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  • BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    Mine throws IMR 4350 pretty well, but it does go over from time to time by a tenth or two of a grain. I could just set it to .2 less and trickle the last bits myself.

    For me, the 2/3 that went over - I just dumped them back in the hopper and let the machine throw it again, was spot-on the 2nd go around.

    But the straw mod is easy enough. I have a straw ready and waiting, if an Over gets to be a common theme.
     

    strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    I'm curious, why would you pay $300 for a powder measure and then have to fix it yourself, shouldn't the manufacturer figure out a way to make it adjustable so you don't have to do the "straw mod"?
     

    iH8DemLibz

    When All Else Fails.
    Apr 1, 2013
    25,396
    Libtardistan
    I'm curious, why would you pay $300 for a powder measure and then have to fix it yourself, shouldn't the manufacturer figure out a way to make it adjustable so you don't have to do the "straw mod"?

    Obviously you're not in tune with modern American manufacturing techniques.

    The trick is to get the products out the door as quickly as possible. While bypassing any form of quality control. Then let the customer worry about tweaking things to make the product perform better. Or use the company's amazing customer service return policies to return the product. On the buyer's dime of course.

    Just the other day, a guy on here had to remove the scope from his new rifle. And Loctite and reinstall his scope mount. Cuzz the manufacturer didn't secure the mount properly at the factory.
     

    BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    I'm curious, why would you pay $300 for a powder measure and then have to fix it yourself, shouldn't the manufacturer figure out a way to make it adjustable so you don't have to do the "straw mod"?


    In the cases I've seen with the ChargeMaster 1500, that end up doing the 'straw-mod', it's not an issue with the machine per-se. It's an issue with the type of powder being dispensed. Some powders tend to 'clump', so you do the straw mod to act like a restrictor nozzle - helping to break up the clumps.
     

    strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    In the cases I've seen with the ChargeMaster 1500, that end up doing the 'straw-mod', it's not an issue with the machine per-se. It's an issue with the type of powder being dispensed. Some powders tend to 'clump', so you do the straw mod to act like a restrictor nozzle - helping to break up the clumps.

    IMHO if the 1500 is supposed to drop accurate charges it should be able to do it with any kind of powder that is used to reload or it should say on the package “will not drop accurate charges for powders that clump”. Ther buyer of the item shouldn’t have to modify it to make it work as it should. Like I said just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,818
    IMHO if the 1500 is supposed to drop accurate charges it should be able to do it with any kind of powder that is used to reload or it should say on the package “will not drop accurate charges for powders that clump”. Ther buyer of the item shouldn’t have to modify it to make it work as it should. Like I said just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

    Dillon 550s and 650s don't meter extruded powders worth a damn either. I would stay away from them too. :rolleyes:

    Like BradMac said, it's the powder, not the machine.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    IMHO if the 1500 is supposed to drop accurate charges it should be able to do it with any kind of powder that is used to reload or it should say on the package “will not drop accurate charges for powders that clump”. Ther buyer of the item shouldn’t have to modify it to make it work as it should. Like I said just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

    Then don't buy one.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    I found that the typical straw mod was not doing the trick.

    So I took a pen barrel, cut off a short piece and cut longitudinal grooves in it. And then shaved the outside to fit the spout.

    The longitudinal grooves break up the clumps better than the straw does (even the the sawtooth cut).
     

    BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    IMHO if the 1500 is supposed to drop accurate charges it should be able to do it with any kind of powder that is used to reload or it should say on the package “will not drop accurate charges for powders that clump”. Ther buyer of the item shouldn’t have to modify it to make it work as it should. Like I said just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

    In a perfect world, I'd agree whole-heartedly. In reality, I've come to accept (thru my own experiences), that not everything is as cut/dry as it should be.

    Some powders don't meter well, period. Some fine powders, like H110, tend to be messy - because they're fine enough to find the smallest gap/opening in a piece of equipment and just RUN out of it.

    Ideally, there should NO variations from lots to lots of powders/primers - but there is. It's the nature of the beast. Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

    **I've so far run charges varying from my known happy spot of 43.3gr, all the way up to 44.3gr (Listed Max being 44.5gr), no more than 2/3 charges have been over .1/.2gr of what I'd dialed in.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    I carefully watched my ChargeMaster drop charges.

    What happens is, you are 0.1 grains under, and it indexes the dropper to drop a tiny bit more. But the powder has clumped up, so the bit it drops is 0.2 grains. No way the device can deal with this.

    That is why I came up with my mod with longitudinal grooves. So the grooves break up the clumps.
     

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