RCBS Chargemaster Combo users

[renaissance]

Bought one.
Took two passes to get one that worked.

Curious thing.
I calibrated and zeroed it according to instructions.
Everything seemed to be working ok
I weighed a paper clip several times
The scale gave me the same weight several times and
returned to 0.0 when I removed the paper clip.
All this was done with the clear plastic "Wind Shield" swung open.
All looked good.
Then I returned the wind shield to the closed/pan covered position.
The scale jumped from 0.0 to 1.something!
Swung shield open....returned to zero
Closed shield ....... 1.something
Many times....Same thing.

I looked VERY Carefully
NOTHING EVER touches the pan or pan support.
I am just ever so gently swinging the shield aside
and returning it to "snap locked " in place

What's going on ?

Is this normal ???

If so....How do you zero and weigh with the shield in place (covering the pan)
Do you have to zero it exclusively for one or the other mode of operation
Doesn't seem right.

Help me understand what is going on and what (if anything) to do about it.

RCBS is being No help.
I e-mailed them several days ago and got NO response.

Tried to call them today (Friday) and they seem to be closed Friday through Monday.

 

[WayneConrad]

You definately want to call RCBS on Monday. They are very helpful on the phone, and I've never had to wait long to talk with someone.

Is it possible there is a static charge on the wind shield?

 

[patent]

FWIW, I never close the shield. I would assume what you see is the effect the wind has on it when the shield closes (which will, of course, redistribute the air in there as you close it). Zero can be a funny thing on electronic scales.

I just do everything in the style I zeroed it. I hit dispense, dump the powder into the case, put the plate back, let the scale settle, and hit dispense again. Opening and closing that shield would take forever. (relatively speaking)

I've checked the readings with my manual scale and with an extra set of check weights. Its done very well with all tests I've done, though its my impression that it does read slightly differently than my manual scale does.

patent

 

[Lennyjoe]

Same here. I noticed a .1 gr difference if I leave the cover open after zeroing it with cover closed. Guess the only reason to use the cover is if your in an area with airflow like a garage or something. So, I pretty much don't use the cover and leave it open all the time.

I zero it with the cover open and press on.

A word of caution, if you use stick powder like IMR 4350 watch the weight after it stops trickling. Might be over by .1 or so since the sticks are harder to trickle than say AA-9 is.

 

[kidcoltoutlaw]

So is it still working and is it still worth the money.

 

[rdaines]

Electronics can do freaky things, if you zero it with the door closed does it still jump around when the door opens and closes? I'm on my second one, the first developed a keypad problem. RCBS replaced it with no arguments.
There can be some variability in the 0.1 grain, I don't do hot loads with it and tend to use loads that a 0.1 +/- won't make much difference. For hot loads I'd use a mechanical balance

 

[SixShooterBP]

I use mine with the shield open. Sure makes the drudgery of powder weighing alot more pleasant. I will never go back to manual balance beam again!

 

[bender]

I also use mine with the shield hanging open. I only close the shield when its not in use.

the shield is pretty thick... maybe it slightly changes the internal balance or something when its hanging off to the side vs closed...

I love mine so far.

 

[P5 Guy]

Static electricity. Wipe the sheild with a dryer cloth and see if that stops the zero change.

 

[dmftoy1]

Mine gets alot of hard usage and I love it . .I can't imagine going back to the old way.

Have a good one,
Dave