Thoughts on the RCBS Chargemager Combo 1500

[NoahbodyImportant]

Thinking about switching from my Scott Parker tuned scale to the RCBS Chargemaster Combo 1500.

Anybody have experience with the RCBS and could share their experiences positive or negative?

Thanks

 

[double g]

Love mine, had a problem with my first one, sent it in they sent me a new one no charge. DG

 

[ShootDots]

I never had a "problem" per se, as it worked as it should have. However, I checked MANY of my loads against the "GemPro" I had at the time and it came up sadly lacking. It is SUPPOSED to charge within + - 0.10grs. Mine did up to + - 0.30grs.. I tried putting straws in the dispensing "tube", I let it warm up for a considerable time, I ran several charges BEFORE I started actually using it>>>NOTHING worked to give me correct charges. My Harrell Powder Measure gave equally good results, at a considerably faster rate. It is a good machine for dispensing loads at it states, however, I now use a A & D "FX-I20" scale now that weighs VERY ACCURATELY down to 0.02grs. I use it in conjunction with my Harrell. I "throw" a charge about 1/2 gr lower and trickle up... It is NOT as fast as the Chargemaster, however, it is VASTLY more accurate and not that much slower! Having said all that, there are people who know "tricks" to make the Chargemaster work "better" to some degree....

 

[artbosco]

Thinking about switching from my Scott Parker tuned scale to the RCBS Chargemaster Combo 1500. Anybody have experience with the RCBS and could share their experiences positive or negative? Thanks

Reloading became fun and much easier once I went to the 1500. GET ONE!!!

 

[Jeff A]

Most valuable tool on my bench.

 

[mikecr]

I'm someone who both modified and learned how to use my CM.
I have no problem charging to the kernel

There is always some effort needed in use of a measuring instrument. The CM is a measuring instrument, as well as a thrower and a trickler.
I used a higher resolution standard (Acculab) to learn how to use my CM, and have since sold it off because it's no longer needed.

 

[gsg5pk]

Some folks had a bad experienced with it. Just make sure when you take it from supplier by test and comparision with precision weight scale before using it.

If that unit was not accuracy, just ship it back to change a new one from factory.

 

[GSPV]

I did a 100 charge test about a year ago with my CM, using VV N-120 powder, weighing the charges on a tuned Ohaus 505. There is a slight bias between the two, but the CM held within +/- 0.1 grain on over 97 of the 100 charges. The other two were very slightly out on the upper end.

I like the convenience of the CM. What I don't like is that when they go bad, you might not notice.

Greg J.

 

[johnnyi]

I WAS loving mine until mine developed a case of not going to the target charge! It will stop .2-.5 away from the target and just stop... I called RCBS, they told me to return for replacement. Now I have to go back to manual trickle... booh! Hoping for a quick turn around.

 

[vtmarmot]

Love mine. As I noted in another thread, I did ground the frame to the base of my reloading table to eliminate any static build up.

The finer the powder, the better this unit works. Ramshot TAC is ideal, with 99 percent of charges exact or better. H322 and Benchmark work good. Big log powders like Varget, not so good. The reason is, sometimes on the last trickle to bring the charge up to snuff, a glob of 4 to 8 powder grains will drop out of the tube, putting you over a tenth or two. IF YOU PICK UP THE PAN AS SOON AS THE UNIT BEEPS, YOU WILL NOT KNOW THIS!!!!!!! You must let it display the charge count, then it will display the weight again. Sometimes it is over. If so, I pick up the pan and dribble a few grains back into the hopper. I have become quite good at this and can generally hit it right on the first or second try. It is still faster than weighing charges on a scale and more accurate than throwing. I do all my loading with this unit.

 

[M-61]

Always thought I would never get one. (or any electronic scale) RCBS 304 was my scale. Gave this 1500 try and could not be happier. I'm a little old to make any change but into the electronics? Unlikely.....just sorry I waited so long. I also find the 'round' count to be a nice feature that I didn't even know it had.

