RCBS Chargemaster Question.

[samnev]

I have noticed lately that when my Chargemaster finishes throwing a charge of any powder at he desired weight which is right on with what it is programed to throw it the goes thru the cycle that shows the number go charges done then finally shows the charge weight. Recently about 10% of the time the final weight shown can be off by 0.1-0.3 grains. I turn the Chargemaster on an hour before I start reloading. Since it's cold here in the AZ mountains my garage is 60 degrees or less when I nam reloading. Could the cooler temps (I usually load in warmer weather) be the cause of this due to temp sensitivity of the Chargemaster or am i starting to have problems with the Chargemaster?
TIA

 

[Hawk in WY]

I'll bet it's always 0.1 to 0.3 over, never under.

I've learned to take the pan off immediately after the bell rings.

Otherwise an occasional additional bit of powder can fall from the tube.

Good luck.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

+1. My experience is the same. The OP's charge master is totally fine.

I'll bet it's always 0.1 to 0.3 over, never under.

I've learned to take the pan off immediately after the bell rings.

Otherwise an occasional additional bit of powder can fall from the tube.

Good luck.

 

[briang7511]

sounds like its working perfect. There was a thread a while back about how to adjust it.

 

[djskit]

That's about what mine does as well. I hesitate to admit it, when that happens I just take a pinch out of the pan and charge the case.

 

[korykhunter]

Mine is on most of the time but if you are loading with some long grain powders several grains may fall out at the end of the run and cause it to overcharge.

 

[djskit]

What he's saying is that, the scale stops at the target weight, no new powder drops, but the reading creeps up after it goes through the display progression. Mine does that about 10% of the time as well. I tweaked the middle legs a bit and got them touching the table solidly and that seemed to diminsh it a bit.

 

[LawnMM]

That's an overthrow, it registers the desired weight as more powder is falling then gives the count before the weight is stable, when the count disappears you see what it actually threw.

Take a McDonald's straw and cut one end like teeth on a saw, push the clean end all the way in, you will have to trim some off. When the straw is trimmed and only the teeth of the buzz saw end and a smidge behind it stick out it is the right length. Mark where the straw first appears, towards the front of the scale, where the powder is dumped into the hopper. Cut a small slit in the top of the straw, again towards the front where it disappears into the dispenser tube. You in effect close off almost all of where powder enters the dispenser. Reprogram the first three speed values to 15/7/0.5 and go. The Primal forum guys came up with this and I get close to 100% accuracy and faster throws doing it.

 

[Layton]

Use a power conditioner. It will stop most of the drift which is most likely caused by small variances in your supply. Warming it up helps but won't resolve that issue. I use these power conditioners .

L

 

[Insayn]

That's about what mine does as well. I hesitate to admit it, when that happens I just take a pinch out of the pan and charge the case.

Exactly what I do.

 

[ZiaHunter]

Place quarters under the two front feet. It raises the front of the scale just enough to overcome the overthrow. I set the scale to throw .2 grains under the desired charge weight then trickle up with an Omega tricker.

 

[Layton]

Place quarters under the two front feet.

Good idea. Never thought of that.

 

[jmtgsx]

Place quarters under the two front feet.

Man! I've got to invest more money into this stupid thing!!!

 

[samnev]

Thanks for the reply guys. Yes it is almost always an over charge but a few times it has been an under charge. I will try both the straw mod, the quarters and look for a power conditioner. I will also reprogram to 15/7/0.5 When I saw the overcharge occurring I started watching the scale very closely to see if additional grains were dropping into the pan. I did not see that happening.

 

[Sniper260]

I would love to know how to reprogram the speeds... can someone PM me this info... I use two of them at the same time... I've never had problems.... I just notice that I have to recalculate the scales here and there with the weights to get it back on perfect... the feet on it need to be turned where it is perfectly level... then adjust the front to feet a tad more to raise the front slightly.. I love mine so much I got another... and now with two of them its awesome!! lol

 

[Warpdrv]

Reloading Tips - Reprogram your RCBS Chargemaster…: http://youtu.be/p-DRJCL0D3A

THAT IS THE SOUND OF INEVITABILITY !

 

[samnev]

Warpdrv, thanks for the video it made reprograming much easier. I installed the straw and the quarters under the legs. I threw 10 charges and so far they were right on. Didn't have time to test it any further so i'll see if this helps over a long reloading session. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

 

[Fatelvis]

Is the power conditioner a credible solution? I never thought that incoming "noise" in the power could affect performance, but it sounds possible!

 

[Layton]

If you ever work with higher quality digital scales with and w/o conditioning you'll understand. The margin of error for the CM and what it displays is just not telling you everything that's going on in the background.

edt: I just found this reference as well. Bullet #9.

 

[glock24]

Is the power conditioner a credible solution? I never thought that incoming "noise" in the power could affect performance, but it sounds possible!

Yes. Yes it is.

Before I bought mine (this one) my scale would drift badly whenever my electric dryer was running, or my dehumidifier kicked on

 

[Warpdrv]

No problem Sam, I did allot of research on the unit before buying. Came across a bunch of videos, that was first and foremost the best most helpful out there. Super nice for speedier loading. Especially with extruded powder like Varget.

I would put some weight in cleaning background noise from power. Personally I prefer battery backups over power conditioners for price, basically the power is coming off the battery and will remove the noise and keep the swings in check, very consistent output, and more reasonably priced compared to power conditioners. Not everyone has large variations/noise in their power, but the potential for noise is always there.

There are good Battery Backup / power conditioner combo's that are priced a bit higher then what glock24 listed.... He found a good priced unit though.


THAT IS THE SOUND OF INEVITABILITY !

 

[Layton]

Personally I prefer battery backups over power conditioners for price, basically the power is coming off the battery and will remove the noise and keep the swings in check, very consistent output, and more reasonably priced compared to power conditioners.

Be careful with this. Most if not all 'inexpensive' UPSs don't run directly off the battery and most if not all don't have AVR ( automatic voltage regulation). They will protect from large surges and brown outs but they do not provide a steady power supply as a power conditioner or UPS w/AVR will.

I have my conditioner plugged into a UPS that ran $60 and it does not have AVR. And it does make a difference when I take the conditioner out of the line.(I tried it just for shits and watched my Sartorius start drifting.) The cheaper components are either 1 or the other. You'll usually pay more than just the cost of a good conditioner if you get both.

L

 

[Warpdrv]

Be careful with this. Most if not all 'inexpensive' UPSs don't run directly off the battery and most if not all don't have AVR ( automatic voltage regulation). They will protect from large surges and brown outs but they do not provide a steady power supply as a power conditioner or UPS w/AVR will.

I have my conditiner plugged into a UPS that ran $60 and it does not have AVR. And it does make a difference when I take the conditioner out of the line.

L

Very good point Layton..... Guess I didn't think about that..... my unit is a combo unit, and was free - but I had to replace the batteries.

Sorry about the misguidance there.... brain fart