RCBS Chargemaster 1500 Question

[ED3]

I do not leave mine on. I turn it on about 10 -15 minutes before using, and calibrate immediately before using.
I wipe everything with dryer sheets, including the funnel for the cases, seems to work very well.
I just bought a 28000 mah battery pack to run it when I am loading at the range. It should last several days.

I am not overly familiar with any of the battery packs out there. The ones I've seen appear to have only the USB plug outlets, and as I understand it, that is 5 vdc; the Chargemaster has an input voltage of 9 vdc...
Could you please help me understand how that set up can be made to work.
Thanks,

ED3

 

[Fotheringill]

Good Morning,

Also a good idea to close the valve after emptying the powder. Don't ask me why I'm telling you this, but it's amazing how much powder can come out of the drain tube and spread all over your reloading bench in a short amount of time.

Ken

Duh !!!!

Done it myself more than a few times. There is nothing like that "Oh shit" feeling after watching two or three ounces bouncing around all over your powder loading area.

 

[Davey Boy]

Re: RCBS Chargemaster 1500 Question or two

Also emptying the powder out completely and/or changing types of powder seems to be a bit of a pain
Any good tips from the experienced users on that?

Maybe not the perfect way to clean out, but way faster and easier than the Lyman Gen 6, which you have to take out the hopper cartridge to clean it.

I just bring the CM to the edge of my bench and open the drain, use the brush for remaining kernels, and punch in 999 like Larry says and that empties the tube.
I used the Lyman for 2 weeks then returned it. CM is much easier to clean and in my mind never wanders like the Lyman did. Maybe I got a bad one who knows.

 

[powderbrake]

I am not overly familiar with any of the battery packs out there. The ones I've seen appear to have only the USB plug outlets, and as I understand it, that is 5 vdc; the Chargemaster has an input voltage of 9 vdc...
Could you please help me understand how that set up can be made to work.
Thanks,

ED3

Go to Amazon.com, and search for "9 volt DC output battery pack". Several will come up, I used the 28000 mah pack at $99, others there are less expensive, but check to see if they include the charger, which mine did.

 

[savagedasher]

I don't see why you couldn't take
3 or so 9 volts battery connectors hook all the grounds or black wire connection together and the red positive the same and connect to the plugin and end up with a a battery pack for $30.00 or less all parts are on e bay . Larry

 

[Steve Ladino]

For those of you who use the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 - Do you leave it turned on all the time? I know the one other digital scale that I owned everyone recommended that it be left on all the time.

Just curious what everyone else is doing regarding their Chargemasters - and thank you!

I use a plastic butter tub under the dump hole as it bends easily then push the trickle button till pick up tube inlet is face down then lift front of unit a couple inches and tap a few times and shake abruptly to get the last of it out. Leave pan on scale.

 

[ED3]

I don't see why you couldn't take
3 or so 9 volts battery connectors hook all the grounds or black wire connection together and the red positive the same and connect to the plugin and end up with a a battery pack for $30.00 or less all parts are on e bay . Larry

If I understand your suggested setup, you are using 3 - 9 volt radio batteries...
As I calculate it, under optimum conditions your set up would yield at most, less than 6 hours of dispensing. (3 x 400 mah/ batt) / 220 mah draw.

The aforementioned battery pack would last 125 hrs, if not longer, of actual dispensing on one charge. 28k mah/ 220mah draw.

Granted, the unit is only dispensing a fraction of the time, but given warm up, weighing, and idle time, there is a convenience toll exacted for the lower cost.

 

[tazzman]

No good way to do it simpy. That is one flaw in the design. You just have to move it to the edge and open the valve.
I use the brush and get it all out.

Once you've emptied it, don't forget to close the drain petcock. Don't ask how I know...

Phil Fortin aka tazzman

 

[msinc]

Just curious as to what leaving it on all the time is supposed to do/not do????? Like a few others on this thread all I have ever done is turn it on...use it...turn it off. Repeat next time needed {which might be a month from last time}...so, am I destroying the thing or what????
I am always suspect of what I call "strange instructions for use", for lack of a better term...if I am being told to dance and jump around like an idiot in a blue cheetah print marble bag thong while howling like a coyote facing the west to get something to continue to work properly.....well, maybe wifey might think so, but I probably don't need it.....

