Lee Auto Disk Powder Filler Powder loss

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german reloader

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Hi guys,

I use a Lee auto disk powder filler with the adjustable powder charge bar.
My problem: I had loaded ~ 1000 cartridges with it without cleaning.
Is it normal to loose powder? Its not very much but grain by grain.
So at my last reloading session the powder charge bar jammed in the front posion. So I must push back the charge bar nearly every cartridge.

Is this realoading system delicate ? Is it better to clean it compleatly after every reloading process?
 
Are you using the regular autodisk hopper with the square hopper or are you using the pro auto disk? When I had the regular autodisk measure, you could see an air gap between the hopper and the disk, I simply shaved down the sides of the hopper to eliminate that air gap and any leakage. No matter what I tried, my lee measure didnt do well with any fine ball powders like h110/win296 they would leak and bind up in between the disk and hopper requiring "manual operation"like you are describing. Powders like win231/hp38, bullseye, unique, red dot etc all meter flawlessly.

Edit: but yes, Id start by emptying the hopper and disassemble to get the grains of powder out from in between the disk and measure. What kind of powder are u using?
 
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Ball/spherical powder leaking between the hopper and the bar. Happened to me with Vectan S3 and it was a mess (I bought the "Perfect" measure which wasn't).

That hopper is also prone to wearing and won't be as sharp at "cutting" loads then.

The easy solution is to buy a ProAuto-Disk update Kit with a Pro hopper (90377), or just the hopper. Leeprecision has an online and downloadable catalog if you want to have a look.

PS: I corrected my previous post where I called the "Pro" "Deluxe".
 
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I have the pro version and had the same issue. It got especially unhappy on those occasions when I had left the powder hopper cap off and the spring would suddenly engage throwing a lot of powder out of the hopper.

On mine, it turned out to be some burrs on the shaft that goes down into the powder through/expander plug. There were also some wear marks on the little pivoting arm where the spring attaches. I cleaned them up with steel wool and have not had the problem since. For good measure, I also coated most of the moving parts with spray graphite.

I would take the entire unit apart and inspect each piece for wear marks or burrs. I am pretty confident that you will find something. It doesn't take much for them to bind up.


By the way, whereabouts are you in Germany? I spend a couple of years in the North Rhine area.
 
I would think so. the pro auto disk kit has a rubber washer riding between where the disk and hopper meet to eliminate leakage. I havent ran any problem powders through the measure until today as I stopped loading for 223 and I like to weigh my full tilt 357 loads by hand. I did run about thirty charges through my measure of win296, I had no binding issues but some very minor leakage under the disk. I think its the kind of leakage that just gets washed back and forth while loading and wont really make any difference. I would first try to sand down the short edges of your current hopper(the side the screws sit in) to see if that helps.

regardless, as long as it is affordable over there in germany, Id go ahead and get the pro update kit. the powder shut off and you tighten the hopper down metal on metal... not metal on plastic. makes it much easier when you want to move up or down a disk size and you dont have to worry about stripping the cheap plastic screw holes.
 
@Schwing
I try it with steel wool first.
I'm from Lower Saxony.

@Reefinmike
Gettin the upgrade kit is not the problem. The costs are about 10$ more than in US ( about 25 €uro ) ;-)
 
I prefer the measure type like you have. I have three or four of them and always worked at removing any flash from the edges and getting a good mating of the hopper bottom and any disk or ACB below. More specifically, the upper plastic part mates with the lower metal part around the screws. The rest is whatever remains on the hopper that contacts the metal or sliding aperture below.
 
Even with the Pro Auto Disk I got noticeably more leakage with a powder like Ramshot True Blue as compared to Ramshot Silhouette.

As described earlier for the regular Auto Disk I did a similar modification to the Pro Auto Disk where I sanded down the "risers" that extend from the plastic base of the hopper assembly.

These "risers" are not very high at all and you might think it wouldn't make much of a difference but in my case it was worth it.

I still get some leakage but it has cut it back by at least 50% I'd guess...
 
Potatohead said:
Where exactly did you sand?
Click to expand...

There are two "risers" on the edges of the hopper base.
They include the area that the attachment screws run through.
Remove the screws from the hopper base.
Place some sandpaper along the edge of a table.
Position the hopper base such that the center of the hopper base where the wiper lives is not touching the sandpaper.
Hold things as vertical as possible as you sand.
The pic on the left is an unmodified unit.
The pic on the right is after sanding.
Hope that helps.

PS: This is not my original idea. I borrowed it from somewhere online; likely somewhere within this forum. I'll bet a search will reveal other threads on this modification.

PPS: It's been a while since I did this but I think I remember seeing a slightly lighter powder drop following the mod. I think this makes sense as the "charge column" created by the device is going to be a little shorter.
 

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A few weeks ago, my Pro Auto Disk started dropping reduced charges, then it started binding where the disk wouldn't fully return to it's most rearward position, then it progressed to where the disk was sticking in it's full forward position. At that point, I called Lee Customer Service and was advised to tear down the entire mechanism below the hopper, clean it well then lubricate it with powdered graphite and reassemble. Now it works like a champ and I get extremely consistent charges. The only thing to watch out for when you do this is the spring which is under a lot of tension. Be careful not to get your eyes in front of it and don't let it slip out of your pliers or you may never find it.
 
tcoz,
What powders have you been using?
I wonder if this is related to a particular powder or grain size...
 
tcoz said:
A few weeks ago, my Pro Auto Disk started dropping reduced charges, then it started binding where the disk wouldn't fully return to it's most rearward position, then it progressed to where the disk was sticking in it's full forward position. At that point, I called Lee Customer Service and was advised to tear down the entire mechanism below the hopper, clean it well then lubricate it with powdered graphite and reassemble. Now it works like a champ and I get extremely consistent charges. The only thing to watch out for when you do this is the spring which is under a lot of tension. Be careful not to get your eyes in front of it and don't let it slip out of your pliers or you may never find it.
Click to expand...
I had some of that stopping in the far rear, and far forward stuff going on for a bit to. I'd have to kind of tap it and it would go back to start position. I sprayed some OneShot on the outside of the metal cylinder that attaches to the die..and it hasnt done it since. I think it just needs some lube here and there every now and then...


Thanks for the tips.
 
Mine has been dropping very little (that it's not supposed to), I mainly wanted to know just in case.
 
ddc said:
tcoz,
What powders have you been using?
I wonder if this is related to a particular powder or grain size...
Click to expand...

I've been using Bullseye, but the Lee CS rep led me to believe that it's not unusual for this to happen and the system should be thoroughly cleaned and lubed when charges become inconsistent. It mostly has to do with the actuator binding on the outside of the drop tube. I had loaded somewhere between 3000 & 5000 rounds at the time, so it was due.
 
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