 

[bdale]

Have had mine for years no problems, throws and weights powder well enough to give me low single digit SD's Also has lots of features stores lots of your favorite loads 8)

 

[1shot]

An added note to what VTMARMOT posted. I as well as many others have a plastic straw in the dispensing tube. I load LOTS of IMR 4895 and H-4831SC so I'm quite familiar with the extra powder drop at the very end of the cycle.The one little trick that I found by accident is I always re-level my CM after removing the powder from my last loading session. I keep it bubble centered left/right, but allow the unit to tip backwards slightly. This seems to have virtually eliminated those pesky extra kernels from dropping in the pan.
I hope this helps,
Lloyd

 

[searcher]

Like shootdots post, I check mine against a gempro - yet my experiences have been better. I did find that - in every instance I tried the scale, if I just turned on the scale and started loading after a few minutes - by the time I got about 50 cases charged, the weight of the first charged would be 1/10th of a grain off from the one I was just finishing. I found that if I plug the thing in the night before - no such problems. In my opinion - you have to plug in at least an hour ahead of time if you really want any accuracy out of it (mine at least). After warm-up - I am VERY pleased with the scale. As for the charging portion - you will be far faster as Shootdots and I do - use a Harrel's and do it twice as fast (as long as you are not using a heavy stick powder like IMR 4064). I would be pleased if I had three of these machines to line up and use simultaneously because they are S-L-O-W.

 

[mikecr]

Precision is not a race.

But I like that I have just enough time to seat bullets while my CM is dispensing.
I turn around at the beep, disturb the pan and verify the reading settles to desired. Dump the charge in a case, set the pan back on the CM hit dispense, and seat a bullet in the newly charged case...Beep
I couldn't load ammo any faster another way

I use a straw, programming, level as mentioned, warm up time, and potentiometer calibration of overall speed -per powder I'm using.
With this, I can get kernels to fall at just the right trickle rate for the scale sampling.
Now that says nothing about it's out of the box original performance. But like I said, it takes effort to measure right with any tool.
This holds with all other things reloading too.

Maybe you could pull a Prometheus out of a box plug it in and charge various amounts in various capacities well, with zero effort. I don't know, but I would not trade my CM for a Prometheus even for the better accuracy.

 

[CaptainMal]

I know two benchrest shooters using them exclusively and flat out love them.

Me - I bought a Hornady unit multiple years ago and have thousands of loadings using it. Keep waiting for it to break so I can justify buying the RCBS. Don't really know why as my Hornady works fine. Probably just because everyone I know likes the RCBS.

 

[J-rod]

I used a Scott parker balance, then a gempro, then bought a charge master. It was hooked up to a line conditioner, still drifted. Did the straw trick and programming trick..still had to check every charge as I didn't trust it due to variance. I mainly shoot for and whether +/- a tenth matters on paper at 1k, it does in my confidence level.
I returned it and spent $20 more for an a&d balance that really can consistently measure one kernel. I drop a few tenths shy with a Lee powder measure then trickle up with omega trickler. Faster and definitely more accurate then waiting on CM and having to recheck every charge.
The CM is an awesome concept, too bad it's based around a cheap balance. If you combined a better trickler with a balance like the A&D, it would beat everything on the market including the Prometheus.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Dump the charge in a case, set the pan back on the CM hit dispense, and seat a bullet in the newly charged case...Beep

You are aware that you can put it in auto mode and that way you will not have to hit "dispense" every time, with the added bonus that it counts the loads for you.

 

[mikecr]

you can put it in auto mode and that way you will not have to hit "dispense" every time, with the added bonus that it counts the loads for you.

I prefer to see how the scale comes back to zero with the pan added. When it's sluggish to lock in on zero, I re-zero. This is about every 4-5th charge cycle, as the scale is drifting slightly in the background. Adds a couple seconds

I don't count loads

 

[amlevin]

Sure like mine. Grounded, wiped down with anti-static cloth, left on 24/7/365 and it delivers charges just exactly as advertised. Did some "tuning" by altering run times on high and medium speeds but found the "straw trick" to be unnecessary for my powders.

To "verify" each load I just look for the tare weight of the pan to show up as a negative number when I remove it. If that number varies from -157.5 gr I merely toss the charge back, replace the pan, and hit the manual zero. Hasn't failed yet to cure the problem.

Everyone has their own levels of desire and OCD but for me, the CM 1500 has been a great tool. Couldn't be happier.