Yet another powder dispenser

It sure looks like an RCBS Chargemaster - the powder drain, the wind shield, the two calibration weights, etc...

I wonder if it's made in the same factory or if it's just a knock off (copy)?

At $460 I'd leave it alone and buy the RCBS unit or the very competitively priced Hornady Auto Charge powder dispenser.

I own an RCBS Chargemaster since they were introduced and I like it.

I've read that it can be reprogrammed which sounds good, but I've left mine as delivered.

For long range shooting I use it to dispense near the desired weight and then use an Omega powder trickler to get within +/- 0.01 grain on an electronic balance.

Yeah, that sounds painful. It is...

For hunting and plinking ammo I just dispense with the Chargemaster and seat a bullet. Easy. Happy.

I remember using a powder thrower all those years ago and feeling it cut through the odd load of extruded kernels of slow burning double base powders. Ouch.

I'm not sure my shooting's any better, but I think I'm happier...

Maybe...

Ben
 
I think that the one big edge that RCBS will always have is their reputation for customer service. They have always gone above and beyond, to an amazing degree.
 
Maybe not

Boyd Allen said:
I think that the one big edge that RCBS will always have is their reputation for customer service. They have always gone above and beyond, to an amazing degree.
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I was using my Chargemaster at the July match at Raton. It started to act squirrelly. It would overthrow as much as two full grains (LT-32) and the zero would oscillate up and down over a full grain. I cleaned it and used dryer sheets to no avail. Finally shut it down and used my RFD for the remainder of the match. When I talked to RCBS support after coming home I was told by the Chargmaster guru that once it's past the one year warranty there is no warranty. I could send it back along with a check for two hundred dollars and they'd send me a new one. I don't think there's anything wrong with the dispenser just the scale. The guru also told me that no one, including Dillon, has a lifetime warrant on electronic products. Just looked at the Pact web site and found this: "All PACT Products are Made In America, by shooters for shooters. All are backed by our 30 Day Money Back Guarantee and Limited Lifetime Warranty. We take complete responsibility for your satisfaction." It doesn't specify what is "Limited" in their warranty. Just talked to Pact and they said the only thing that is not warranted for life is damage to the load cell. That is understandable.

Just looked up the RCBS scale by itself and it is $189.99 at Midway. So that $200 is no particular good deal from RCBS.
 
adamsgt said:
Well. isn't that interesting. That's a helluva difference in price. $460 vs $165, wonder if they were dumped for some reason. Might as well buy two. :rolleyes:
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I bought my ISD about two years ago for 199 I believe. It works okay, but drops powder a bit slow in my opinion. But you can go into the menu settings and adjust that. Only used it twice since I had it, but I don't feel like its a waste.
 
adamsgt said:
Just googling around and stumbled on this one. http://www.smartreloadermfg.com/isdscaledispenser.html Basic configuration looks very similar to the RCBS Chargemaster. Says it's designed in Italy. Maybe it's the same concept that Volkswagen did with the Karmen Ghia. Here's another link to US seller. The dispenser at $460 is a little pricey. http://store.smartreloader-usa.com/SmartReloaderPowderMeasuringEquipment.aspx
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SmartReloader is no ones friend. Especially if you can buy one here for $295 less: http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=UYVBSR0021&src=exrbSrch It pays to shop around.

Here is what accurateshooter.com had to say about it in December 2009: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/?s=isd+powder+dispenser&submit=Search Read the 7 comments posted back then.

I'm sure the Italian design means that the exterior shape and yellow color was the only thing that an Italian citizen or company provided. I'm of the school that it's probably a Chinese clone that's being distributed by a Swiss company, H.T. Helvetica Trading, Sarl. - C.P. 103 - 1951 Sion - Switzerland.

I'll stick with my RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Combo that I've had for over 5 years, and never had a problem. :)
 
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Jerry, i hate to hear that RCBS is charging $200 for replacement now.

i had a 5 year old one that quit in April or may, send it back to RCBS with a check for 60 bucks, and got a new one back with warranty.
 
afrench said:
Jerry, i hate to hear that RCBS is charging $200 for replacement now.

i had a 5 year old one that quit in April or may, send it back to RCBS with a check for 60 bucks, and got a new one back with warranty.
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When I was discussing the problems I was having the guru said that powder grains could get underneath the platen and on/around the load cell and that I should blow it out with canned air. I asked him "where does that powder go"? Should I take the scale cover off and remove any powder trapped inside? He said that would void the warranty. I replied that I was out of warranty anyway so what did it matter. The conversation went back and forth like this for a few minutes and then he said that if I sent it back with $200 he would send me a new one. Now maybe I ruffled his feathers or maybe they changed their policy since May.

