I hope you see this comment, you are quickly becoming my favorite channel for hunting firearms, you and Ron spomer are some of the best caliber and rifle reviewers on the tube. Keep on being awesome
Great conclusive reviews of every digital powder measure. For those of us who use progressive presses or want a faster powder drop, would be nice to see a video of how those mechanical powder measures compare to each other for accuracy. Such as the Redding, Forster,Sinclair, Dillon, Arredondo, Rcbs, and Hornady.
I find this is very interesting. I weighed over 250 charges thrown with a charge master lite and found an extreme spread of only 0.08 gains, not counting over or under throws of course. I did the same thing with a lineman GEN 6 and found an extreme spread of 0.15 grains. I weighed these on a very accurate and precise “tuned” beam scale that’s able to register one kernel of varget . Most charges thrown with this particular charge master lite were within 0.03 grains. Also checking both of these with check rates frequently (hundreds of times) I have not found them to be off more than what the test I conducted. 0.08 for the charge master lite and 0.15 for the gen 6.
I have been using the Frankford Arsenal intellidropper for about 18 months now and I absolutely love it. It makes reloading so much faster and is spot on
I went with the Lyman Gen 6 five years ago. My reservoir based cracked the other day. I emailed Lyman. They responded same day. And sent out one at no charge. And I had it with in four days. I bought it based on its foot print. It had a tendency to throw ball powder all over the place. But I found a taller tray on a very popular auction site. It was 3D printed. And now that isn’t a problem.
For quite some time I've been on the fence whether or not to invest in an auto powder measure. The price points are just going up and as you've pointed out, the build quality and long term reliability are going in the opposite direction. Spending $400 on the latest electronic measures isn't the problem, having it crapping out in a year or two is absolutely unacceptable. Today I use a couple of digital scales and for higher volume loading I use my Redding BR-30 Match Powder measure. This measure is repeatable within .05 grains (powder dependent) and has been a solid performer for years.
Dude killed it with the review! FA intellidropper is an amazing design. But I'm on my 2nd warranty claim with them. I also had to wait 3 months on my first warranty claim due to low stock.
I actually swapped out my hornady which kept drifting and throwing weird chargers with a RCBS link which worked heaps better. I guess all these units are really just cheap plastic junk and you get what you get when it comes out of the box.
Have the RCBS 1500 for quite a few years. Left it plugged in with unit off and the plug in transformer was melted but everything still works, just don't leave plugged in anymore. Was VERY frustrated with measuring small pistol loads as it just wouldn't do it. Almost put it away for good until I tried the straw trick. Now it works perfectly- use a straw for small loads and remove for rifle loads.
One thing you missed about the Lyman is that I believe it's the only powder dispenser that allows you to take it apart and clean it, insuring you can get all of the previous powder out when you change powders. To me this is a huge safety factor. Also, the reason I have a Lyman is because my Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper died on me as well.
My Intellidropper died after using it to throw H110. Nobody should use these things to throw fine powder like that. I was able to fix mine. The dispensing tube is driven by a small rubber band. The plastic pulley on the dispensing tube stripped out due to the added friction of H110 getting past the seals. I would not buy it again but I got the unit for ~$150 so it's not the end of the world if I can't keep it running. The scale itself is fairly accurate as long as you keep it away from electronics that create a lot of electrical interference. It isn't the easiest to clean out as you mentioned.
I have seen less than 0.08 grains of extreme spread over 250 charges with my chatgemaster lite ( most where 0.03 or less)and 0.15 with my Lyman gen6. I double check all the charges with a “tuned” beam scale that will register 1 kernel of varget. Also checking the lite with check weights hundreds of times has shown 100% accuracy with in 0.1 read out. A UA-cam channel called The 4GunGuy did a very good video testing the lite. He check it against a very expensive scale and Chronographed a bunch of ammo too. His results were very close to mine. 🙂👍
I started with the Frankford Arsenal. Three of were returned due to QC issues with the touch screen failing. I am not surprised it failed for you in the same way. I replaced it with a RCBS Lite and very happy with it.
I have two Intelidroppers and they work great. I did have the LCD issue you had on one and was replaced promptly. Great customer service. Remember you can use the Bluetooth phone app to instead of the screen.
"No matter how cool your interface is, less of it would be better". Quote by Alan Cooper in his 1995 book on software user interface design titled "About Face". It appears that reloader designers could benefit from his wisdom.
I have a friend who is in revolver competition shooting for over 20 years and he do his reloading with powder dippers (like small spoons) up to this days and never a problem, this helped me to understand is more important keep accuracy, some small error window is normal and acceptable even premium ammunition show different performance under tests, my advice is dont be a crazy nuts fanatic in panic for a 0.01 variation of gr between loads, personaly I use a RCBS competition powder thrower and I check the drops every 10 or 15 drops in a $65 Frankford Arsenal Platinum scale getting accurate and consistent reloads. If a good powder thrower is good for Jerry Miculek is good for you, for me, for him and for all of us.
I use the FA Intellidropper I reload .270 and a 7mm rem mag with 4831 SC, I love this unit. I made a little plastic lever on the discharging rubber plug and i can unload the hopper and I get the last grain out with ease and quickly. I also bought the unit during a sale, so mine was very well worth the cost. Dont know what I would do without it! Totally recommend it! One issue I found, the plate holding the the tray must be sitting correctly else you could have a few issues. Only happens if you take it off and clean.
I got the Hornady one via a warranty exchange, so far its worked pretty well especially considering I got it as an upgrade for "free" I do appreciate how it it feels more compact than the other style I had, takes up less space on the bench.
THANK YOU for making this video! After 26 years my PACT "High Speed Digital Dispenser" (2 piece scale & dispenser) stopped communicating with the digital scale. Looking for a new machine it came down to the Frankford Arsenal and the Hornady Digital Pro. After watching this video it's a no brainer for me, Hornady Pro it is!
After seeing the ES for the Chargemaster LIte, I did a little test of my Link. Having not used it for some time, I forgot to let it warm up, and was surprised at the spread in the first three charges, which was still within spec. at .14 gr. Thinking about that for a minute, I remembered the instruction to let it warm up and decided to see how the next ten or so did. For the next 10 the ES was .08 gr.! I timed a couple of charges and for 30 gr. of 133 it was about 23 seconds. Given that I tend to have some time involved in slowly pouring the charge into a funnel with a drop tube and seating a bullet, I do not think that it will slow me down at all.
Thanks for the objective comparison. It confirms unequivocally that using a RCBS uniflow, trickler and beam scale are quicker, more accurate and significantly cheaper. Additionally no power is needed and no electronics to fail or become faulty over time. E-droppers are a fools venture that create a time penalty at the bench with the lurking potential of inaccurate dispensing to an unknowing user. Dont get caught buying into gizmo electronics, they dont actually generate solution over proven methods.
I have been useing the Frankfort Arsenal since it came out. I had what I thought was a keypad failure and sent it back, they replaced the unit within about 10 days. Second unit keypad acted weird also, turned out it was electrical interference from my press LED lights! Moved it about a foot and has worked perfectly since. Also get the powder under the buttons issue, easy to pop them out to clean.