 

[Comrade Terry]

Don't ask how I know...

I don't need to ask.

 

[savagedasher]

If I understand your suggested setup, you are using 3 - 9 volt radio batteries...
As I calculate it, under optimum conditions your set up would yield at most, less than 6 hours of dispensing. (3 x 400 mah/ batt) / 220 mah draw.

The aforementioned battery pack would last 125 hrs, if not longer, of actual dispensing on one charge. 28k mah/ 220mah draw.

Granted, the unit is only dispensing a fraction of the time, but given warm up, weighing, and idle time, there is a convenience toll exacted for the lower cost.

I haven't done the calculations or made the pack . But it should work fine Larry

 

[powderbrake]

Just curious as to what leaving it on all the time is supposed to do/not do????? Like a few others on this thread all I have ever done is turn it on...use it...turn it off. Repeat next time needed {which might be a month from last time}...so, am I destroying the thing or what????
I am always suspect of what I call "strange instructions for use", for lack of a better term...if I am being told to dance and jump around like an idiot in a blue cheetah print marble bag thong while howling like a coyote facing the west to get something to continue to work properly.....well, maybe wifey might think so, but I probably don't need it.....

No, you are not destroying anything.

It simply takes some time for the electronics and the strain gage load cell in the unit to come to a temperature equilibrium. The strain gage signals are so small that it requires a very high amplification of the signal to use it in the electronics. This means that any other signals are also amplified, so the electronics needs time to warm up. In addition, the strain gages also react to their temperature and the temperature of the metal they are bonded to.

So, to let it sit and run a while, which helps everything get to a stable temperature. This is also why the zero drifts a little, and occasional re-zeroing is necessary. I do not believe a Chargemaster needs to be left on all the time. Just turn them on and wait a while, until everything is stable. If you have to re-zero a lot, wait a little longer , or turn it on the night before,(and wipe everything with a static cling sheet to eliminate static induced errors).

If your loading area is not temperature controlled like your house, and it's a lot hotter or colder, or you come in and then turn on the heat, you are going to have to wait a lot longer for things to stabilize.

Prior to retirement, my company manufactured strain gage load cells and associated electronics, and we joked that the one thing that strain gages measured better than force, was temperature. I designed load cells, and had to pay particular attention to those factors which eliminated the temperature response of the cell.

 

[powderbrake]

If I understand your suggested setup, you are using 3 - 9 volt radio batteries...
As I calculate it, under optimum conditions your set up would yield at most, less than 6 hours of dispensing. (3 x 400 mah/ batt) / 220 mah draw.

The aforementioned battery pack would last 125 hrs, if not longer, of actual dispensing on one charge. 28k mah/ 220mah draw.

Granted, the unit is only dispensing a fraction of the time, but given warm up, weighing, and idle time, there is a convenience toll exacted for the lower cost.

The power supply on the Chargemaster is 9 volts, 1000ma. Not knowing the average power consumed, I opted for the larger battery pack which would let it run for several days. I have seen packs of D cells used by some Benchrest shooters on their Chargemasters, but I have no idea of the life of that pack, I assume it's good enough for a two day match, but I do not know how often they are replaced. I bought the large pack because I wanted to be able to recharge my iPhone or laptop or my Gem Pro scale, and besides I just wanted one.

 

[M-61]

This has come before. Also, and in their instructions it states a warm up is needed ONLY when moving the CM from a colder environment to a warmer one. (my words, but that's the idea)
I am a big believer in contacting the manufacturer regarding questions about the usage of their product.

From RCBS 08/05/16:
From RCBS:
Chuck,
We don't recommend leaving your ChargeMaster left plugged in and turned on as it leaves it susceptible to power surges. We don't specifically advise against it in our instruction manual, but better safe than sorry. Also, along the lines of keeping your ChargeMaster ready to use, do not leave powder stored in the hopper as it will adhere and etch the plastic. It sounds as though you are following the instructions correctly. Hope this helps and thanks for contacting RCBS!

RCBS Tech/AD

 

[msinc]

Thanks powderbrake, et al for you explanations....makes sense.