rcbs chargemaster 1500

[RW]

I purchased a rcbs 1500 chargemaster scale and dispenser and when i read thru the instructions it said not to use this scale and despenser in cold temps!! That restricts it here in my shop in the winter time because I don't keep my shop heated all the time in the winter and it will be in the 30's and 40's inside the shop! The instructions say it can cause electronics of the unit! Does any one one out there have any of the similar conditions and use the unit? It will restrict my use to 6 months or I will have to bring it in the house and dispense the powder which would be a hassle!
Thanks, RW

 

[DennisH]

I will have to bring it in the house and dispense the powder which would be a hassle!

Not that big of a hassle and the best thing to do. Keep the temp stable at all times. Turn the unit on 30 minutes before calibrating, then use!

If you do try to use it in low temps, it won't take long befoe you bring it inside! NO fans either.

In fact, keep inside at all times!

Dennis

 

[amlevin]

A little carpentry and one could have a small "office" within the shop. A small area that encloses the work space and could be heated with a small baseboard heater. Kind of like the "supervisor offices" one might see in a factory.

Either that or do like I did. Commandeer a spare room. The temp in my new Reloading "Shop" is a constant 68 degrees during cold weather. Surprisingly I got away with it.

 

[Dirtball]

I must be stuck in the stone age, my scale does not care what temp it is, I did not have to build a Temp Controlled room for it, it does not have to be warmed up for 30 min prior to use, it does not have to be recalibrated several times during a reloading session, and I can trust it to within one or two kernels of powder, AND I can take it to the range with me where there is no electricity.

It is an RCBS/Ohaus 10-10

I use a manual powder measure set 1/2 grain light and trickle up.

What am I missing here?

Dave

 

[amlevin]

What am I missing here?

Dave

A scale that also dispenses powder accurately, no matter what the shape of the granule, and does so while you are seating a bullet over the last charge it dispensed and checking length.

We used to have wooden spoke wheels and manual transmissions on our cars. Today it's pneumatic tires and automatic transmissions. Model T vs LTD, your choice.

 

[red]

I bought an RCBS Chargemaster 1500 on advice from my son I had problems it it and sent it back. They sent me a new one. I had problems with that one too, and sent that one in. They sent it back and said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. If I use i to load pistol rounds, slows me way down.So now I use a uni-flow Powder Measure to drop pistol loads, and follow that up with a trickler. It works fine for rifle loads, but not well for pistols. Won't buy another one. I have started turning it on a while before I use it though.

 

[DennisH]

I have two of them and both work perfectly.

I check loads between the two and there perfect!

Everything has to be steady, no fans, nothing to disturb the chargng process!

I couldn't operate wthout mine!

 

[tome]

my reloading bench is in a unheated shed. I ended up buying an electric heater ( more for me than the electronics ). i leave it run for about a 1/2 hr and it gets the shed in the 50's.then i start to use the 1500. i check the starting loads on a 1010 beam scale..and then every 10 or so loads. so far all the loads are right on. i've been dooing this routine for the last 5 yrs.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

When I load pistol cartridges I use a powder measure because I use ball or flake powder and that measures just fine. The CM is too slow because it's really only in slow and then trickle mode for most of its work.


I calibrate the CM every time I use it, and I also make sure there are no fans running nearby or A/C ducts blowing down on it. I also have it on a solid table not attached to my loading bench so as not to distrurb it at all while it's dispensing. I can seat my bullet, put the finished cartridge away after inspection, pick up the next one, brush its neck and adjust the funnel and the CM has already beeped at me that its next load is ready.

When I pick up the pan, I also notice the negative weight and I see that it's always the same: 146.9gr. When I put the empty pan back on, the weight goes to zero and after one to two seconds the CM will start dispensing its next load. In 5 years of use, I have never had occasion to recalibrate the CM during a run. I must confess that I do not understand the need to check the scale every 10 loads, but to each his own.

 

[Redhighpower]

Any electronic scale has a power supply and a Strain gaged cantilever. There is a constant voltage going thru the strain gage. A weight is placed on the pan will cause displacement of the strain gaged cantilever which causes a change in the resistance of the gage. This change is what you see on the readout device. This change is linear. So if the temperature changes the cantilever either expands or contracts which will change the zero reading. That is why you want a constant temperature. So to make sure there are no changes , every ten or so charges, just place a calibration weight on the pan equal to, or close to the charge weight. By the way if the power supply varies its out put, no matter small ,the Calibration will change. I used to work in a scale shop and all our calibration weights were checked against Standard weights and in all cases a Balance Beam scale was used, the repeatability was fantastic. I just purchased a Charge Master, haven't set it up yet, but I will compare the weighted charges from the Charge Master to my balance beam scale, until I feel that I can trust it. Also I set my Balance scale on a stand so that I am looking directly at the readout needle. I also used a bubble indicator to make sure the stand is level. I also did that with the Chargemaster. A good comparision is to load ten rounds using the electronic scale and ten with the balance beam ,shoot over a Cronograph and check the differences.