I have the intellidropper, went through 4 units with Amazon before I got one that works. But now that I have one that works......ITS AWESOME!!! You forgot to mention that the FA also has a Bluetooth app. Love the vid👍
Great comparison, and a much needed one. I think the last measurement in the accuracy section was a bit overstated though. If you are using a ladder test and you pick a flat spot in a chart with charges on the x axis and velocity on the y axis then .26 of a grain will likely matter much less than .26 or a grain in a more volatile section of the chart.
I have used an RCBS Chargemaster since they came out, one died early, one year, and the other I have used since, more than ten years. The accuracy with extruded (stick) powders was at 10% overcharge. I purchased some thin wall brass tubing that fit the RCBS discharge inside, cut a 1 1/4 inch piece of tubing, inserted in in the RCBS discharge with 1/4 inch sticking out, I then secure it from movement with a piece of tape. This lowered my overcharge failures to 1% or less because the powder does not stack at the end of the discharge tube.
Got my Intellidropper early 2019, moderate use since, still works like new. Agree with @Jarom Hiett it's accurate & a good value. Relatively easy to clean when changing powders; tip it forward to empty the dispensing tube & blow out the base with compressed air to get ALL powder out B4 adding new. TIP: A piece of clear tape across the top of the two buttons keeps powder granules from getting under them. Eventual replacement would likely be the Hornady as at present it's the only one using a load cell instead of a strain gage. Better accuracy potential and more durable - if the rest of the electronics hold up.
I purchased mine earlier this year. It worked great until I put H110 in it. I didn't expect that fine powder to get by the seals so easily. I had to take the unit apart, clean out the H110, and fixed a stripped pulley that's attached to the dispensing tube. Keep the fine stuff out of it and it's a nice unit. Very responsive scale.
Hands down the best side by side review I've ever seen👌👏 I have been considering getting one of these but had no idea which one to get, this has just made it so easy for me, thanks for doing this 👏👍👍👍👍
I have the Frankford and mine, too, needed to be replaced. While that is a bummer, their customer service was top notch and the replacement unit has been very good. Even with the need for replacement, I'd buy it again thanks to the speed and overall performance.
Awesome video, i learned a lot and this is very relevant to me as I currently use digital scales and powder drops and im looking to upgrade. Thank you for making this video
Thank you for making this video. It solved a problem for me and saved me a lot of money. I am using an RCBS beam scale with their quick change powder measure. It is very consistent with ball and flake powder, however, with stick powder, not so much. Using IMR 3031 my loads can vary up to 1gr. between charges. Way too much variance. So, I am dispensing a load 1gr less than my target, and then topping off the pan on the beam scale with a scoop and tapping in the final amount of powder. "Hand trickling". Pretty accurate, but it takes about a minute to charge 1 round. I thought that was too long, so I started looking at these digital measures. Boy, they sure do take a long time to charge a load. Pretty neat machines, and excellent review, but not for me.
Get a powder metering trip. Flip the lever with the same force every charge. Dump the charge into a pan and pop it into a mechanical beam scale. Trickle a couple of 10ths if necessary and dump in case. Repeat. Way less expensive, aggravating, second guessing digits, wondering if it's actually what the readout says. Just as fast.
I had a Lyman gen 6 for about 6ish years and it worked excellent, I gave it to one of my reloading buddies in perfect working order and bought another gen 6. Im sure the others are great but I highly recommend the gen 6.
Nice review. You correctly tested "out of the box", "like on like" basis. Just to point out that on the RCBS Chargemaster you can change the dispensing algorithm in the software. This along with a McDonalds straw down the dispensing tube allows one improve accuracy to better than factory specifications. The mods are really easy; the straw is long enough to completely block the pick-up port in the existing tube and one then pulls this out to control the amount of powder that gets "picked up" in the tube for every rotation. The second function of the straw is that the smooth inside dispenses slower than the thread on the original which leads to a finer trickle and therefore improved accuracy. Then the dispensing speeds can also be altered specifically the speed (duration) while dispensing the bulk of the powder and then the speed (duration) when it trickles. Generally, one in perhaps 25 charges thrown for me are 0.1gr. out. The RCBS can be modified to produce results better than the Lyman set on slow. I am unaware if one is able to reprogram any of the other dispensers?
Wow, do you have a link to instructions this hack? Or just insert a straw as you say and play with it? I have an older Chargemaster that trickles too fast on occasion and would like to slow it down. Thanks
Enjoyed your video, thanks. I have a RCBS charge master 1500 and was measuring 4.9G of HP-38 for 9mm 115 g rn. It took me hours to reload 1 box of ammo. It would throw a light load then maybe 2 more God loads , heavy loads. Called RCBS, recalabrated more than 3 or 4 times and have always gotten prompt service, they ran me through some factory settings, I changed some as per their instruction. You get the idea. Solution: I changed powders
I’ve had both the Chargemaster lite and the link. They both work OK, and have not had crazy wandering zeros, crashes, or mechanical problems. Interesting to see the accuracy numbers though.
@@oscarbear7498 link has Bluetooth, though I haven’t been able to get the Bluetooth function to work. The main reason I like the link better than the lite is, the power button and go buttons are switched, green on the right, better for someone who is right-handed. Also, on the link, the power button now requires a 3-second press to power down. Before I was always accidentally bumping the power button with my right hand and shutting it off in the middle of use.
I got my FA Intellidropper for $115 and have no complaints besides ball powder getting under the big buttons but they are removable so i just pop them off every once in a while and clean them up!
I run two Chargemaster lites along side my dillon. I can confirm that my ES is generally around 20fps. Just fine for PRS style shooting but it's deffinatly a week link.
I have been using the RCBS CM Lite for the past 3 years without issue ( I bought it for way under $200, when I moved, I lost one of the weights, RCBS sent me a new one for free. It never overcharges, but it will under charge by one tenth about 5% of the time. What happens is it beeps on the selected setting then goes the scale goes back a tenth. I just tap the nozzle with my finger lightly and a few pieces drop, the scale notates the change, and all is good. I get one hole with my Ruger American 6.5 CM, so it must be doing OK.
I like my ACP. The only minor flaw is the beep at the end of a charge has the habit of vibrating the entire scale. With slippery powder like Varget the sound of the beep will drop a kernel or two. I took it apart and the speaker is soldered to the main board so I stuck a piece of foam over it to mute it a bit. They could have just had a setting mute ALL sound, not just the keypad. Ball powder leaks a bit between the case and drain port so each time I’ve opened it up I find powder in the base.
I’ve had a few instances where my Framkford arsenal scale would glitch, but other than that it’s been a great scale, especially for the price. I never use the Bluetooth, but that’s just me personally, still nice to have it though.
Another consideration is that being fast can also throw the powder out of the scale an onto the desk. I've seen it. I put down a sheet of paper under my thrower because when using ball powders it will toss it. But not with extruded powders.
