Summitthunting
Well-known member
Are they worth it? Give me the good, bad, and ugly!
RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser Combo
- Thread starter Summitthunting
- Start date
THE GOOD: They are fast and when they are adjusted correctly they are great.
THE BAD: If the machine is not at room temp you need to turn it on and let it warm up. They are affected by flourescent lights, any air movement in the room is a no-no. You never are 100% sure that it is telling you the truth. Use a surge protector and treat it like a computer.
THE UGLY: They cost a lot of money and you will constantly be checking the results with your old beam scale. They also have a tendency to be a little finicky with certain powders - particularly the ball powder types.
Bottom line is when my son started to set up his reloading room I spent almost a year to find an old Ohaus triple beam scale for him - And I paid 4 times for a used one than what I bought mine for new 35 yrs ago. If it's electronic and it involves powder I don't want anything to do with it - it's not a matter of if it will have a problem but when.
With that said there are a lot of people out there that swear by them.
If you have any particular question or concerns feel free to send me a PM and I'd be more than happy to give you my 2 cent opinion.
MNHunter
Well-known member
Bad: It is spendy
Good: Everything else IMO
Good: Everything else IMO
How much do you reload, and what do you reload most?
I really think they make the most sense for high precision, extruded powder, moderate to high volume loading. Ball powders throw too well with a powder measure for me to bother, and if you aren't looking for sub-minute accuracy, I'm usually comfortable throwing charges with most extruded powders too. If you aren't going to load a decent volume of ammo, I'd just stick with throwing charges light and trickling up. I often load 100-250 rounds at a time of rifle ammo that I put together pretty carefully, and if I'm doing a batch like that I'll borrow a friends chargemaster for the chore. I've been scoping out a Hornady AutoCharge (similar product but less $$) for myself so I don't have to bother him. His has worked flawlessly for me, so far.
I really think they make the most sense for high precision, extruded powder, moderate to high volume loading. Ball powders throw too well with a powder measure for me to bother, and if you aren't looking for sub-minute accuracy, I'm usually comfortable throwing charges with most extruded powders too. If you aren't going to load a decent volume of ammo, I'd just stick with throwing charges light and trickling up. I often load 100-250 rounds at a time of rifle ammo that I put together pretty carefully, and if I'm doing a batch like that I'll borrow a friends chargemaster for the chore. I've been scoping out a Hornady AutoCharge (similar product but less $$) for myself so I don't have to bother him. His has worked flawlessly for me, so far.
Calif. Hunter
Active member
I have had one for several years. Initially, the first one was great but soon developed problems with some of the buttons not wanting to function. The On/Off was the first to quit after about a year, so I just left it on. Then the calibrate and other buttons went south. (This was 3 or 4 years after buying it.) I sent it back to RCBS with the $49 service fee required. Within 2-3 weeks, they had sent me a brand new one.
I use mine under flourescent lights in my garage...never knew they affected it. I mainly use it for extruded powders, as it does not work well with ball powders. The trickle funtion with sphericals tends to let too much powder flow with them and you end up with "overweight" charges. With extruded powder, it works great. As mentioned above - the ball powders measure too well from a standard powder measure to worry about using the Chargemaster anyway. Most of my bulk loading is done with ball powders in .223 and .22-250. I do use it to check the loads thrown from my measure every so often.
I know several BR shooters who use one to throw a light initial charge and then hand-trickle the last grain or so of powder to the final weight.
I use mine under flourescent lights in my garage...never knew they affected it. I mainly use it for extruded powders, as it does not work well with ball powders. The trickle funtion with sphericals tends to let too much powder flow with them and you end up with "overweight" charges. With extruded powder, it works great. As mentioned above - the ball powders measure too well from a standard powder measure to worry about using the Chargemaster anyway. Most of my bulk loading is done with ball powders in .223 and .22-250. I do use it to check the loads thrown from my measure every so often.
I know several BR shooters who use one to throw a light initial charge and then hand-trickle the last grain or so of powder to the final weight.
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Doug in Idaho
Member
My experience sounds a lot like Calif. Hunter's. I've had one for 3-4 years and have loved it. It's always been extremely accurate and fast. Everytime i've compared charges between in and my beam scale it's been dead on. But just recently i've been experiencing some issues with the key pad and am in the process of sending it back right now. Hopefully they'll fix it or give me a new one.
