RCBS Chargemaster variations.

[velocette]

I have noted my chargemaster going over or under, usually over and having
to wait until the weight came up again after the charge number, on the display before deciding
to use the charge.
I read on the internet (so it must be true) that if a drinking straw were
to be placed in the discharge nozzle of the chargemaster, it would significantly
improve the accuracy.
I did and it did.
I used a drinking straw shamelessly stolen from a Wendys
cut to be about 5/8" long & stuck in the discharge end of the chargemasters
tube with about 3/8" sticking out from the end of the tube. (I used a small amount
of thin tape to increase the straw's diameter so it would stay in place)
Over / under went from about 1:5 to about 1:12 with Varget & 308 loads and to 1: 24 with RE 15 & .223 loads.a significant improvement.
Net cost: a very small guilty feeling for stealing Wendy's straw & about 1/2" of tape on the outside
of the straw to increase its diameter slightly.
YMMV & you can keep your doctor.

 

[Laphroaig]

If you feel guilty about stealing a straw from Wendys, you are definitely going to heaven.

I find this interesting, as I have an original Lyman (Gen 1?) automatic measure. I can't even remember when I got it, I'm guessing 10 to 15 years ago? Mine throws a fair number, maybe 40 % about .1 gr over. It has always bothered me but I've generally learned to accept the .1 tolerance. I always thought that was just a bug in the early models, but now to hear a chargemaster has the same issue? I know they came out with a fix, but I heard it made the measure slower than it already is so I never tried it.

Maybe I'll appropriate a straw and see if it helps. I assume the smaller opening makes it slower, which probably gives the electronics a chance to catch up. thanks for posting.

 

[Offfhand]

I have been using Chargemasters since they first appeared and have never had the problems I've real about and wonder why some users do a "fix" with soda straws and others don't. The Chargemaster can be re-programmed to work at different speeds, call RCBS support for more information.

 

[higgite]

A McD's straw is a perfect fit. Save your tape.

 

[jmorris]

have been using Chargemasters since they first appeared and have never had the problems I've real about and wonder why some users do a "fix" with soda straws and others don't. The Chargemaster can be re-programmed to work at different speeds, call RCBS support for more information.

If stock is good "tuned" must be better, right? Others folks are more the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", types. I had a pair of them side by side when I played around with different powders, "fixes" and "tunes" of the parameters. None made one notability better than the "factory" configuration and several were obviously negativity effecting performance.

It really doesn't cost anything to try out though and see if they do anything for you.

One thing you will want to do if you attempt a parameter change is to write down the factory settings so you can return to them, there is no "reset" button you will have to manually renter them.

 

[Dill]

for mine, it wasn't the speed that was causing it to be inaccurate, it was that extruded powders like Varget or IMR 4064 would clump together in the dump tube because of the threads inside. So sometimes when it would rotate 1/16 of a turn, nothing would come out, then the next 1/16 of a turn, it would drop 4-5 granules, adding another .2gr to the charge. The straw mod helps the granules come out more evenly.