I’ve been dropping powder charges manually from a hopper and trickling up using a pocket electronic scale. I ordered a Hornady Auto Charge Pro based off this video and few other reviews. I actually enjoy brass prep but manually dropping powder charges has been boring to me so maybe an electronic dispenser will allow me to do some other stuff between charges.
I've owned an RCBS 1500 Chargemaster since they came out. It's still going strong, even after 2 moves (NY to NH and NH to TX). This was a good review and now I have to figure out which to get next, the RCBS Supreme or Hornady Pro. Not a competitive shooter, just a hunter and plinker. Good luck and stay safe!! 😉
I’ve been using the Lyman for a few years and it’s very reliable and easy to use. One thing though is the plastic insert in the dispenser needs replacing to reduce overcharges. I had a custom aluminium one made which improves accuracy. The other thing to nite is it goes out of calibration sometimes and you won’t realise unless checking every few throws using a cheap pellet scale. Other than that, its great and betters the other cheaper models considerably. The charge master pro is needlessly over complicated. For me, the Hornady is the pick of the bunch at the one end and the lyman at the other. Both great machines.
what i find funny is only a couple of yrs ago every dispenser maker said , ' do not use cellphones when using the dispenser as it will screw up the readings '. paraphrasing this . now it is , ' use your cellphone to make scale easier ! lol . i got one of the last of the original rcbs chargemaster suprimes . love mine no drift dispenses powder faster than i can charge a case ! lol i'm getting slower in my old age ! very seldom get a overcharge with it now . i did order some of the 3d printed nozzles and they work great and are cheap . work better than the ' straw mod ' .
Like my chargemaster lite. Bought it because it was the only only one with flutes at the time. Best thing I ever did. I did have a some digital read out speckles in the screen. RCBS replaced it with a little hassle. My buddy had one go out nd took it back. He bought the Hornady and likes it a lot better.
I have a RCBS Chargemaster that’s about 6 years old. One thing all these units lack is a red light to tell you if it’s over or under charged. This would make the process faster.
I've had the Chargemaster Lite for some time now. It's ok, but I HATE the loud BEEEEEP when it's ready each time. The touch pad is also junk. It takes a few tries to get the correct number. I've never tested it for accuracy though, which makes me wonder if it has any good points at all.
One thing that would be nice to see is a test of the scale accuracy. Not how much powder it drops, but the actual accuracy of the scale itself. I typically use the auto-trickle function to get within .2gr and then manually trickle the remaining powder until the scale just tips over to the desired charge.
@@jaychris9115 I already reported that guy (probably a bot). UA-cam doesn't seem to care sadly. Thanks for the heads up - it seems like a lot of people are unaware of this scam at the moment, so people like you are doing a great service by telling people. Thanks!
Running the CM lite and checking it against a 10-10 rcbs. Once the CM is warmed up it runs great. 1 in 30 might be under charged by a tenth. Almost never an over charge. At their price I may add a second to cut load time in half.
Not said, which I'm sure you did, with any electronic scale, you need to turn on the unit and let it be on for at least 20 minutes before use. This allows the internal electronics to properly warm up, and "should" give more consistent weights.
I have the old hornady. It’s very accurate, but it’s also very manual. You have to adjust your feed and everything for extruded powders. But no drum style measure can even come close to what it throws, and rifle rounds are a slower process anyways so having to jog the dispenser once or twice to get the right number or scoop .1 grains of powder is no big deal. It’s dead accurate with everything else and always ready to dump when I’m running pistol rounds on my lee classic turret. If drum dispensers were more accurate I’d have never even bothered but there it is
Frankford Arsenal also has the phone app with blue tooth connectivity. Also if you get powder under the buttons the come off for cleanup. I spilled powder sll over mine and learned from FA that the buttons are made to remove easily.
Great video, and particularly really appreciated the detail and stats on accuracy. Sure wish you had gone ahead and speed tested the Hornady on slow though. It was already the slowest in the test on medium, and other than the Link the others are a *lot* faster. On fast it's not any more accurate than others, and still on the slow side. I'm betting on slow it's up above 7 minutes, which would be 42 seconds per round. That is slow enough I wouldn't be willing to use it on that mode regularly. At that pace I can load faster measuring the powder manually, even including the time to seat each bullet and crimp (which would have to be sequential when manually measuring, but could be included in the 42sec if I had the machine). If I had, say, Frankford's 18 sec/rd speed, that's just about right for seating/crimping/inspection so I could really go full tilt. By the numbers I feel like the Frankford is the best option if you care about speed. The accuracy is solid, and it's just way faster than everything else. Plus it's about 2/3 the price of the Hornady. Sadly, I would have discounted your unit failing as an n=1 thing, except for the several comments here from others who had them die. So I dunno. Do I go with the Hornady which supports something like 150 rd/hr on fast, gives me a slow mode for small-batch excellence, and I reasonably expect to be bulletproof? Or do I spend a lot less money and roll the dice on 200 rd/hr with acceptable accuracy (similar to Hornady on fast) but maybe the thing breaks? I find that one tough to answer. I do happen to live in Frankford Arsenal's city...actually used to work literally across the street from them. Not sure whether that would help if I need service but reckon it can't hurt.
You are lucky that rcbs called you back. I had an issue with a press and no response from them. I get rid of the press and will never buy anything from rcbs in my life. I have the lyman gen6. The unit is ok, the scale will drift on you when you trickeling up but extremly accurate scale. I upgaraded for an fx 120 and after checking the lyman unit is accurate.
My Frankford was drifting so bad I had to get it replaced. I'm in Canada and they did it for me no problem. Same thing here, no units anywhere so in July of 2022 I sent in the warranty request and got my replacement unit Dec 10 2022 he originally said Jan or Feb. Drifting on the Frankfords seems to be a common complaint. I have a few complaints. The plastic hopper tube is so poorly fitted that if you try and remove the lid without holding onto it, it will lift up and dump power everywhere! I did that once and now I have a piece of duct tape around the bottom of it to stop it from popping loose. The other major complaint is with the spout, its very hard to turn and hard to get a bottle under it to dispense the powder from the hopper. I had to buy a very wide funnel to be able to catch it all, very poor design. For the price though its been good to me and the customer service was good as well. That's my 2 cents. Great channel!
I have the Chargemaster Link and it’s a lot better than the Hornady Lock N Load Auto Charge. The Hornady would over throw powder almost all the time, even after making adjustments, and then it would quit in the middle of throwing a charge. The hopper broke on the Hornady and they replaced it no questions asked. Two months later when the powering off in a middle of a load started, I called Hornady back. I was told machine hasn’t been produced in 3 years, and therefore they would not warranty it anymore.
