'Plug and Play' battery pack for the Chargemaster 1500

[powderbrake]

BEWARE of using the same wiring on FX120i or Gempro scales !!!

The Fx120i and Gempro have CENTER NEGATIVE on their power input.

Also the Autothrower/autotrickler combo uses a 2amp power supply, while I believe the Fx120i scale alone has a 1 amp power supply.

That being said, I have a 5/9/12 volt LiIon battery pack and I run my Chargemaster on 12 volts rather than 9 volts which is what it's power supply is rated at.

​

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

I have been using this battery for a number of years. It completely eliminates any line voltage irregularities. Best thing since sliced bread in my opinion.

However I still have some problems with drifting due to temperature variations. As a Armature Radio Operator, the most sensitive part of the radio is the VFO drifting. To combat this, they incorporate a VFO heater of sorts that is extremely regulated. You can leave it on a frequency for hours and it wont drift. Don't know why RCBS can't do this.

 

[PA Jeep]

I tried the same battery from post 1 on my Autothrower/autotrickler combo/Fx120i. I did reverse polarity and the scale boots up and performs the count down. I then get "Lb" on the screen and the setup will not work. Anyone know what is going on? I looked at the scale manual and no reference to Lb code that refers to any trouble code. Any Fx120i users with battery power? I suspect the battery doesn't have enough power

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

That battery supplies Plenty of power. Check the amperage you thrower needs.

 

[Ron Blain]

BEWARE of using the same wiring on FX120i or Gempro scales !!!

The Fx120i and Gempro have CENTER NEGATIVE on their power input.

Also the Autothrower/autotrickler combo uses a 2amp power supply, while I believe the Fx120i scale alone has a 1 amp power supply.

That being said, I have a 5/9/12 volt LiIon battery pack and I run my Chargemaster on 12 volts rather than 9 volts which is what it's power supply is rated at.

​

That is really good to know. Really, really good to know. While I don't have a FX 120 for those who do and want to battery power it that is important.

As to power this has apparently come up before, like a few years ago. I would have thought that it would be center positive since I have not seen a positive shell in years. Go figure. Thanks for sharing that.

Ron

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Always check with a voltmeter

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I was looking for portable power for my Chargemaster 1500. I saw some threads here, thanks, they were very helpful.


Here is a link to the battery I got; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ME3ZH7C/?tag=accuratescom-20

Here is a link to the cable I got; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DX6ZUBM/?tag=accuratescom-20

I am happy to answer any questions.

ETA 06022018; Sorry for all 'the cut and paste' duplication. It should be good now.

You convinced me.. I use a UPS, that has a battery back up. Still getting a tiny bit of drift now and again.. $40 bux aint gonna break me and maybe I'll get less frustrated with my CM1500

 

[TheOtherZilla]

OK, I just finished a loading session, 50 rds. NO DRIFT AT ALL.. THANK YOU THANK YOU . Usually I have o adjust my zero 2-3 times or more. This set up works greater than great. RCBS should include this with the Charge Master.. Thanks again

 

[qldreloader]

I ordered one today. Thanks to the OP for a great idea!

 

[1TXshooter]

Make sure the battery is fully charged. I have seen the same LB message on my Autotrickler V3 setup with a battery pack also. Those battery packs are made with 3 Lipo cells, so fully charged it is 12.6V, but will fall under 12V as it is depleted. I switched packs to one that was fully charged and it works fine off a battery.

I tried the same battery from post 1 on my Autothrower/autotrickler combo/Fx120i. I did reverse polarity and the scale boots up and performs the count down. I then get "Lb" on the screen and the setup will not work. Anyone know what is going on? I looked at the scale manual and no reference to Lb code that refers to any trouble code. Any Fx120i users with battery power? I suspect the battery doesn't have enough power

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Make sure the battery is fully charged. I have seen the same LB message on my Autotrickler V3 setup with a battery pack also. Those battery packs are made with 3 Lipo cells, so fully charged it is 12.6V, but will fall under 12V as it is depleted. I switched packs to one that was fully charged and it works fine off a battery.

The cm1500 is designed to work properly on anywhere from 9-16 volts. I've never experienced a problem with low voltage until the battery is very dead but I suppose it's possible. Not sure about the Autotrickler V3

 

[Ron Blain]

For those going this route you may want to consider the addition of a simple inline fuse.

Ron

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

For those going this route you may want to consider the addition of a simple inline fuse.

Ron

Very true but I'm not sure it'd save the unit. It might save you from having a fire, in that very unlikely event, though. Nevertheless...can't hurt. Personally, I feel like it's safer on a battery power supply than plugged into the wall, as it's not subject to lightning or other big power surges. I'm not aware of any fuse in the factory circuitry.(cm1500)

 

[TBeghtol]

Thank you Steve! BTW Gary Yuen from BRPC says Hello.

I was looking for portable power for my Chargemaster 1500. I saw some threads here, thanks, they were very helpful.

Not everyone has soldering tools readily available so I looked for an off the shelf solution for so that you could buy commercially available parts, plug them in and it is good to go. No soldering or figuring things out. All of that is done.

I got a battery off Amazon.

