Auto Powder Dispensers

blackhawk8 · November 23, 2012, 02:16 PM

Thinking about getting Automatic powder dispenser. Has anyone had any experience with one. Hornady has new one, RCBS has nice one and so does Lyman. Any advice would be appreciated.

45YearsShooting · November 23, 2012, 02:34 PM

Don't have one, but the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 is on sale now at Cabelas for $279.99 in their Christmas sale catalog. Someone else mentioned that it is on sale for $269.99 in-store according to a Cabelas Black Friday ad they got.

I read a mention of that scale in another post where the poster gushed about it and said something to the effect that getting that scale will be the road to enlightenment.

603Country · November 23, 2012, 02:35 PM

I have the Lyman and have used it since last Christmas. It works great, though I do recommend that when you drain a powder out to switch to another powder, you:

- Pull up the top powder reservoir and make sure that all the powder has actually drained out. There'll be some in a couple of little nooks and crannies, so brush them out and they'll then drain.
- Run the trickler to get all the powder out of that tube
- And, close the powder drain door before you start putting the new powder in the reservoir. Not doing that will cause a big mess and will make you feel stupid (at least that's how I felt - both times).

I'd have been happy with any of the dispensers, but the Lyman was on sale for the lowest price.

Brian Pfleuger · November 23, 2012, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 45YearsShooting

I read a mention of that scale in another post where the poster gushed about it and said something to the effect that getting that scale will be the road to enlightenment.

Get it right!

It's like a light shines down from heaven and a choir of angels sing Alleluia!

It really is. I can't imagine loading rifle rounds without it.

mehavey · November 23, 2012, 03:04 PM

+ another for the RCBS ChargeMaster Combo. Not only does it measure w/ precision & reasonable speed, but it drains easily w/o complications.

blackhawk8 · November 23, 2012, 04:10 PM

I noticed that the RCBS was 100 dollars more. Is it worth the difference ?

Brian Pfleuger · November 23, 2012, 04:14 PM

I haven't used both but I can only say that my vague, non-noncommittal, gut feeling from what I've read is that the RCBS is a better unit and worth the money. I wouldn't argue the point, as I said it's just sort of my unintended, almost unconscious perception of what I've read, but it seems that way to me.

jdillon · November 23, 2012, 04:24 PM

I have been using the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 for a number of years and was definitely a good addition to my loading bench. Worth the money.

45YearsShooting · November 23, 2012, 04:27 PM

Thanks for entertaining us Brian.

m&p45acp10+1 · November 23, 2012, 05:45 PM

I have the Hornady unit. It works, it works well. I would not load rifle rounds with anything other than Trail Boss without it. It is pretty dog gone quick as well once you figure out exactly where to get it to slow down to trickle the last bit. Mine was gifted to me by some one that knows I am way to cheap to by it for myself. Though if something happened to the one I have. I would buy another. Though I would probably get the Lyman.

I use a powder measure for my pistol loads. For loads that are less than 10 grains of most powders it is a bit on the slow side.

I will not load for .30 Carbine without it. For some reason loads do not cycle in my rifle unless they are on the butt crack of max load, and the spread from start to max is exactly 1 grain so care has to be taken. It takes less than half the time it would take me to use a powder measure, and trickler to weigh each round.

1stmar · November 24, 2012, 12:13 AM

You can get the hornady for 120$ less then the rcbs. I have one and love it, use varget, 4064, 2230 and n140 through with no issues. I've been checking its accuracy against an rcbs 505 and its always right on.

hounddawg · November 24, 2012, 09:39 AM

broke down and ordered a Chargemaster myself this morning after reading this thread or should I say I ordered another one. Got one a year or so ago but it was a dud right out of the box, the dispenser tube was binding, so I shipped it back to Midway and used the money for something else. Not slamming RCBS here since every manufacturer has a lemon now and then and always meant to get another one. Just took me awhile is all.

BTW Natchez has em for 289. Me and Cabella's don't get along so well so the ten extra was well worth it for me and after the shipping I came out a couple of dollars less anyway

twins · November 24, 2012, 10:09 AM

OP,
Not much to think about when it comes to a purchase of the RCBS or Hornady system, every reloader should own one. It should be included as must have equipment in all reloading manuals.