I too had an RCBS that quit weighing properly and replaced it with the Frankford Arsenal. I have had a few quirks with the Frankford Arsenal but sometimes it was as easy as just unplugging the power supply and repegging it in like rebooting a computer. The sensors in all of them are very sensitive and I think on the RCBS it is possible that it was damaged accidentally just by handling it not so fragilely. There were other people that had problems with the touchpad and buttons. I have had too but I found that the reboot fixed that. BTW you did not mention the phone app. It works pretty well and may be a better thing to use than the buttons because you do have to press pretty hard on the start button on manual. It has a memory for loads as well. The only thing that would be better is an upgrade that you could put the newer cartridges in that are not on their list. BTW I got my Frankford Arsenal for only $180 before Bidenomics None 0 None kicked in. They are around $300 now.
I have the original Hornady LNL auto charge, have had it for several years now and it's OK but the consistency is a real problem. I have tweaked the settings as much as possible and I STILL get overcharges, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 in a row.
Great with a comparing review 👍🏻 I would like to have seen a rating for how easy the emptying and swabbing powder type is. Else this review is really going to helt me select a dispenser
I must be lucky, I run 2 RCBS lites and have loaded a TON of rounds with them. I keep them and my FX-120 scale powered all the time...usually bulk throw on the RCBS and trickle in on the FX.
I was thinking about the Lyman Gen 6, then came the Chargemaster Supreme out, which I bought by now. So fwar im quite happy with it, except of the flying poweder kernels. Used so far with Lovex 76.3 (ball), RS40, RS52 and N555 which are stick powders.
For the FA Intellidropper I use the app Frankfort has so I don’t have to mess with the screen. It’s pretty intuitive and would get you away from having to use the touchscreen.
What would have been nice to see is you mention capacity and resolution of each scale. Knowing how many graduations the scale is pushing usually has a direct influence on how stable it is or appears to be (plus some filtering). The A&D is a solid scale but can be very finicky. Also calibrating with a more accurate weight (class 3 or even a class1) should help scales accuracy.
I really wanted to buy the rcbs but I’ve read so many reviews of them have issues after a short period of time. I just use a Redding powder thrower and measure on balance beam then verify with cheap electric scale .
Did you let the machines all warm up equally? Im in the market and its looking like the Frankford. in love with the x-10 so maybe Frankford gets my product loyalty.
Additonal note I had my Intellidroper, it completely died on me this weekend; I had it 11 months. Less than ideal timing, I was loading up ammo for a match in a couple of weeks. Warranty service was good, but they're out of stock so I can't get a replacement right away. Seems like an known issue but they wouldn't tell me what the problem is.
I have the ChargeMaster Lite and I work in a lab that uses expensive lab balances made by Mettler Toledo. We have a rep come and certify our scale's accuracy every year. So I brought in 5 loads that I dispensed from my ChargeMaster Lite with H4350 powder and checked them with our lab scale. Two were 40.8 and 3 were 41.5. Here are the results. 40.8 ----40.72 first of this weight 40.8 ----40.76 second of this weight 41.5 ----41.56 first of this weight 41.5 ----41.46 second of this weight 41.5 ----41.46 third of this weight If I remember correctly it is advertised at an accuracy of .1 grain. According to my unit. It is as advertised. If you really wanted to be accurate you would need a scale that goes at least two or three places past the decimal. Scales drift, even expensive ones do especially when they get older. I suggest if you want more accurate loads using these machines, do a slightly lower load and trickle to the weight you want. And use a secondary check scale to verify the load is correct.
Any of them work well if you under charge and then manually trickle up to the desired charges, but that kinda defeats the purpose. I use the frankford arsenal and I love it. For lower precision ammo like bulk 5.56 it is great. I am still getting an average of .70moa with the 75 grain BTHP just trusting the loads it throws. With 6.5 creedmoor I set it to under charge by .3 grains then on a very sensitive scale I carefully trickle up to my target load. It saves a lot of time by dispensing the bulk of it.
I'm a Hornady fanboy so I bought the Hornady Dispenser. Its trickler would always get stuck. Replaced it with another and exactly the same thing. Decided to just get my money back and ended up going with RCBS. I shouldve just listened to my brother-in-law and gotten the RCBS in the first place instead of wasting my time. Maybe I got 2 lemons. I still love Hornady though.
Ive had the origional rcbs chargemaster for 15 years. Still works like new 10s of thousands of charges later. Seems alot of the new stuff have alot of issues after 2 years.
Were all of these units used prior to testing? Seems interesting to knock the FA Intelladropper down to a potential 3rd place because of a year and a half of heavy use and yet it still achieved 10 points which tied for first. Just thinking out loud.
My intellidropper died after 1.5yrs. It’s too bad because the design is fantastic but unfortunately the build quality is not there and they are not durable. Lots of people online are reporting theirs dying shortly after the 1 year warranty period. I ordered an RCBS chargemaster supreme to replace it.
I purchased a RCBS Chargemaster lite and used it for 18 months, it then stopped working. The touch pad will not always respond, sometimes it will not calibrate, it will not stabilize at the 100gm step. It will also not turn off, I have to unplug it. It was used once a week or so, calibrated every time. RCBS says well it is over a year old, so sorry not covered under warranty. Here is a repair shop and they can maybe help. I have not called the third party repair shop number they gave me yet. Don't know what the cost will be to repair it. Safe to say I would not recommend an RCBS scale.
I’m suprised with the issue you had getting a new scale from FA, I had issues with mine as soon as I got it out of the box never made 1 round with it, called them up (this was on a Monday afternoon) and Friday afternoon I had a new one setting in my doorstep. This was about a year and a half ago ish maybe 2
I have a FA as well. Mine died on me but it was replaced very quickly (pre covid). It may have been a power issue or spike. The FA also had a Bluetooth app but I almost never use it or see a need to.
I hope you see this comment, you are quickly becoming my favorite channel for hunting firearms, you and Ron spomer are some of the best caliber and rifle reviewers on the tube. Keep on being awesome
Thank you!
Thank you for the most concise, understandable, and useful review of powder dispensers. Great effort!
Great conclusive reviews of every digital powder measure. For those of us who use progressive presses or want a faster powder drop, would be nice to see a video of how those mechanical powder measures compare to each other for accuracy. Such as the Redding, Forster,Sinclair, Dillon, Arredondo, Rcbs, and Hornady.
I find this is very interesting. I weighed over 250 charges thrown with a charge master lite and found an extreme spread of only 0.08 gains, not counting over or under throws of course. I did the same thing with a lineman GEN 6 and found an extreme spread of 0.15 grains. I weighed these on a very accurate and precise “tuned” beam scale that’s able to register one kernel of varget . Most charges thrown with this particular charge master lite were within 0.03 grains. Also checking both of these with check rates frequently (hundreds of times) I have not found them to be off more than what the test I conducted. 0.08 for the charge master lite and 0.15 for the gen 6.
Weights not rates lol
Easy, straight to the point conclusions. Thanks for saving me hours of research!
I've had very good success with Frankford arsenal for the price it was amazing.
Went through 2 of them, motor gives out
I have been using the Frankford Arsenal intellidropper for about 18 months now and I absolutely love it. It makes reloading so much faster and is spot on
I went with the Lyman Gen 6 five years ago. My reservoir based cracked the other day. I emailed Lyman. They responded same day. And sent out one at no charge. And I had it with in four days. I bought it based on its foot print. It had a tendency to throw ball powder all over the place. But I found a taller tray on a very popular auction site. It was 3D printed. And now that isn’t a problem.