This powder measure business is getting tiresome. I started with a Harrels BR measure and a Dillon D-Terminator. Wanting more precision I bought an Ohaus Navigator scale. I bought that one because I was a navigator in the Air Force. That scale went south after it was out of warranty. I replaced that with an Adam 123. Somewhere in there I bought a Lyman 1200 DPS original edition and later the speed upgrade. The Lyman didn't have battery capability but at that time I was shooting Palma so I loaded at home. Once I segued into BR I bought an RFD measure from Bob Dodd at a match in Raton. It seemed to be more consistent than the Harrels but I could never get the indexes to line up properly. Bought the RCBS Chargemaster because of the battery capability and it seemed to be accurate and consistent. But maybe it's not physically robust enough to be transported around to matches. I carried it in a foam lined plastic tool box but maybe it wasn't designed to withstand that much handling. Oh yeah somewhere in there I bought a Quick Measure at a gunshow along with the progressive press attachment. It's become a curiosity sitting on a shelf that I drag out periodically to flog myself with for being so profligate with my money. Maybe I'll go back to my RCBS Lil Dandy. Must have 15 -20 rotors of various sizes.
 
i just called RCBS customer service and they are now charging $200 for a new replacement for out of warranty machines. bummer.

Jerry, before you toss the one you have, you may try a few things if you haven't already.

both of the ones i've had really don't like static and will cause the drifting issues you mentioned. are you using the clear shield while at the range? what about the pan for powder, is it the metal one provided? i ask because i really like a little black powder pan that has a funnel built at 90 degrees and make dispensing a little faster, but can cause problems when outdoors and the temps go way up and humidity way down. add a little wind and you may have static building up in all that plastic.

there are anti-static sprays out there that help but the best thing i've found is to take the clear shield, plastic dump tray(if you use one instead of the metal one provided) and round plastic platform that holds the powder tray and dump them in water. pull them back out, let air dry and try it again. this usually solves my drifting problem, at least for a little while.

what kind of battery setup are you using? i carry 2 sealed cell 12 volt batteries with me. make sure your battery has a good charge. i had a problem at the range once with a low battery and fixed it by swapping to the other one.

one more thing about the powder. i've reprogrammed mine to be faster with powders like 133 in the 29 grain range. if you've done the same, it will most likely overthrow with LT32. mine did.
 
I always use the wind shield even indoors at Raton. I bought a couple of those plastic tray/funnels a few years ago but had issues with static. I'll try them again. At Raton last month I went to a Kmart and bought a box of dryer sheets. They do make my range box smell nice. I use a large 12V sealed lead acid battery. I always charge it before I leave and have a charger in my kit. I haven't done any re-programming to my unit. I'm using charges from 25 to 28.3 grains.

A couple of hours ago I was loading some rounds for tomorrow morning. Decided to try the chargemaster again. Was dropping 25.2 grains of H4198 for my 6 Beggs. The unit was working nicely until round number 21 when the scale display started jumping around as much as a half grain at a time. After some minutes it would settle down and work OK until it started jumping again. I loaded about 40 rounds and it it acted up 3 or 4 times during the session. Perplexing to say the least.
 
Smart Reloader makes as much sense to me as a Smart Car on a 4 lane expressway in a truckers convoy.
 
Another interpretation

Dick Grosbier said:
Limited Lifetime Warranty generally means they will sell you a new one for about the same price you can buy it discounted somewhere.
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I have also read that it means that any repair, parts and labour will be covered free of charge for the original purchaser for a period of 25 years. Provided the cause of the problem was not due to misuse or abuse.
Andy.
 
Andy Cross said:
I have also read that it means that any repair, parts and labour will be covered free of charge for the original purchaser for a period of 25 years. Provided the cause of the problem was not due to misuse or abuse. Andy.
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Everything boils down to each company's agreement but in general:

A warranty is a legal agreement. A limited lifetime warranty is an agreement between someone who purchases a product and the manufacturers of that product. This agreement entitles the purchaser to recompense if the product does not meet certain agreed specifications.

Limited
All warranties have a time period for which they are valid. The fact that a warranty is limited means that the extent of the liability of the manufacturer is set only to what is specified in the warranty itself. For example, the manufacturer may be liable if the product suffers technical failure, but not if the purchaser damages the product through his own actions.

Lifetime
The lifetime of the warranty refers to the period of time in which the warranty remains in force, starting from the date the purchaser buys the product. The lifetime in question is rarely the lifetime of the purchaser, but rather the length of time the manufacturer continues to make the product. Once a product is discontinued, the length of time the manufacturer remains liable under the warranty is specified in the warranty documentation.

Warranty
In legal terms, a warranty is an assurance from the manufacturer of a product to the purchaser that the product will meet certain specifications. Depending on the legal jurisdiction and the nature of the product and transaction a warranty may by implied or expressed by both parties.
 
You might also find that many countries have fair trading laws that augment, extend or even override warranties.
 
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