Cleaning powder drop

[BB in Texas]

Just wonder what you other reloaders do to adequately clean your powder drop and other equipment when changing to a different powder. I use a a hornady powder drop measure and even though I have cleaned it thoroughly and cleaned the plastic tube with dryer anti-static sheet it still attracts powder on the tube wall. What am I doing wrong? Appreciate your tips!

 

[Erief0g]

I have a few Dillon powder drops for my 650 tool heads.
I leave them adjusted as they are, dump existing powder into powder container. Tap a few times while turning a few degrees to get any hung up on powder baffle out, and then hold upright and work the powder bar a few times. There may be occasional static but at this point they seem to freely function and this method is enough for my. My 9mm hopper has had at minimum 24lbs through it over the last five years with no issues

 

[lordpaxman]

Hornady recommends initial cleaning with their One Shot cleaner, it leaves behind a non-sticky but slick surface. Make sure it’s dry before using! Whenever I experience the powder attracted to the sides of the measure I respray with one shot. I’ve not used the dryer sheets and live where static reigns. Titegroup seems to want to stick the most, I’m not sure if it’s static or it’s high nitro content, but I use a long handled small brush that came with my Chargemaster, a swish or two and a tap and most seems to drop. Once I pull the measure and dump everything, I do spray it with compressed air just to get rid of any errant particulates. Good luck.

 

[cfullgraf]

You are probably cleaning the inside of your powder measure too much.

Through use, a layer of graphite from the powder will build up on the inside walls of the powder measure. This, among other things, helps reduce the static. Aggressively cleaning the inside of the measure removes this layer and you will have to rebuild the graphite layer again.

As a side note, Lee Precision recommends running a pound or two of powder through their powder measures to "season" the internals before loading any ammunition with it.

When I am finished using a powder measure, I dump the hopper back into the original container it came from. Then put the drop tube end in the container and rapidly cycle the powder measure from stop to stop to drop any remaining flakes of powder into the storage container. Sometimes, if the powder measure has a bit of static, I have a long handle artist's brush that I can reach down into the hopper and sweep the remaining flakes of powder down to the metering area and out of the powder.

With a new powder measure, I sometimes store an anti-static dryer sheet in the hopper when the powder measure is not in use but over time and use, that becomes unnecessary.

In 40 years of reloading, I have never cleaned the inside of my powder measures.

 

[Project355]

I shine a light into the hopper, twirl a microfiber cloth in there to scavenge the klingons. Repeat. Usually takes two rag twirls to get em all. Tightgroup tends to cling to the hopper no matter what. Extrudeds are always ok.
Run the dropper a few times after that to make sure everything is clear, and thats about it.

The led light shined in there really helps these old eyes.

 

[Walkalong]

I do exactly what @cfullgraf does in post #4. I do occasionally use a touch of dry lube (Tuf-Glide), let it dry thoroughly with the cap off the measure. It's the only time the cap is off for any length of time, overnight usually.

 

[edwardware]

. . . even though I have cleaned it thoroughly and cleaned the plastic tube with dryer anti-static sheet. . .

Do nothing to clean it, and after a few pounds it'll be lightly dusted in graphite, and static sticking will be greatly reduced.

And stop soaping it! The dryer sheet is just a nonwoven textile covered in a soap-scum like material. Eww.

 

[WeekendReloader]

I dump the hopper and tap it upside down using a funnel back into the original bottle. Then I work the lever a bunch while tapping the side of the measure. Then wipe it all down with a used dryer sheet.

 

[drband]

Do nothing to clean it, and after a few pounds it'll be lightly dusted in graphite, and static sticking will be greatly reduced.

And stop soaping it! The dryer sheet is just a nonwoven textile covered in a soap-scum like material. Eww.

Dryer sheets should only be used in your powder drop AFTER they’ve been through a dryer cycle with clothes. This removes the gunk on new sheets and leaves them mostly residue free, non-static, and lint free. Using NEW dryer sheets is not a good idea. Used dryer sheets seem to help but getting (and leaving) your powder drop seasoned with graphite works best.

 

[mrawesome22-250]

Get a tube of powdered graphite. Dump the whole thing in the measure. Put the cap on and shake the snot out of it. Work the lever up and down with something to catch the graphite under the spout.

Powder will never stick again for the life of the measure. No need to ever clean the inside from this point forward.

 

[Blue68f100]

I only return the powder back into it's original container, cycling the drum as many times as needed, after emptying the hopper. I have never done a actual cleaning since this will require you to re-season the surfaces. I'm forced to run a dehumidifier in my shop to keep tools from rusting. Which keeps the shop in a 45%-50% RH year around.

 

[jmorris]

I put it back into the original container and cycle the measure a few times. Then I blow it out/off with compressed air.

 

[Charlie98]

You are probably cleaning the inside of your powder measure too much.

Through use, a layer of graphite from the powder will build up n the inside walls of the powder measure.