For quite some time I've been on the fence whether or not to invest in an auto powder measure. The price points are just going up and as you've pointed out, the build quality and long term reliability are going in the opposite direction. Spending $400 on the latest electronic measures isn't the problem, having it crapping out in a year or two is absolutely unacceptable.
Today I use a couple of digital scales and for higher volume loading I use my Redding BR-30 Match Powder measure. This measure is repeatable within .05 grains (powder dependent) and has been a solid performer for years.
Had great success so far with my Frankford Arsenal intellidroper, which also has an app you can connect to with bluetooth.
Dude killed it with the review! FA intellidropper is an amazing design. But I'm on my 2nd warranty claim with them. I also had to wait 3 months on my first warranty claim due to low stock.
I love my Chargemaster Lite, and it's super accurate. Haven't had any issues with it at all. 🤷🏼♂️
Same
Same with me, my Chargemaster lite has been great, no complaints and I do check every 6 or 7 th load for weight…. Just a habit
@@Rakkasan-vr8xt Same with me as well love the lite!
I actually swapped out my hornady which kept drifting and throwing weird chargers with a RCBS link which worked heaps better. I guess all these units are really just cheap plastic junk and you get what you get when it comes out of the box.
Have the RCBS 1500 for quite a few years. Left it plugged in with unit off and the plug in transformer was melted but everything still works, just don't leave plugged in anymore. Was VERY frustrated with measuring small pistol loads as it just wouldn't do it. Almost put it away for good until I tried the straw trick. Now it works perfectly- use a straw for small loads and remove for rifle loads.
One thing you missed about the Lyman is that I believe it's the only powder dispenser that allows you to take it apart and clean it, insuring you can get all of the previous powder out when you change powders. To me this is a huge safety factor.
Also, the reason I have a Lyman is because my Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper died on me as well.
I cant speak for the others but the RCBS Charge Master 1500 this is not a problem either. it empties thoroughly as easy.
My Intellidropper died after using it to throw H110. Nobody should use these things to throw fine powder like that. I was able to fix mine. The dispensing tube is driven by a small rubber band. The plastic pulley on the dispensing tube stripped out due to the added friction of H110 getting past the seals. I would not buy it again but I got the unit for ~$150 so it's not the end of the world if I can't keep it running. The scale itself is fairly accurate as long as you keep it away from electronics that create a lot of electrical interference. It isn't the easiest to clean out as you mentioned.
A vacuum cleaner is an easy way to remove all residual powder.
@@gone547 one day explode your vacuum cleaner. 😂
I have seen less than 0.08 grains of extreme spread over 250 charges with my chatgemaster lite ( most where 0.03 or less)and 0.15 with my Lyman gen6. I double check all the charges with a “tuned” beam scale that will register 1 kernel of varget. Also checking the lite with check weights hundreds of times has shown 100% accuracy with in 0.1 read out. A UA-cam channel called The 4GunGuy did a very good video testing the lite. He check it against a very expensive scale and Chronographed a bunch of ammo too. His results were very close to mine. 🙂👍
I started with the Frankford Arsenal. Three of were returned due to QC issues with the touch screen failing. I am not surprised it failed for you in the same way. I replaced it with a RCBS Lite and very happy with it.
I have two Intelidroppers and they work great. I did have the LCD issue you had on one and was replaced promptly. Great customer service. Remember you can use the Bluetooth phone app to instead of the screen.
"No matter how cool your interface is, less of it would be better". Quote by Alan Cooper in his 1995 book on software user interface design titled "About Face".
It appears that reloader designers could benefit from his wisdom.
I have a friend who is in revolver competition shooting for over 20 years and he do his reloading with powder dippers (like small spoons) up to this days and never a problem, this helped me to understand is more important keep accuracy, some small error window is normal and acceptable even premium ammunition show different performance under tests, my advice is dont be a crazy nuts fanatic in panic for a 0.01 variation of gr between loads, personaly I use a RCBS competition powder thrower and I check the drops every 10 or 15 drops in a $65 Frankford Arsenal Platinum scale getting accurate and consistent reloads. If a good powder thrower is good for Jerry Miculek is good for you, for me, for him and for all of us.
I use the FA Intellidropper I reload .270 and a 7mm rem mag with 4831 SC, I love this unit. I made a little plastic lever on the discharging rubber plug and i can unload the hopper and I get the last grain out with ease and quickly. I also bought the unit during a sale, so mine was very well worth the cost. Dont know what I would do without it! Totally recommend it! One issue I found, the plate holding the the tray must be sitting correctly else you could have a few issues. Only happens if you take it off and clean.
YES!! PLUS ETSY HAS A FEW EXTRA THINBGS TO HELP IT, AND APP KICKS ASS!!
Thank you so much for this video - I have been doing research on these machines and really couldn't make up my mind. This video helped a lot!!!!!!
I got the Hornady one via a warranty exchange, so far its worked pretty well especially considering I got it as an upgrade for "free"
I do appreciate how it it feels more compact than the other style I had, takes up less space on the bench.
THANK YOU for making this video!
After 26 years my PACT "High Speed Digital Dispenser" (2 piece scale & dispenser) stopped communicating with the digital scale. Looking for a new machine it came down to the Frankford Arsenal and the Hornady Digital Pro. After watching this video it's a no brainer for me, Hornady Pro it is!
After seeing the ES for the Chargemaster LIte, I did a little test of my Link. Having not used it for some time, I forgot to let it warm up, and was surprised at the spread in the first three charges, which was still within spec. at .14 gr. Thinking about that for a minute, I remembered the instruction to let it warm up and decided to see how the next ten or so did. For the next 10 the ES was .08 gr.! I timed a couple of charges and for 30 gr. of 133 it was about 23 seconds. Given that I tend to have some time involved in slowly pouring the charge into a funnel with a drop tube and seating a bullet, I do not think that it will slow me down at all.
Thanks for the objective comparison. It confirms unequivocally that using a RCBS uniflow, trickler and beam scale are quicker, more accurate and significantly cheaper. Additionally no power is needed and no electronics to fail or become faulty over time. E-droppers are a fools venture that create a time penalty at the bench with the lurking potential of inaccurate dispensing to an unknowing user. Dont get caught buying into gizmo electronics, they dont actually generate solution over proven methods.
Oh man, couldn't click on this fast enough. As a reloader, I've Been looking for a video on this.
I have been useing the Frankfort Arsenal since it came out. I had what I thought was a keypad failure and sent it back, they replaced the unit within about 10 days. Second unit keypad acted weird also, turned out it was electrical interference from my press LED lights! Moved it about a foot and has worked perfectly since. Also get the powder under the buttons issue, easy to pop them out to clean.