TalentCell Rechargeable 12V 6000mAh/5V 12000mAh DC Output Lithium Ion Battery Pack For LED Strip And CCTV Camera, Portable Li-ion Battery Bank With Charger, Black (Multi-led indicator)

It looks like this;

The battery is small and light, has a power on/off switch, and has 5 LEDs to indicate level of charge so you know where you are at with power during both charging and use.

The battery has an on/off switch and a USB jack so that you can use it to charge your phone. The battery kit comes with a splitter cable so that you can be warming up the Chargemaster and charging the battery at the same time. This is what I do. When I am ready to start throwing powder, I unplug the charger and run on only the battery . This provides the cleanest power possible, no ferrite needed.

It has a circular power out jack that is the same as the jack on the Chargemaster 1500. The specification for that jack is “2.1mm x 5.5mm”.

Before I plugged anything in I checked the polarity of the Chargemaster, its charger, and the battery to ensure that they all matched. The center conductor on all three is the ‘hot’ or ‘+’, and the outer contact is ‘negative’ or ‘-‘. I have attached a diagram. Look for this on the battery and Chargemaster 1500 charger.

The battery is 12VDC output and the Chargemaster is 15VDC input. No problem there. The Chargemaster as with most DV devices is able to deal with it. The Chargemaster 1500 charger is spec’d for a 3,000 mA/3 Amp output but the Chargemaster doesn’t draw anywhere near that. I have had mine powered up for 24 hours and have thrown 60 charges and the battery still has 4 of the 5 LEDs lit.

The battery comes with a charger that has an LED which is red when it is charging the battery and green when the battery is charger.

All in all, it is pretty slick. Small, light, plenty of power to run the Chargemaster for days, no wire cutting or soldering. Plug and play power for your Chargemaster for under $40. There is a 3,000 mAh version of the battery for $10 less that would be plenty to run the Chargemaster all day. It has the USB jack and LEDs. For the same size and I went with the version with more power.

Here is a link to the battery I got; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ME3ZH7C/?tag=accuratescom-20

Here is a link to the cable I got; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DX6ZUBM/?tag=accuratescom-20

I am happy to answer any questions.

ETA 06022018; Sorry for all 'the cut and paste' duplication. It should be good now.

 

[jimmymac]

ttt

@SteveOak

Are you still running the battery pack you outlined in post #1? If so, have you ever determined how long that pack lasts under heavy usage? I ask because my deep cycle died and I'm needing a new battery.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

I am still using mine and it works perfectly. It will run your charger for days.

 

[Ron Blain]

Well you can figure it this way. I measured the current draw and back in post #4 I posted in part:
"Using my power supply at 9 volts the scale powered up draws about 33.7 mA so let's be generous and say 35 mA. When dispensing powder (motor running) the total current draw is 190.0 mA, so if we bump that a little in the interest of nice easy to work with numbers we can say total current is never likely to exceed 0.2 Amp (200 mA). On the range I normally run mine on a 12 Volt 8.0 AH battery so we can figure in theory this thing could run about 40 hours continuous on a single battery charge and that includes motor running which is not the case". My absolute maximum current was 200 mAh or about 0.2 Ah.

The battery pack used in post #1 was listed as "alentCell Rechargeable 12V 6000mAh/5V 12000mAh DC Output Lithium Ion Battery Pack For LED Strip And CCTV Camera, Portable Li-ion Battery Bank With Charger, Black (Multi-led indicator)".

So a 12 volt 6,000 mAh battery. 6.0 Ah / 0.2 Amps = 30 hours and it will be much greater since the motor is not always running. I also included overhead in the current draw numbers.

Ron

 

[wkdickinson]

I bought the battery unit the OP referenced right after reading the first post in this thread a couple years ago, hoping it would stop my CM1500 from drifting and/or it would weigh more accurately. After many 50 rd. test with Varget & H4350, using a Gempro 500 as a check, I can see no appreciable difference in performance between commercial power, battery pack only or wall power with the battery pack in line. On all forms, I will often have to recalibrate my CM1500 scale once or twice in a 50 rd. session and the "thrown-charge" stats, checked with the GP500 are no better.

I do however power this system through a high-quality Monster "filtered" power strip (with nothing else plugged into it) and have changed all of the lighting in my shop to tube-type LEDs. So maybe I already have "clean" power. But I still do use the battery pack in-line most times, just intuitively seems like it should help.

 

[jimmymac]

Thanks @Ron Blain and @Nick Caprinolo

Appreciate the input. I think I’m going to run with it. I go to more than one range that doesn’t have power. Battery pack solution is perfect.

 

[RegionRat]

The two places where I feel comfortable doing load development at the range, don’t have power. I have run the CM on battery power for a long time. Before I took the risk, I tested to see if there was any issue with power affecting the performance of the unit. I can say neither of mine show any issue with using DC power from a battery.

I can say, that using AC with their transformer is more likely to allow noise than the battery supply, but that is based on external factors and not the fault of the CM.

I will also warn folks who are just now thinking of running their CM in the field on battery power, that the CM isn’t a temperature compensated unit and was never intended for field use. That isn’t to say don’t do it, what I am saying is to remember that outside temperatures can swing faster and wider than indoors and we are already aware that a CM needs stability to deal with calibration drift.

Be prepared to look at your cal weights more often and as the day passes and the temps swing. Try to shelter the unit from temperature fluctuations due to shade or cloud cover as well as wind. Battery power isn’t a problem, but environmental factors still are. YMMV