That...^^^

I spin my Hornady measure off, and after pouring the remaining powder back into the container, just knock on the side of it to get the loose stuff out... and call it a day. Like jmorris, I have a can of compressed air at the bench, if I think there is too much powder left up in there, I'll give it a snort of air... but very rarely. I sure don't wipe it out....

 

[AJC1]

So I do like every body above and just dump and cycle the handle.... I'm curious what exactly your cleaning, or removing that needs to come out. Other than pieces of powder the more it's used the better it gets. It's like your grandmothers cast iron pan.

 

[BB in Texas]

Hornady recommends initial cleaning with their One Shot cleaner, it leaves behind a non-sticky but slick surface. Make sure it’s dry before using! Whenever I experience the powder attracted to the sides of the measure I respray with one shot. I’ve not used the dryer sheets and live where static reigns. Titegroup seems to want to stick the most, I’m not sure if it’s static or it’s high nitro content, but I use a long handled small brush that came with my Chargemaster, a swish or two and a tap and most seems to drop. Once I pull the measure and dump everything, I do spray it with compressed air just to get rid of any errant particulates. Good luck.

Thanks lordpaxman. I did initially clean it with One Shot cleaner but didn't resolve the static. l'll try it again and adopt your brush and air techniques.

 

[BB in Texas]

You are probably cleaning the inside of your powder measure too much.

Through use, a layer of graphite from the powder will build up n the inside walls of the powder measure. This, among other things, helps reduce the static. Aggressively clening the inside of the measure removes this layer and you will have to rebuild the graphite layer again.

As a side note, Lee Precision recommends running a pound or two of powder through their powder measures to "season" the internals before loading any ammunition with it.

When I am finished using a powder measure, I dump the hopper back into the original container it came from. Then put the drop tube end in the container and rapidly cycle the powder measure from stop to stop to drop any remaining flakes of powder into the storage container. Sometimes, if the powder measure has a bit of static, I have a long handle artist's brush that I can reach down into the hopper and sweep the remaining flakes of powder down to the metering area and out of the powder.

With a new powder measure, I sometimes store an anti-static dryer sheet in the hopper when the powder measure is not in use but over time and use, that becomes unnecessary.

In 40 years of reloading, I have never cleaned the inside of my powder measures.

Excellent suggestions! Many thanks.

 

[BB in Texas]

So I do like every body above and just dump and cycle the handle.... I'm curious what exactly your cleaning, or removing that needs to come out. Other than pieces of powder the more it's used the better it gets. It's like your grandmothers cast iron pan.

I'm new enough to this game that I've only used one powder so far (W231) and have read everywhere not to mix powders. I haven't actually cleaned my powder tube since before I put it into use. Hoping someone can confirm that a few flakes of W231 clinging to the tube won't contaminate and cause adverse reactions when I dump in another powder. Many guys say to let the tube build up a coating of powder or even dump in and run through a bottle of graphite. Appreciate all the suggestions.

 

[gonoles_1980]

I just shake it into the powder container when it has run out, tap a few times. If I see a grain or two on the inside after that, I just tap it upside down on my loading table. I keep the lid closed with a dryer sheet on the inside between loads.

 

[splattergun]

cfullgraf has the answer. graphite is your friend. Smokeless propellant is coated in graphite, btw, so usually, running a pound of powder through the powder dispenser should be adequate. I have never cleaned the inside of a powder measure either.

 

[Otto]

Just wonder what you other reloaders do to adequately clean your powder drop and other equipment when changing to a different powder. I use a a hornady powder drop measure and even though I have cleaned it thoroughly and cleaned the plastic tube with dryer anti-static sheet it still attracts powder on the tube wall. What am I doing wrong? Appreciate your tips!

My Hornady and Dillon powder measures were retrofitted with glass hoppers. This solved the problem with statically charged powder and it eliminated the need to empty the hopper since nitroglycerin doesn't attack glass. If I'm feeling bored, I might blow the measure out with inert nitrogen before switching powders.

 

[AJC1]

Contamination is a very dependent question on the measure you use. Some trap no material and some do. I use an old herters and it's easy to empty. Some of the machine trickles are more complex and require different levels of disassembly to get out all the powder. My chargemaster 1500 is easy to get the powder out with a small paint brush.

Mixing of powders is also very dependant. The volume of the material and how far appart they are on the burn rate chart matters. A full 45acp load of tightgroup with tac in a 308 case would be ugly. Shifting from hp38 to unique in any case would not cause me any concern. Rifle powder in a pistol cartridge would be uneventful unless it was bad enough to squib. You should notice a problem but it would be under powered.

 

[drband]

Another word on powder drops and dryer sheets:

I have noticed that using a USED dryer sheet to wipe the OUTSIDE of a plastic powder drop reservoir will help reduce static cling overall. I’ve even heard of folks rubber banding a used sheet to the outside for that purpose, though I can’t comment on how it works.

It’s been years since I had to worry about powder sticking on the inside—Don’t wipe the inside out after it’s seasoned.