I have the intellidropper, went through 4 units with Amazon before I got one that works. But now that I have one that works......ITS AWESOME!!! You forgot to mention that the FA also has a Bluetooth app. Love the vid👍
Great comparison, and a much needed one. I think the last measurement in the accuracy section was a bit overstated though. If you are using a ladder test and you pick a flat spot in a chart with charges on the x axis and velocity on the y axis then .26 of a grain will likely matter much less than .26 or a grain in a more volatile section of the chart.
I have used an RCBS Chargemaster since they came out, one died early, one year, and the other I have used since, more
than ten years.
The accuracy with extruded (stick) powders was at 10% overcharge. I purchased some thin wall brass tubing that fit the RCBS discharge inside, cut a 1 1/4 inch piece of tubing, inserted in in the RCBS discharge with 1/4 inch sticking out, I then secure it from movement with a piece of tape.
This lowered my overcharge failures to 1% or less because the powder does not stack at the end of the discharge tube.
Got my Intellidropper early 2019, moderate use since, still works like new.
Agree with @Jarom Hiett it's accurate & a good value. Relatively easy to clean when changing powders; tip it forward to empty the dispensing tube & blow out the base with compressed air to get ALL powder out B4 adding new.
TIP: A piece of clear tape across the top of the two buttons keeps powder granules from getting under them.
Eventual replacement would likely be the Hornady as at present it's the only one using a load cell instead of a strain gage. Better accuracy potential and more durable - if the rest of the electronics hold up.
I purchased mine earlier this year. It worked great until I put H110 in it. I didn't expect that fine powder to get by the seals so easily. I had to take the unit apart, clean out the H110, and fixed a stripped pulley that's attached to the dispensing tube. Keep the fine stuff out of it and it's a nice unit. Very responsive scale.
Hands down the best side by side review I've ever seen👌👏 I have been considering getting one of these but had no idea which one to get, this has just made it so easy for me, thanks for doing this 👏👍👍👍👍
I have the Frankford and mine, too, needed to be replaced. While that is a bummer, their customer service was top notch and the replacement unit has been very good. Even with the need for replacement, I'd buy it again thanks to the speed and overall performance.
Awesome video, i learned a lot and this is very relevant to me as I currently use digital scales and powder drops and im looking to upgrade. Thank you for making this video
Thank you for making this video. It solved a problem for me and saved me a lot of money. I am using an RCBS beam scale with their quick change powder measure. It is very consistent with ball and flake powder, however, with stick powder, not so much. Using IMR 3031 my loads can vary up to 1gr. between charges. Way too much variance. So, I am dispensing a load 1gr less than my target, and then topping off the pan on the beam scale with a scoop and tapping in the final amount of powder. "Hand trickling". Pretty accurate, but it takes about a minute to charge 1 round. I thought that was too long, so I started looking at these digital measures. Boy, they sure do take a long time to charge a load. Pretty neat machines, and excellent review, but not for me.
Get a powder metering trip. Flip the lever with the same force every charge. Dump the charge into a pan and pop it into a mechanical beam scale. Trickle a couple of 10ths if necessary and dump in case. Repeat.
Way less expensive, aggravating, second guessing digits, wondering if it's actually what the readout says. Just as fast.
I had a Lyman gen 6 for about 6ish years and it worked excellent, I gave it to one of my reloading buddies in perfect working order and bought another gen 6. Im sure the others are great but I highly recommend the gen 6.
Nice review. You correctly tested "out of the box", "like on like" basis. Just to point out that on the RCBS Chargemaster you can change the dispensing algorithm in the software. This along with a McDonalds straw down the dispensing tube allows one improve accuracy to better than factory specifications. The mods are really easy; the straw is long enough to completely block the pick-up port in the existing tube and one then pulls this out to control the amount of powder that gets "picked up" in the tube for every rotation. The second function of the straw is that the smooth inside dispenses slower than the thread on the original which leads to a finer trickle and therefore improved accuracy. Then the dispensing speeds can also be altered specifically the speed (duration) while dispensing the bulk of the powder and then the speed (duration) when it trickles. Generally, one in perhaps 25 charges thrown for me are 0.1gr. out. The RCBS can be modified to produce results better than the Lyman set on slow. I am unaware if one is able to reprogram any of the other dispensers?
Wow, do you have a link to instructions this hack? Or just insert a straw as you say and play with it? I have an older Chargemaster that trickles too fast on occasion and would like to slow it down. Thanks
Enjoyed your video, thanks. I have a RCBS charge master 1500 and was measuring 4.9G of HP-38 for 9mm 115 g rn. It took me hours to reload 1 box of ammo. It would throw a light load then maybe 2 more God loads , heavy loads. Called RCBS, recalabrated more than 3 or 4 times and have always gotten prompt service, they ran me through some factory settings, I changed some as per their instruction. You get the idea. Solution: I changed powders
I’ve had both the Chargemaster lite and the link. They both work OK, and have not had crazy wandering zeros, crashes, or mechanical problems. Interesting to see the accuracy numbers though.
What's the difference between lite and link?
I'm thinking of buying one to go with my rcbs rock chucker.
New to auto loaders :)
@@oscarbear7498 link has Bluetooth, though I haven’t been able to get the Bluetooth function to work. The main reason I like the link better than the lite is, the power button and go buttons are switched, green on the right, better for someone who is right-handed. Also, on the link, the power button now requires a 3-second press to power down. Before I was always accidentally bumping the power button with my right hand and shutting it off in the middle of use.
I got my FA Intellidropper for $115 and have no complaints besides ball powder getting under the big buttons but they are removable so i just pop them off every once in a while and clean them up!
I run two Chargemaster lites along side my dillon. I can confirm that my ES is generally around 20fps. Just fine for PRS style shooting but it's deffinatly a week link.
I have been using the RCBS CM Lite for the past 3 years without issue ( I bought it for way under $200, when I moved, I lost one of the weights, RCBS sent me a new one for free. It never overcharges, but it will under charge by one tenth about 5% of the time. What happens is it beeps on the selected setting then goes the scale goes back a tenth. I just tap the nozzle with my finger lightly and a few pieces drop, the scale notates the change, and all is good. I get one hole with my Ruger American 6.5 CM, so it must be doing OK.
I have the intellidropper and check charges periodically and it,s always spot on. The auto function is awesome
I like my ACP. The only minor flaw is the beep at the end of a charge has the habit of vibrating the entire scale. With slippery powder like Varget the sound of the beep will drop a kernel or two. I took it apart and the speaker is soldered to the main board so I stuck a piece of foam over it to mute it a bit. They could have just had a setting mute ALL sound, not just the keypad. Ball powder leaks a bit between the case and drain port so each time I’ve opened it up I find powder in the base.
I’ve had a few instances where my Framkford arsenal scale would glitch, but other than that it’s been a great scale, especially for the price. I never use the Bluetooth, but that’s just me personally, still nice to have it though.
Been waiting for a review such as this, great job.
Another consideration is that being fast can also throw the powder out of the scale an onto the desk. I've seen it. I put down a sheet of paper under my thrower because when using ball powders it will toss it. But not with extruded powders.
