Electronic Powder Dispenser

[hdwhit]

Okay, I will risk being ridiculed for this. When I first started reloading, back in the 1970's, one of the reasons for reloading was economy; you could reload for less than you could buy factory ammunition. I loaded everything, including shotshells using a Lee Load-All. This was long before I could afford to buy my Uniflow. One day it hit me that the powder measure on the Load-All was volumetric measure just like the Unflow. The fixed volume bushings on the Load-All didn't give the ability to select charges with the same granularity as the infinitely-adjustable Uniflow, the right bushing should get "close enough". Well, one bushing did throw 20.3 grains of IMR-4198 (I had my RCBS 5-10 Beam Balance to check the weight) which turned out to be ideal for my .223 load. What I found was that if I developed the habit of giving the Load-All a sharp swat with my hand each time the charge bar moved to the powder side, it dropped remarkably consistent loads (never more than +/- 0.1 grain). I used my Load-All for more than 2,000 rounds of .223 Remington until abrasion from the powder wore the plastic charge bar enough to impact the load being dropped. I didn't find out until later that I could have gotten a replacement charge bar. If I had, I would never have spent the money for a Uniflow; I would still be using my Load-All as a powder measure.

So look around. You may already have the solution to your problem sitting on your reloading bench.

 

[hdwhit]

badkarmamib wrote"
This was what the link looked like when I posted... Got this from my email, but the link says $379 for me, now, too. Guess I don't need it that badly...

It looked that way, too, when I went to it. It rang up as $379 when I tried to add it to my cart. Based on my past experience with Lyman, this sort of "bait and switch" is par for the course.

 

[badkarmamib]

Okay, I will risk being ridiculed for this. When I first started reloading, back in the 1970's, one of the reasons for reloading was economy; you could reload for less than you could buy factory ammunition. I loaded everything, including shotshells using a Lee Load-All. This was long before I could afford to buy my Uniflow. One day it hit me that the powder measure on the Load-All was volumetric measure just like the Unflow. The fixed volume bushings on the Load-All didn't give the ability to select charges with the same granularity as the infinitely-adjustable Uniflow, the right bushing should get "close enough". Well, one bushing did throw 20.3 grains of IMR-4198 (I had my RCBS 5-10 Beam Balance to check the weight) which turned out to be ideal for my .223 load. What I found was that if I developed the habit of giving the Load-All a sharp swat with my hand each time the charge bar moved to the powder side, it dropped remarkably consistent loads (never more than +/- 0.1 grain). I used my Load-All for more than 2,000 rounds of .223 Remington until abrasion from the powder wore the plastic charge bar enough to impact the load being dropped. I didn't find out until later that I could have gotten a replacement charge bar. If I had, I would never have spent the money for a Uniflow; I would still be using my Load-All as a powder measure.

So look around. You may already have the solution to your problem sitting on your reloading bench.

All I have on my bench is Lee dippers, a PPM, and a Hornady manual trickler. The PPM meters my H4895 to + .2 grains, so it is close enough for what I do (Whitetail hunting within 300 yards). I dip plinking loads for .40S&W and .45ACP just above minimum for HP38, so that is simple, too. My problem is that IMR4350 and the PPM do not play well together. I have seen a whole grain of variance, and during my testing, I went 1 grain below max, because I was seeing brass flow around the ejector at max, and 1 grain lower was very consistent. I can dip a Lee dipper twice, which gets me to within a grain, and trickle up. I was wondering if there was an easier way that would fit in my budget, but I am loading on a SS press. So, in the end, I don't think it will speed up batch loading at all, so I completely agree with you that the solution is on my bench: keep doing what I have been doing. If/when I move to a turret press, then I will revisit this idea, either with a powder plant, or a better manual measure with bushings.

 

[ReloaderFred]

@glc24 This was what the link looked like when I posted... Got this from my email, but the link says $379 for me, now, too. Guess I don't need it that badly... View attachment 233561

I got an e-mail from Lyman Customer Service this morning advising the ad was supposed to have read for refurbished units. They offered me a refund if I wanted to cancel the order, but I chose to go ahead with the purchase, since the refurbished unit still has a 1 year warranty. The CS manager said if there was any problem, or I wasn't satisfied, to just return the unit.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Gravedigger56]

Like the OP, I don't really load enough at a time to justify the expense of a powered dispenser but hey, it's a gadget and I love gadgets so I bought a RCBS Chargemaster. I really enjoy using it even if it is a lot slower than my now abandoned, trusty, manual RCBS Uniflow and Lyman digital scale.