RCBS Chargemaster problem

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  • Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    I have had my Chargemaster for a number of years. I had one issue after the first year and RCBS replaced it. The unit has been flawless since. Last night I was loading some 300 Win Mag. I always manually weigh the first charge, then every 5 charges after that. The unit was throwing a consistent .5gr over on every single charge. The display would read the exact weight and then would beep to signal, everything was done. As soon as I opened the plastic cover, it would jump up to .5gr over. When I shut the cover again, it would stay at the higher weight. I rebooted the unit twice and calibrated twice. Same thing the whole night. I have a basement reloading room. I run a dehumidifier during the summer. Humidity was 60% last night in the room. I didn't seem to have any static issues(the powder did not stick to the side of the powder hopper), like I do when the humidity gets real low in the winter. Anyone have this problem?
     

    lx1x

    Peanut Gallery
    Apr 19, 2009
    26,992
    Maryland
    When the last time you calibrate? (Oops.. ignore.. just saw you calibrated it). Clean it? What kind of powder?

    You mentioned opening the shield... Did you notice if extra powder falls from the spout?
     

    Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    I was using H4350. Two nights before, I was using the same powder for 6.5 Creedmoor. I made 50 rounds. Through those 50, I think I had only 2 that were .1 over. When I was opening the cover, I always make sure that powder does not fall out of the funnel. If a stick or two of powder falls into the pan, I manually weigh it.
     

    lx1x

    Peanut Gallery
    Apr 19, 2009
    26,992
    Maryland
    One way to fix....If it's consistently off by same amount.... just offset the weight.. :shrug:

    You have another way to measure the weight beside that unit?
     

    Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    I have an RCBS 505 scale, that I can manually weigh everything. I went with the overage, in order to finish the reloading last night. If I needed 66 grains, i had the Chargemaster set for 65.5, then weighed and trickled on the 505 to finish.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    I calibrate every time I use it, though I only use the dust cover while it's not in use. It's kind of scary that your scale is inconsistently off, even after calibration. A call to RCBS can't hurt to see what they recommend. You could try it with any fluorescent lights and electrical devices near it turned off to see if it helps. Yet another case where checking with an analog scale saved the day! :clap:
     

    Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    I calibrate every time I use it, though I only use the dust cover while it's not in use. It's kind of scary that your scale is inconsistently off, even after calibration. A call to RCBS can't hurt to see what they recommend. You could try it with any fluorescent lights and electrical devices near it turned off to see if it helps. Yet another case where checking with an analog scale saved the day! :clap:

    I'm going to contact RCBS in the next few days(hopefully). This scale has been working flawlessly for a number of years, since it's been replaced. Hopefully, this is just a one off problem. The issue was readily obvious, because it read .5gr over. It would be a big problem, if it read the target weight, but was actually over .5. That could get me into big trouble, if I'm shooting near max charges for a given load.
     

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,734
    Socialist State of Maryland
    RCBS might charge you to fix it but it is better than paying full price. I just sent back a 28 year old melting pot and they replaced everything in it except the sheet metal frame for $100. Considering how much these cost today, I think it was a bargain.
     

    Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    As a matter of fact, I did. It was 15 feet away. My reloading room tends to get warm, when the dehumidifier is running. I had the fan running to cool it down some. Hmmmm. I'll give it a test run tonight without the fan running. :thumbsup:
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Static charge on the plastic cover.

    Rub it with a used dryer sheet.

    I leave the cover off when using mine.
     

    Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    Static charge on the plastic cover.

    Rub it with a used dryer sheet.

    I leave the cover off when using mine.

    I have a bunch of used dryer sheets on my bench just for this purpose. I also keep the CM sitting on a few sheets. A tip I saw on another forum. I'll try it with out the cover also. I'll report what I find. With fan on, without, with cover on, without. It'll be a good experiment!
     

    Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    So I did a few reloading sessions over the course of the last two weeks. I never had the .5 gr high throw, happen again. With or without the fan running. I did notice that it overran my weight setting about one out of twenty throws. When it did overrun, it always showed the overrun. Usually it would happen when trickling, two or three grains of powder would fall out rather than one. I didn't really notice a difference in weight accuracy with the cover closed compared to open. I did reboot the scale a few times, but kept it on, while I wasn't using it, for the most part. I also calibrated every time I started a new session. If I had the scale powered off, I would start it, calibrate, wait ten-fifteen minutes, then calibrate again. That usually gave me time to get my brass primed, powder filled and bullets ready for seating. So in the end, it's a mystery why it threw .5gr over.
     

    noylj

    Active Member
    Jun 3, 2012
    144
    Really sounds like powder falling out when you open the breeze shield.
    Watch it and see if you see any kernels fall into pan when you open the shield.
    I have never had that issue.
    If you are using it, remove the McDonald straw. If not, try it.
     

    deerassassin22

    Active Member
    Apr 12, 2016
    700
    Littlestown, PA
    On snipers hide they sell a reducer that eliminates this problem. I also have mine on a slab of tile with plastic feet and I have insulators on my wires as well and make sure my vents are closed so no air hits them
     

    BigRick

    Hooligan #15
    Aug 7, 2012
    1,140
    Southern Maryland
    I've had mine for at least 20 years but in the past few months it's been throwing over. I bought the brass bushing for powder dropper on fleabay a few months ago and bingo no more over throws. It's running great again. Well wroth the few bucks it cost.
     

    Todd S

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2012
    1,556
    Glen Rock, PA
    I've had mine for at least 20 years but in the past few months it's been throwing over. I bought the brass bushing for powder dropper on fleabay a few months ago and bingo no more over throws. It's running great again. Well wroth the few bucks it cost.

    I did not know about this. It is on it's way now. BTW, I use the McDonalds straw hack, currently.
     

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