Loved the review even though my reloadings scales are both RCBS 10-10 and 5-10
I’ve been dropping powder charges manually from a hopper and trickling up using a pocket electronic scale. I ordered a Hornady Auto Charge Pro based off this video and few other reviews. I actually enjoy brass prep but manually dropping powder charges has been boring to me so maybe an electronic dispenser will allow me to do some other stuff between charges.
Thank you, thank you , thank you! I have the Lymann but found it charges with too much variance looking to replacement you answered all my questions.
I've owned an RCBS 1500 Chargemaster since they came out. It's still going strong, even after 2 moves (NY to NH and NH to TX). This was a good review and now I have to figure out which to get next, the RCBS Supreme or Hornady Pro. Not a competitive shooter, just a hunter and plinker. Good luck and stay safe!! 😉
Great video! I have been wanting one of these for a long time but couldn't decide which one. Now I have a good idea!
I’ve been using the Lyman for a few years and it’s very reliable and easy to use. One thing though is the plastic insert in the dispenser needs replacing to reduce overcharges. I had a custom aluminium one made which improves accuracy. The other thing to nite is it goes out of calibration sometimes and you won’t realise unless checking every few throws using a cheap pellet scale. Other than that, its great and betters the other cheaper models considerably. The charge master pro is needlessly over complicated. For me, the Hornady is the pick of the bunch at the one end and the lyman at the other. Both great machines.
what i find funny is only a couple of yrs ago every dispenser maker said , ' do not use cellphones when using the dispenser as it will screw up the readings '. paraphrasing this . now it is , ' use your cellphone to make scale easier ! lol . i got one of the last of the original rcbs chargemaster suprimes . love mine no drift dispenses powder faster than i can charge a case ! lol i'm getting slower in my old age ! very seldom get a overcharge with it now . i did order some of the 3d printed nozzles and they work great and are cheap . work better than the ' straw mod ' .
Like my chargemaster lite. Bought it because it was the only only one with flutes at the time. Best thing I ever did. I did have a some digital read out speckles in the screen. RCBS replaced it with a little hassle. My buddy had one go out nd took it back. He bought the Hornady and likes it a lot better.
PLEASE DO A "BEST OF" VIDEO ON BEAM SCALES! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I have a RCBS Chargemaster that’s about 6 years old. One thing all these units lack is a red light to tell you if it’s over or under charged. This would make the process faster.
I've had the Chargemaster Lite for some time now. It's ok, but I HATE the loud BEEEEEP when it's ready each time. The touch pad is also junk. It takes a few tries to get the correct number. I've never tested it for accuracy though, which makes me wonder if it has any good points at all.
Hate the beep as well...when the warranty expires mine is going to get surgery...
One thing that would be nice to see is a test of the scale accuracy. Not how much powder it drops, but the actual accuracy of the scale itself. I typically use the auto-trickle function to get within .2gr and then manually trickle the remaining powder until the scale just tips over to the desired charge.
@ Ex F1 Guy -- the person who texted you about more videos an something special is a SCAMER. Jim would not do that. Not kidding here.
@@jaychris9115 I already reported that guy (probably a bot). UA-cam doesn't seem to care sadly.
Thanks for the heads up - it seems like a lot of people are unaware of this scam at the moment, so people like you are doing a great service by telling people. Thanks!
@@ExF1Guy welcome !
I bought a hornady didn’t work out the box. Bought the rcbs lite and it’s worked great for 2 years.
I’ve been waiting for some one to do this for so long
Running the CM lite and checking it against a 10-10 rcbs. Once the CM is warmed up it runs great. 1 in 30 might be under charged by a tenth. Almost never an over charge. At their price I may add a second to cut load time in half.
I should add mine had the Micky D's straw trick already.
Not said, which I'm sure you did, with any electronic scale, you need to turn on the unit and let it be on for at least 20 minutes before use. This allows the internal electronics to properly warm up, and "should" give more consistent weights.
Agreed. Good point.
I have the old hornady. It’s very accurate, but it’s also very manual. You have to adjust your feed and everything for extruded powders. But no drum style measure can even come close to what it throws, and rifle rounds are a slower process anyways so having to jog the dispenser once or twice to get the right number or scoop .1 grains of powder is no big deal. It’s dead accurate with everything else and always ready to dump when I’m running pistol rounds on my lee classic turret. If drum dispensers were more accurate I’d have never even bothered but there it is
Frankford Arsenal also has the phone app with blue tooth connectivity. Also if you get powder under the buttons the come off for cleanup. I spilled powder sll over mine and learned from FA that the buttons are made to remove easily.
Great video, and particularly really appreciated the detail and stats on accuracy. Sure wish you had gone ahead and speed tested the Hornady on slow though. It was already the slowest in the test on medium, and other than the Link the others are a *lot* faster. On fast it's not any more accurate than others, and still on the slow side. I'm betting on slow it's up above 7 minutes, which would be 42 seconds per round. That is slow enough I wouldn't be willing to use it on that mode regularly. At that pace I can load faster measuring the powder manually, even including the time to seat each bullet and crimp (which would have to be sequential when manually measuring, but could be included in the 42sec if I had the machine). If I had, say, Frankford's 18 sec/rd speed, that's just about right for seating/crimping/inspection so I could really go full tilt.
By the numbers I feel like the Frankford is the best option if you care about speed. The accuracy is solid, and it's just way faster than everything else. Plus it's about 2/3 the price of the Hornady. Sadly, I would have discounted your unit failing as an n=1 thing, except for the several comments here from others who had them die. So I dunno. Do I go with the Hornady which supports something like 150 rd/hr on fast, gives me a slow mode for small-batch excellence, and I reasonably expect to be bulletproof? Or do I spend a lot less money and roll the dice on 200 rd/hr with acceptable accuracy (similar to Hornady on fast) but maybe the thing breaks? I find that one tough to answer. I do happen to live in Frankford Arsenal's city...actually used to work literally across the street from them. Not sure whether that would help if I need service but reckon it can't hurt.
You are lucky that rcbs called you back. I had an issue with a press and no response from them. I get rid of the press and will never buy anything from rcbs in my life. I have the lyman gen6. The unit is ok, the scale will drift on you when you trickeling up but extremly accurate scale. I upgaraded for an fx 120 and after checking the lyman unit is accurate.
My Frankford was drifting so bad I had to get it replaced. I'm in Canada and they did it for me no problem. Same thing here, no units anywhere so in July of 2022 I sent in the warranty request and got my replacement unit Dec 10 2022 he originally said Jan or Feb.
Drifting on the Frankfords seems to be a common complaint. I have a few complaints. The plastic hopper tube is so poorly fitted that if you try and remove the lid without holding onto it, it will lift up and dump power everywhere! I did that once and now I have a piece of duct tape around the bottom of it to stop it from popping loose. The other major complaint is with the spout, its very hard to turn and hard to get a bottle under it to dispense the powder from the hopper. I had to buy a very wide funnel to be able to catch it all, very poor design. For the price though its been good to me and the customer service was good as well. That's my 2 cents. Great channel!