Crashbox · November 25, 2012, 04:33 PM

I've had my RCBS Charge Master 1500 for a few months now and I'll be using it more once I start loading for my .405! The RCBS is well worth it IMO. It is also possible to tweak some of the settings in the RCBS to increase the charge rate without compromising accuracy, I'm sure Googling would find the instructions.

GeauxTide · November 25, 2012, 04:47 PM

Been using the Lyman for about 3 years and it's fantastic.

chiefr · November 25, 2012, 05:33 PM

Bought a chargemaster 3 years ago and use it all the time. Absolutely no problems. This is absolutely the single greating tool I own for developing loads.
One thing I strongly recommend is to be aware of the drain valve. It must be closed after you drain the powder

. I ended up placing a 2" orange shooting peel and stick target dot with the words "Check dump valve before filling" on the powder reservoir.
Check Natchez as they have the best prices I have seen.

Brian Pfleuger · November 25, 2012, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefr

It must be closed after you drain the powder .

Oh, does that suck.

I left it open and dumped H380 in there. Ugh. What a mess.

Did Trail Boss once too. Much less messy but still annoyingly stupid.

hounddawg · November 25, 2012, 08:00 PM

well these posts are certainly encouraging, I pretty much killed my toy money account buying one. Had buyers remorse last night thinking about a new .22 pistol which will now have to wait a couple of months

Tim R · November 26, 2012, 07:48 AM

I would go to Midway and read the reviews and decide from there. I have had the Lyman for 6/7 years. Has saved me much time but lately it's getting pretty cranky.....not much fun but still faster than a beam scale.

chiefr · November 26, 2012, 10:35 AM

Brian, Thanks, I know we are not the only ones who have done this. Agree on the 380 as it is worse with the ball powders as they go everywhere. Stick powders are not that messy.

I have been reloading for over 40 years now. I only keep one powder on my bench at a time. I always empty any powder measure I use when I finish.

I always exercise caution and awareness when I reload however when I first started using the chargemaster, after I dumped the powder I was using in the original can, I left the valve open.
It was when I started to fill the chargemaster, I would forget to make sure the valve was closed. Th orange sticky was to remind me. I think I am finaly over it.

603Country · November 26, 2012, 10:40 AM

I put H335 all over the floor when I didn't close the slide valve on my Lyman. Lord, what a mess. I sure hope that I'll remember to close it next time.

tank1949 · November 26, 2012, 08:10 PM

Blackhawk,

Just about none of them, including the so called "match" powder throwers will throw stick or log type powders VERY accuractly. And, the smaller the bottleneck, the more headacks you will have with indexing heads because you WILL screw up and miss just enough burr on a bottle neck to cause precision auto powder dispensers like Dillon to "cough" and you will experence a mess all over your loading bench. Then, you have to clean up!!!! And, Dillon makes good stuff. IMHO the indexing progressives presses work best with pistol ammo only! Small flake and spherical powders work great for pistol rnds with auto despensers like Dillon's . I have a Reading match thrower that works great if I single feed flake and ball powders through it into bottlenecks by hand (+-.1) But, accurace is +- a full grain if using log powders like 4895, and 4831 is even greater. I load rifle ammo into a tray and visually inspect to keep from having squib loads. It has worked great so far. Good luck!

hounddawg · November 28, 2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Brian Pfleuger
It's like a light shines down from heaven and a choir of angels sing Alleluia!

It really is. I can't imagine loading rifle rounds without it.

that's a pretty close description on how I felt when I got the RCBS set up this afternoon. Even wifey was impressed and trust me that is a hard thing to do. Kicking myself in the tail now for not just doing a direct exchange last year when I got the faulty one. This thing is going to have me turning out a lot more rifle stuff, I dreaded the dip and trickle part of loading rifle before.

Checked the results against the RCBS 750 and they disagree by .1 grain, checked it against the RCBS 5-0-2 balance and it came out dead on. Takes an average of about 23 secs to dispense 41 grains of 4350. I timed 10 drops lowest was 17 secs highest was 30 with most ending up 23 + or - 2 secs. No overcharges out of the 10.

Not a lot of room on my main reloading bench but have a second set up where I do my garage gunsmithing and been fine tuning my rifle rounds anyway . Going to move my single stage press over to it and just use my primary bench for my LnL and pistol rounds.

