RCBS ChargeMaster Lite -- Used Purchase Issue

[jackieschmidt]

A while back, I bought a RCBS Chargemaster Lite from the classifieds here on Accurateshooter.I was going to use it as a spare. It was advertised as never been used, which appeared to be the case.

I decided yesterday to set it up, I’m getting ready to go to The Nationals and figured I better take a spare.

I turned it on, let it warm up, and went to calibrate it. It would drift on the calibrating scale. I then turned it off, turned it back on, and just tried to zero it. After about 3 seconds, the zero would star drifting up and down. I then sat a bullet on it, same thing, scale driving up and down.

There is something obviously wrong with it. There is no warranty, I guess I could ship it back to RCBS, tell them exactly what I have written here, and see what the charges are to fix it. Or just keep the loose pieces and throw the rest in the trash.

By the way. I tried it both plugged into a 110 outlet and on my battery setup I use at the range. Same thing.

 

[338 Mollett]

I have to let both my Chargemaster and Denver warm up a while to negate the drifting.

 

[INShooter]

Just the other day my Chargemaster Lite started doing the same thing. My older Chargemaster continues to work fine. I am always skeptical about buying optics or electronics used.

 

[Gary in MD]

I would send it in to them and explain like you said. They have been more than fair with me on the times that I have needed replacement parts for tools that I’ve had for over 30 years. Give them a chance, what do you have to lose?
Gary

 

[DaveTooley]

Was your cell phone close by? My cell phone would drive my old Lyman crazy.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

A while back, I bought a RCBS Chargemaster Lite from the classifieds here on Accurateshooter.I was going to use it as a spare. It was advertised as never been used, which it appeared to be.

I decided yesterday to set it up, I’m getting ready to go to The Nationals and figured I better take a spare.

I turned it on, let it warm up, and went to calibrate it. It would drift on the calibrating scale. I then turned it off, turned it back on, and just tried to zero it. After about 3 seconds, the zero would star drifting up and down. I then sat a bullet on it, same thing, scale driving up and down.

There is something obviously wrong with it. There is no warranty, I guess I could ship it back to RCBS, tell them exactly what I have written here, and see what the charges are to fix it. Or just keep the loose pieces and throw the rest in the trash.

By the way. I tried it both plugged into a 110 outlet and on my battery setup I use at the range. Same thing.

A friend of mine told me he had a very similar problem with his RCBS pocket scale.

Upon further investigation I noticed that there was a piece of plastic lodged up underneath where the pan sets.

It was intentionally put there to prevent jarring of the scale unit. And it was causing the scale to go crazy.

You might make sure there's nothing underneath there from the factory

 

[NorCalMikie]

Had the same thing happen on a RCBS Chargemaster I bought used on this forum.
Plugged it in, watched it go up and down for about 20 + minutes before I put it back in the box and sold it to someone that wanted it more than I did.
My RCBS 505 doesn't drift and the batteries never go dead.

 

[Chiquita]

If the input DC voltage is 12V, you can modify the power cord and see if the issue goes away by poweing the unit wuth a car battery. PM me If you need help on this.
Otherwise contact RCBS and they will be glad to help.

 

[Forum Boss]

When you buy something, you can demand an INSPECTION PERIOD.

The seller can say yes or no.

If he says "No" then maybe you should choose not to buy.

Also, if the item has indeed never been used, but sat in storage for a while, sometimes it is worth doing a simple internal inspection.

Keep in mind that with these electronic devices, the typical warranty is under two years, often just one. That should tell you something.

NOTE: The ChargeMaster scales are warrantied for just one year: "Your ChargeMaster scale, ChargeMaster Combo, RangeMaster scale, ChargeMaster Dispenser or AmmoMaster Chronograph is warranted to be free from defects in material or workmanship for one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is extended only to the original consumer purchaser."

Your Product Warranty | RCBS

Read more about the warranty from RCBS

www.rcbs.com

 

[338 Mollett]

Was your cell phone close by? My cell phone would drive my old Lyman crazy.

My cell screws up my Denver also.

 

[PigButtons]

I hope you are wrong about the scale's condition. Have you pulled the platton and checked for dust or debris? Get a can of compressed air and blow it out. Make sure there are no drafts, no florescent lights nearby, no motors on the circuit.

If you still have issues call RCBS, they're usually very helpful. I too had bought used and they spent 45 minutes talking me through the trouble shooting and we got it up and running.

 

[BasicMagic]

I have a chargemaster lite. What I do is I turn it on and warm it up with check weights on the pan that are aprox the charge weight I was intending to have it throw. I then watch the readout (mine tells me the weights are getting heavier) until the reading settles down. It usually takes about 15 minutes or so for the changes in the readings to stop or have a really long time between changes. I then calibrate with their check weights, verify it reads my check weights correctly (again using close to desired charge). Then I load. I verify with my check weights every 10-20 rounds depending if it says the pan is changing weight in between throws.

The scale is extremely sensitive to any breeze. Also I think the plastic shield they have can hold static. You may want to rub it with a dryer sheet once in a while to see if that helps.

 

[DiffEQ]

I bought a Chargemaster off Snipers Hide in 2013. Guy made no claim to it working perfectly, but implied by saying he loaded 250 rounds the night before without a hitch.
Yes, the zero would drift over time. Yes, there were times it would never progress to "fast feed" mode and it would take 10 minutes to dribble out one 338 LM charge.
My experience was, when working well, 2 of 5 loads would be on target, the other three would miss by as much as .4gr.
I did all kinds of mods which improved on that, short of sending it back for an upgrade.
Pissed me off, big time. A pox on anyone who doesn't discloses scale deficiencies before attempting to sell - dishonest schmucks. Zero drift would be one.
Bought a LnL autocharge. It was an improvement, but still lacked the precision I wanted.
Tried to sell the Chargemaster for $75, including disclosing its problems, largely resolved. No one interested.
Gave to a fellow reloader who couldn't see his digital scale anymore. Works beautifully for him, so he says.

 

[L.Sherm]

When you buy something, you can demand an INSPECTION PERIOD.

The seller can say yes or no.

If he says "No" then maybe you should choose not to buy.

Also, if the item has indeed never been used, but sat in storage for a while, sometimes it is worth doing a simple internal inspection.

Keep in mind that with these electronic devices, the typical warranty is under two years, often just one. That should tell you something.

NOTE: The ChargeMaster scale are warrantied for just one year: "Your ChargeMaster scale, ChargeMaster Combo, RangeMaster scale, ChargeMaster Dispenser or AmmoMaster Chronograph is warranted to be free from defects in material or workmanship for one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is extended only to the original consumer purchaser."

Your Product Warranty | RCBS

Read more about the warranty from RCBS

www.rcbs.com

This is exactly what RCBS told me on a Xmas present one I got, took it out of the box 1.5 years later and figured it set it up scales wont calibrate so I'm S.O.L

 

[TIMO]

Not quite the same situation, but my Charge Master developed a problem when trying to calibrate it. So far it is back up and running normal like before.
Thread link below.

RCBS Charge Master will not calibrate accurately

Update, CM 1500 is now working and back to normal. Verified with my other electronic scale and 10-10 scale. I hope it lasts.:) Probably just my lucky day. I applied a number of short blasts of compressed air to the opening where the scale platen sets and where the power cord plugs in. Also...

forum.accurateshooter.com

Tim