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Chargemaster 1500 results

SteveOak

SteveOak

Gold $$ Contributor
I purchased an FX 120i from a member on AS. Didn't really plan on buying it, or one at all, but it was a good price so I bought it and, after checking it out, put it aside.

Today I was loading 30gr of Varget with a Chargemaster 1500 and decided to verify the loads.

Pretty widely dispersed, from a low of 29.92gr to a high of 30.12gr. More variance than I would like to see. Pretty disappointing actually.
 
rijndael said:
That was Varget, IIRC. At the time my load was 43 of Varget with a 175 SMK.
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Mine don't care for Varget much but I don't shoot it much either. The 133, Lt32, n120, 8208, n135 etc, all seem to do better than varget in my chargemasters but I've never done as thorough a test as yours with them. I do find tipping it just a bit rearward as opposed to dead level helps probably more than any of the gadgets out there to help in this regard. You can really fine tune it pretty good like that but the scale will never be a sartorious or similar and you'll probably always get one every once in a while that falls outside of your target weight. I suspect that as we get better and better consistency, we likely raise our expectations for what's allowable too. Overall, I'm happy with mine but even two running won't keep up with dumping straight from the measure and a well tuned measure gives me good results for short range. If I get more serious about long range shooting, I'll probably do things a bit differently in this regard. But again, a lot comes down to viable powders.
 
SteveOak said:
Pretty widely dispersed, from a low of 29.92gr to a high of 30.12gr. More variance than I would like to see. Pretty disappointing actually.
Click to expand...
The CM only has a claimed accuracy of 0.1 gr. The FX 120i has a claimed accuracy of 0.02 gr. So given those numbers, your CM is meeting the design. If you adjust the programming of your CM you could either change the speed or the accuracy.

You can also significantly improve the CM accuracy if you are willing to trickle with another system. I ran mine this way for a couple of years.
 
I used a CM1500 for 7-8 years. Overall it beat a powder measure, but periodically the scale would get "glitchy". But my real concern was always the "rounding" algorithm. Last year I bought an AutoTricker V3 and have never looked back!
 
Those CM weighing/dispenser charges are way better than my cheap beam/digital scale accuracy(+,- 0.1 gr). Someday I may get around to an upgrade.
 
How much of that variance can be totally attributed to the charge master vs the size and shape of the powder granule dropped into the tray? I have seen some pretty whacky granules of powder come out sometimes. What standards do we hold the powder manufactures to ensure that each and every piece of powder weighs exactly the same, is the same size and contains the exact same mixture and density of chemicals used? Would my groups improve if I weighed my charges to two decimal places?....Maybe, but I am not positive I can shoot the difference. I love my charge master.

I used to be really into the fine details of reloading and after doing it for years I came to realize I would rather spend my time at the range than at the bench.
 
The 1500 scale is only accurate to 0.1grain, therefore it will not be able to differentiate more precisely… when you compare (check) with a more accurate scale you are exposing the limits of this 0.1grain accuracy. Nothing can be done to improve this short of re-weighing each charge on a more accurate scale and adjusting accordingly… this is what I did for years.

CM is still very capable on its own and most would not notice the improvement offered by a more accurate system. However, I love my Autotrickler… no regrets on this purchase.

Regards
Chris
 
jepp2 said:
The CM only has a claimed accuracy of 0.1 gr. The FX 120i has a claimed accuracy of 0.02 gr. So given those numbers, your CM is meeting the design. If you adjust the programming of your CM you could either change the speed or the accuracy.
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I'm not following you. In each case the CM read 30.0gr. What adjustment would produce different results?

As you said, the CM is meeting the stated accuracy.
 
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SteveOak said:
I'm not following you. In each case the CM read 30.0gr.
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When the CM reads 30,0 gr, the actual charge might be 29.9 gr, 30.0 gr, or 30.1 gr. The scale is only capable of +/- 0.1 gr. Does matter what the display on the scale says.

Just like the FX 120i is only good to 0.02 gr. So a charge that displays as 29.62 gr, might be 29.60 gr, 29.62 gr, or 29.64 gr.

SteveOak said:
What adjustment would produce different results.
Click to expand...
If you start the slow trickle at a lower charge weight (% of the set weight) it might improve how close the actual charge is to the set charge weight. Just like using the separate trickler does. Most folks go the opposite way and speed up the charging, which probably reduces the accuracy. When I would load 7,000 rounds for my annual prairie dog hunt, the time to dispense the next charge was more important to me than the exact accuracy of the charge.

That is what Eric did in the video. The scale is capable of greater accuracy if the setpoint is approached more slowly.
 
Comparing the 1500 to the Link there has been a change in the design of the dispensing tube, which I believe to be based on experience with the 1500 and a desire to improve. Some time back I tested my Link, with 133 (I think) and twenty charges varied by +- .07 gr. . Earlier I had done a test without proper warmup or calibration that while not terrible, was not as good.
 
Sounds like what I found with mine, the CM did what it was supposed to do, the FX did what it's supposed to do. The CM is plenty good enough for the average reloader, the FX is geared towards those with more OCD issues and willing to spend the money to satisfy them. For me, jury is still out as to whether the V4 was worth the loot or not, I do like to experiment, and use the best tool I can afford, and try to eliminate some of the doubt about reloading, see what the targets tell me over time. Not expecting massive changes, it'll take time and a few rds from different guns I have, to show itself.
 
Chargemaster is a great tool. It’s not designed to read each individual kernel, but is very accurate if you perform the McDonalds straw and programming modifications. Mine seems to always stay within +/- .04gr when charges are verified. Depending on the powder type of course.

If loading serious rounds, it’s best to set the weight a couple tenths below the target then trickle in the rest on a finer scale. For varmint and pistol rounds, I just let the CM have at it and it does an excellent job. Absolutely nothing that disappoints me about the CM
 
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