I keep forgetting to do that. Is the trickler you posted much faster than a manual trickler? Or more accurate?

 

[dar1246]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I run 2 RCBS chargemasters for a couple of years now. It has worked great for me. I reprogramed them and you can't dump powder fast enough with both running. Here is a video of the reprogram.

 

[Stone842]

Re: Dual chargemasters, worth it?

I have 2 chargemasters. One for Varget and one for H4350. I just didn't feel like changing powders because I only have one chargemaster. This way I can use either powder at any time. It's always ready to go. I never thought about having 2 chargemasters with the same powder (I may try it). I am usually seating the bullet when the machine is dispensing the next load. Not much time is wasted.