HALIFAX · November 29, 2012, 03:15 PM

Ive got a Lee autodisk and it works perfect for loading up my 45acp cartridges. It throws 5.7 grains of hp-38 perfect. Havent tried it for rifle cartridges yet though. Generally i use my scale and weight each round or use my Lee perfect powder measure.

November 23, 2012, 02:16 PM	#1
blackhawk8 Senior Member Join Date: March 26, 2005 Posts: 115	Auto Powder Dispensers Thinking about getting Automatic powder dispenser. Has anyone had any experience with one. Hornady has new one, RCBS has nice one and so does Lyman. Any advice would be appreciated.

November 23, 2012, 04:14 PM	#7
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	I haven't used both but I can only say that my vague, non-noncommittal, gut feeling from what I've read is that the RCBS is a better unit and worth the money. I wouldn't argue the point, as I said it's just sort of my unintended, almost unconscious perception of what I've read, but it seems that way to me. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

November 23, 2012, 04:24 PM	#8
jdillon Senior Member Join Date: October 7, 2011 Location: Southern NM Posts: 141	I have been using the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 for a number of years and was definitely a good addition to my loading bench. Worth the money. __________________ "Emergencies have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded" - F.A. Hayek

November 23, 2012, 05:45 PM	#10
m&p45acp10+1 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 3,930	I have the Hornady unit. It works, it works well. I would not load rifle rounds with anything other than Trail Boss without it. It is pretty dog gone quick as well once you figure out exactly where to get it to slow down to trickle the last bit. Mine was gifted to me by some one that knows I am way to cheap to by it for myself. Though if something happened to the one I have. I would buy another. Though I would probably get the Lyman. I use a powder measure for my pistol loads. For loads that are less than 10 grains of most powders it is a bit on the slow side. I will not load for .30 Carbine without it. For some reason loads do not cycle in my rifle unless they are on the butt crack of max load, and the spread from start to max is exactly 1 grain so care has to be taken. It takes less than half the time it would take me to use a powder measure, and trickler to weigh each round. __________________ No matter how many times you do it and nothing happens it only takes something going wrong one time to kill you.

November 24, 2012, 09:39 AM	#12
hounddawg Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2009 Posts: 4,232	broke down and ordered a Chargemaster myself this morning after reading this thread or should I say I ordered another one. Got one a year or so ago but it was a dud right out of the box, the dispenser tube was binding, so I shipped it back to Midway and used the money for something else. Not slamming RCBS here since every manufacturer has a lemon now and then and always meant to get another one. Just took me awhile is all. BTW Natchez has em for 289. Me and Cabella's don't get along so well so the ten extra was well worth it for me and after the shipping I came out a couple of dollars less anyway __________________ “How do I get to the next level?” Well, you get to the next level by being the first one on the range and the last one to leave.” – Jerry Miculek

November 23, 2012, 02:34 PM	#2
45YearsShooting Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2012 Location: Colorado Posts: 105	Don't have one, but the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 is on sale now at Cabelas for $279.99 in their Christmas sale catalog. Someone else mentioned that it is on sale for $269.99 in-store according to a Cabelas Black Friday ad they got. I read a mention of that scale in another post where the poster gushed about it and said something to the effect that getting that scale will be the road to enlightenment.

November 23, 2012, 02:35 PM	#3
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	I have the Lyman and have used it since last Christmas. It works great, though I do recommend that when you drain a powder out to switch to another powder, you: - Pull up the top powder reservoir and make sure that all the powder has actually drained out. There'll be some in a couple of little nooks and crannies, so brush them out and they'll then drain. - Run the trickler to get all the powder out of that tube - And, close the powder drain door before you start putting the new powder in the reservoir. Not doing that will cause a big mess and will make you feel stupid (at least that's how I felt - both times). I'd have been happy with any of the dispensers, but the Lyman was on sale for the lowest price.

November 23, 2012, 03:04 PM	#5
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,894	+ another for the RCBS ChargeMaster Combo. Not only does it measure w/ precision & reasonable speed, but it drains easily w/o complications.

November 23, 2012, 04:10 PM	#6
blackhawk8 Senior Member Join Date: March 26, 2005 Posts: 115	I noticed that the RCBS was 100 dollars more. Is it worth the difference ?

November 23, 2012, 04:27 PM	#9
45YearsShooting Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2012 Location: Colorado Posts: 105	Thanks for entertaining us Brian.

