Ceiling fan running during reloading

[284winner]

Was recently told running the ceiling fan during the reloading process can cause inconsistent charges. Any truth to that. I understand air movement possibly causing powder to blow out of the powder pan. Just never seen it happen and my charges are exact each time I remove them from the scale.

 

[pirate ammo]

As far as I'm concerned that fan will cause problems with a lot of scales, I have to turn mine off, if I don't I can see the numbers on my scale go up and down. Had to build it a house.

 

[Metal God]

No it's not powder being blown out of the pan . It's the beam scale moving do to very minor air movement . I had this issue when running a fan in my reloading room . It took me a few moments to figure out why my scale would not stop moving . I also have to turn my head to avoid my breath blowing towards the scale on the final trickle .

 

[T-shooter]

If it's a beam scale, it probably will. Possible on an electronic especially if you have it uncovered. I've used my FX-300i scale with a window air conditioner less than 2 ft away (not blowing at the scale) and had no issues with air movement.

 

[JimSC]

put a empty powder pan on the scale and blow on it gently, see if air flow affects the reading. That way you will know for certain

 

[D-4297]

Depending on the type of scale you are using , Yes the air movement from the fan can , and will have a effect on the scale . I must have gotten lucky , or unlucky when I got my Gem-Pro 250 , but walking past the bench with a pan on the scale can change the reading . Air movement does have a effect on sensitive scales . Now I lock the door and don't let anyone in the room when I'm loading . Not even the "Boss" , uh....I mean Wife .

 

[Twoboxer]

You don't name the scale in question, but any wind or breeze will cause the scale to read differently than it would without the wind/breeze. If it didn't read differently under those conditions it couldn't measure fractions of grains.

Simple enough to test whether your fan is creating a breeze that hits and affects your scale. Turn fan off, zero scale, turn fan on. Is the weight still exactly zero?

If not, could be the wind or (if a digital scale) RF noise created by the motor in your fan.

 

[243Lapua]

My scale goes whacky. So no ceiling fans during the powder measure.

 

[butchlambert]

I turn the fan and the A/C unit off. I hurry as it gets hot here.

 

[Rsadams]

Pretty simple , is the air movement causing your scale to drift or move..? On my digital scale it's not bad , on my beam you can actually see it moving... My air is in the floor but I could see how a ceiling fan would be alot worse...

 

[Centuriator]

Good grief..turn your fan off.

Problem solved

 

[Down South]

I turn the fan and the A/C unit off. I hurry as it gets hot here.

Same here.

 

[brshtr]

Same as Butch. I use a Sartorius and the only thing that bothers it is air flow. I turn off both HVAC and room dehumidifier, and therefore do it when my wife is out, and I load fast.

Dave Rabin

 

[Charlie-NY]

My RCBS Chargemaster is definitely affected by the fan within my dehumidifier which is 4 feet away. The dehumidifier must be turned off before the scale can be properly calibrated.

 

[garandman]

I can watch my Frankford Arsenal scale on the Intellidropper fluctuate when the ceiling fans running.

Bad juju.

 

[shoot4fun]

My reloading room is in the basement. The basement has my reloading room, bathroom & man cave sealed off from the garage and is heated and cooled by the same unit as the upstairs main living area. I found I can leave the vent in my reloading room closed and still maintain 70-72 degrees there with zero interference with any electronics, especially my Fx120 scale.
PS
Before I had all that finished I ran a portable fan. It would drive the scale nuts!

 

[klamathsteel]

Flourescent and LED lights can play hell with digital scales and so can your cell phone.

 

[dgeesaman]

Was recently told running the ceiling fan during the reloading process can cause inconsistent charges. Any truth to that. I understand air movement possibly causing powder to blow out of the powder pan. Just never seen it happen and my charges are exact each time I remove them from the scale.

Only if your scale won’t hold a number. Then experiment with eliminating sources of air movement and electrical interference (if it’s digital)

David

 

[284winner]

I ask this because at the range last week, my ES went from 11 to 92 from rounds that I loaded with the fan off to when it was running. I cannot think of any other reason for that big of variance in my loads. First 20 rounds was around 11 fps ES and last 40 was 92 fps. Groups opened up horribly at 600 yards. Same brass, bullets, primers and load data. Only thing I did in the last 40 rounds I loaded was ran the fan due to temperature being a little warmer. Moved around the conditioned air a bit. Didn't see anything on my RCBS Chargemaster that looked odd. It was uncovered and the number never changed from it and of course never saw the powder moving or blowing out of the pan. That's the reason for my question. I guess it's OFF with the ceiling fan from now on. I reloaded 60 more rounds for next weekend without the fan going so well see if it helps.

 

[dgeesaman]

You might find it helpful to have a check weight (could be anything, but I bought a 2 gram / 30.865gr Troemner calibration weight) that you can place on the scale at any time to confirm the scale hasn't drifted at all. Check every 10 or 20 rounds.