Thanks for the review! I'm def going to get the Hornady to replace my Gen 6.
I have the Chargemaster Link and it’s a lot better than the Hornady Lock N Load Auto Charge. The Hornady would over throw powder almost all the time, even after making adjustments, and then it would quit in the middle of throwing a charge. The hopper broke on the Hornady and they replaced it no questions asked. Two months later when the powering off in a middle of a load started, I called Hornady back. I was told machine hasn’t been produced in 3 years, and therefore they would not warranty it anymore.
I’ve had great luck with my Intellidropper great price point too!!
I use a Lyman gen 6 and it has been very consistent for the last 6 years
I too had an RCBS that quit weighing properly and replaced it with the Frankford Arsenal. I have had a few quirks with the Frankford Arsenal but sometimes it was as easy as just unplugging the power supply and repegging it in like rebooting a computer. The sensors in all of them are very sensitive and I think on the RCBS it is possible that it was damaged accidentally just by handling it not so fragilely. There were other people that had problems with the touchpad and buttons. I have had too but I found that the reboot fixed that. BTW you did not mention the phone app. It works pretty well and may be a better thing to use than the buttons because you do have to press pretty hard on the start button on manual. It has a memory for loads as well. The only thing that would be better is an upgrade that you could put the newer cartridges in that are not on their list. BTW I got my Frankford Arsenal for only $180 before Bidenomics None 0 None kicked in. They are around $300 now.
I have the original Hornady LNL auto charge, have had it for several years now and it's OK but the consistency is a real problem. I have tweaked the settings as much as possible and I STILL get overcharges, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 in a row.
Great with a comparing review 👍🏻 I would like to have seen a rating for how easy the emptying and swabbing powder type is. Else this review is really going to helt me select a dispenser
I must be lucky, I run 2 RCBS lites and have loaded a TON of rounds with them. I keep them and my FX-120 scale powered all the time...usually bulk throw on the RCBS and trickle in on the FX.
I was thinking about the Lyman Gen 6, then came the Chargemaster Supreme out, which I bought by now.
So fwar im quite happy with it, except of the flying poweder kernels.
Used so far with Lovex 76.3 (ball), RS40, RS52 and N555 which are stick powders.
For the FA Intellidropper I use the app Frankfort has so I don’t have to mess with the screen. It’s pretty intuitive and would get you away from having to use the touchscreen.
What would have been nice to see is you mention capacity and resolution of each scale.
Knowing how many graduations the scale is pushing usually has a direct influence on how stable it is or appears to be (plus some filtering).
The A&D is a solid scale but can be very finicky.
Also calibrating with a more accurate weight (class 3 or even a class1) should help scales accuracy.
I really wanted to buy the rcbs but I’ve read so many reviews of them have issues after a short period of time. I just use a Redding powder thrower and measure on balance beam then verify with cheap electric scale .
If Hornady added some PID algorithms they could have a fast feed then drop back to low to give final accuracy of load measure.
Did you let the machines all warm up equally? Im in the market and its looking like the Frankford. in love with the x-10 so maybe Frankford gets my product loyalty.
Another quality video with great information.
Thank you just what I needed!
Thanks for a Great review Jim.
Thanks for the great review!
My lee perfect power measure is working great it only 19.99 can't beat it
Additonal note I had my Intellidroper, it completely died on me this weekend; I had it 11 months. Less than ideal timing, I was loading up ammo for a match in a couple of weeks. Warranty service was good, but they're out of stock so I can't get a replacement right away. Seems like an known issue but they wouldn't tell me what the problem is.
I have the ChargeMaster Lite and I work in a lab that uses expensive lab balances made by Mettler Toledo. We have a rep come and certify our scale's accuracy every year. So I brought in 5 loads that I dispensed from my ChargeMaster Lite with H4350 powder and checked them with our lab scale. Two were 40.8 and 3 were 41.5. Here are the results.
40.8 ----40.72 first of this weight
40.8 ----40.76 second of this weight
41.5 ----41.56 first of this weight
41.5 ----41.46 second of this weight
41.5 ----41.46 third of this weight
If I remember correctly it is advertised at an accuracy of .1 grain. According to my unit. It is as advertised.
If you really wanted to be accurate you would need a scale that goes at least two or three places past the decimal. Scales drift, even expensive ones do especially when they get older.
I suggest if you want more accurate loads using these machines, do a slightly lower load and trickle to the weight you want. And use a secondary check scale to verify the load is correct.
Any of them work well if you under charge and then manually trickle up to the desired charges, but that kinda defeats the purpose. I use the frankford arsenal and I love it. For lower precision ammo like bulk 5.56 it is great. I am still getting an average of .70moa with the 75 grain BTHP just trusting the loads it throws. With 6.5 creedmoor I set it to under charge by .3 grains then on a very sensitive scale I carefully trickle up to my target load. It saves a lot of time by dispensing the bulk of it.
I like my Frankford Arsenal too...but...I like to verify with better scale ..and trickle up if required..
I'm a Hornady fanboy so I bought the Hornady Dispenser. Its trickler would always get stuck. Replaced it with another and exactly the same thing. Decided to just get my money back and ended up going with RCBS. I shouldve just listened to my brother-in-law and gotten the RCBS in the first place instead of wasting my time. Maybe I got 2 lemons. I still love Hornady though.
What powder? Was it with huge 50+gr loads?
Ive had the origional rcbs chargemaster for 15 years. Still works like new 10s of thousands of charges later. Seems alot of the new stuff have alot of issues after 2 years.
Were all of these units used prior to testing? Seems interesting to knock the FA Intelladropper down to a potential 3rd place because of a year and a half of heavy use and yet it still achieved 10 points which tied for first. Just thinking out loud.
My intellidropper died after 1.5yrs. It’s too bad because the design is fantastic but unfortunately the build quality is not there and they are not durable. Lots of people online are reporting theirs dying shortly after the 1 year warranty period. I ordered an RCBS chargemaster supreme to replace it.
I purchased a RCBS Chargemaster lite and used it for 18 months, it then stopped working.
The touch pad will not always respond, sometimes it will not calibrate, it will not stabilize at the 100gm step. It will also not turn off, I have to unplug it. It was used once a week or so, calibrated every time.
RCBS says well it is over a year old, so sorry not covered under warranty. Here is a repair shop and they can maybe help. I have not called the third party repair shop number they gave me yet. Don't know what the cost will be to repair it.
Safe to say I would not recommend an RCBS scale.
I’m suprised with the issue you had getting a new scale from FA, I had issues with mine as soon as I got it out of the box never made 1 round with it, called them up (this was on a Monday afternoon) and Friday afternoon I had a new one setting in my doorstep. This was about a year and a half ago ish maybe 2
This video was super helpful!
@garmin can you please do to these what you've done for chronographs?
I have the F.A. and your right the screen sucks but mine has Bluetooth and with its app it works very well.
I have a FA as well. Mine died on me but it was replaced very quickly (pre covid). It may have been a power issue or spike. The FA also had a Bluetooth app but I almost never use it or see a need to.