November 24, 2012, 12:13 AM	#11
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	You can get the hornady for 120$ less then the rcbs. I have one and love it, use varget, 4064, 2230 and n140 through with no issues. I've been checking its accuracy against an rcbs 505 and its always right on.

November 24, 2012, 10:09 AM	#13
twins Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2010 Posts: 393	OP, Not much to think about when it comes to a purchase of the RCBS or Hornady system, every reloader should own one. It should be included as must have equipment in all reloading manuals.

November 25, 2012, 04:33 PM	#14
Crashbox Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2009 Location: Lynden, Washington Posts: 199	I've had my RCBS Charge Master 1500 for a few months now and I'll be using it more once I start loading for my .405! The RCBS is well worth it IMO. It is also possible to tweak some of the settings in the RCBS to increase the charge rate without compromising accuracy, I'm sure Googling would find the instructions. __________________ Four Rugers, three SIG Sauers, assorted rifles. NRA, GOA and SAF Life Member.

November 25, 2012, 04:47 PM	#15
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,424	Been using the Lyman for about 3 years and it's fantastic.

November 25, 2012, 05:33 PM	#16
chiefr Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: AR Posts: 1,401	Bought a chargemaster 3 years ago and use it all the time. Absolutely no problems. This is absolutely the single greating tool I own for developing loads. One thing I strongly recommend is to be aware of the drain valve. It must be closed after you drain the powder . I ended up placing a 2" orange shooting peel and stick target dot with the words "Check dump valve before filling" on the powder reservoir. Check Natchez as they have the best prices I have seen.

November 25, 2012, 08:00 PM	#18
hounddawg Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2009 Posts: 4,232	well these posts are certainly encouraging, I pretty much killed my toy money account buying one. Had buyers remorse last night thinking about a new .22 pistol which will now have to wait a couple of months __________________ “How do I get to the next level?” Well, you get to the next level by being the first one on the range and the last one to leave.” – Jerry Miculek

November 26, 2012, 07:48 AM	#19
Tim R Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2004 Location: God's side of Washington State Posts: 1,601	I would go to Midway and read the reviews and decide from there. I have had the Lyman for 6/7 years. Has saved me much time but lately it's getting pretty cranky.....not much fun but still faster than a beam scale. __________________ God Bless our Troops especially our Snipers.

November 26, 2012, 10:35 AM	#20
chiefr Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: AR Posts: 1,401	Brian, Thanks, I know we are not the only ones who have done this. Agree on the 380 as it is worse with the ball powders as they go everywhere. Stick powders are not that messy. I have been reloading for over 40 years now. I only keep one powder on my bench at a time. I always empty any powder measure I use when I finish. I always exercise caution and awareness when I reload however when I first started using the chargemaster, after I dumped the powder I was using in the original can, I left the valve open. It was when I started to fill the chargemaster, I would forget to make sure the valve was closed. Th orange sticky was to remind me. I think I am finaly over it.

November 26, 2012, 10:40 AM	#21
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	I put H335 all over the floor when I didn't close the slide valve on my Lyman. Lord, what a mess. I sure hope that I'll remember to close it next time.

November 26, 2012, 08:10 PM	#22
tank1949 member Join Date: November 12, 2012 Posts: 243	Blackhawk, Just about none of them, including the so called "match" powder throwers will throw stick or log type powders VERY accuractly. And, the smaller the bottleneck, the more headacks you will have with indexing heads because you WILL screw up and miss just enough burr on a bottle neck to cause precision auto powder dispensers like Dillon to "cough" and you will experence a mess all over your loading bench. Then, you have to clean up!!!! And, Dillon makes good stuff. IMHO the indexing progressives presses work best with pistol ammo only! Small flake and spherical powders work great for pistol rnds with auto despensers like Dillon's . I have a Reading match thrower that works great if I single feed flake and ball powders through it into bottlenecks by hand (+-.1) But, accurace is +- a full grain if using log powders like 4895, and 4831 is even greater. I load rifle ammo into a tray and visually inspect to keep from having squib loads. It has worked great so far. Good luck!

November 29, 2012, 03:15 PM	#24
HALIFAX Member Join Date: May 11, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 63	Ive got a Lee autodisk and it works perfect for loading up my 45acp cartridges. It throws 5.7 grains of hp-38 perfect. Havent tried it for rifle cartridges yet though. Generally i use my scale and weight each round or use my Lee perfect powder measure.