Inconsistent Powder dispenser

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So I have a super cheap powder dispenser probably the lee one you are talking about. They basically need to be used with some skill. Firstly make a cardboard baffle so there is always the same amount of powder below the baffle. Secondly refine your technique. I go leaver down dispense tap the unit twice lever up and leave while I adjust the powder amount as I throw to get close then trickle up to final weight. It’s usually less than 1/2 a grain out but it’s all down to consistent technique
 
Mungo said:
I’d be very grateful for advice.

I have a Lee Perfect Powder measure, and just cannot get it to throw anything approaching consistent charges.

I know I probably shouldn’t expect too much, but it varies by up to a grain from charge to charge, which seems excessive.

Does anyone have any advice on how to improve this? I know many people use them and get very good results.
Click to expand...
I bought one when I first started reloading, when it arrived I took it out of the box, read the instructions, looked at it & put it straight back in the box. I have no idea where it is now but I determined that the quality of build was so mediocre that I wasn't going to risk using it.

After speaking to a few 'old hands' at my rifle club I located & bought a Lyman #55 powder measure which is in a different league altogether. Since then I have bought a number of these great old measures & have one set up for each cartridge/bullet combination I load for. They are bomb proof.

My advice, forget the Lee & spend £50-60 on a s/h Lyman #55.
 
Watching with interest as I am having much the same issues when dispensing RS62

Granted it has large tubular kernels. Even larger than the RS60
 
RS60 meters pretty well in throwers usually
We tun two dillon 750s with powder throwers

I also use a bank of three lee throwers set up for small medium and larger cases

I personally dont tap to fill the thrower but the speed and smooth action of cycling the arm makes a big difference

One of mine is well worn and occasionally gets a kernel in the mechanism and sticks half way through the cycle
I dont even weigh those anymore as they are always out of range

Keep the hopper topped up
If the level gets too low I find it throws inconsistently

Otherwise they are fine
 
Donkey Basher said:
I bought one when I first started reloading, when it arrived I took it out of the box, read the instructions, looked at it & put it straight back in the box. I have no idea where it is now but I determined that the quality of build was so mediocre that I wasn't going to risk using it.

After speaking to a few 'old hands' at my rifle club I located & bought a Lyman #55 powder measure which is in a different league altogether. Since then I have bought a number of these great old measures & have one set up for each cartridge/bullet combination I load for. They are bomb proof.

My advice, forget the Lee & spend £50-60 on a s/h Lyman #55.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I also generally dislike Lee stuff but the powder throwers are an exception I make as they are really quite good for the money or certainly good enough for my needs. I too own one for each powder/cartridge I load for, so I can just leave them set at the same charge weight to make life easier as the metering calibration thing is one of the most frustrating things I simply cannot be arsed with.

Anyhow with the hopper filled up to the brim (important) and a uniform technique applied to each throw, I find it meters extruded powder (Viht) 130, 140 and 160 well enough. 160 is the largest and therefore I have that set to throw 0.4grains under target and then trickle up. The other two are more finely metered and will throw generally to 0.2grains. I set those up to 0.3grains under and trickle up.

I do not tap or shake anything. I fill up the hopper, make sure it is rotated to fully open and throw 20 charges in to a container repeatedly one after one another and then tip the powder back in to the hopper. This seems to prime the internals. Thereafter, I lift the lever firmly and then back down to throw the charge and that is where i leave it till the next one. Then a quick firm up and down for the next and so on and so forth.

If I was not sometimes shooting at little targets far away, I would confidently meter all those powders knowing that they were within 0.2grains either side of target charge weight and would not bother trickling to an exact charge weight. Having tested various auto dispensers and their strain gauge type scales with my lab balance, I can say with confidence that there is very little difference between the two. So you can spend £20 and have instant throws or pay hundreds of pounds to listen to those stupid motors on auto dispensers while you lose the will to live. Only if you want/need absolute charge weights do you have to spend proper money on lab grade analytical balances. Which are fun to use I must admit. Instant reactivity and scarily accurate which results in tiny spread numbers across the chrono.
 
Edinburgh Rifles said:
RS60 meters pretty well in throwers usually
We tun two dillon 750s with powder throwers

I also use a bank of three lee throwers set up for small medium and larger cases

I personally dont tap to fill the thrower but the speed and smooth action of cycling the arm makes a big difference

One of mine is well worn and occasionally gets a kernel in the mechanism and sticks half way through the cycle
I dont even weigh those anymore as they are always out of range

Keep the hopper topped up
If the level gets too low I find it throws inconsistently

Otherwise they are fine
Click to expand...
I seem to get kernels stuck every 2-3 throws
 
I weigh each charge but I'm using an RCBS Chargemaster ad scales set up. I also follow the directions each time re calibration and warm up to remove my own input as an error.
 
For what it’s worth I seem to remember a test that showed the cheap lee ones perform as accurately as the £200 ones. With extruded powder less than half a grain is all you will get. Today I’m reloading and throwing within .25 of a grain nearly always with a cheap one used properly
 
Haven’t read entire thread but I always used to throw light and trickle up to weight using a beam balance (when I first started ) and later en electronic lab scale

It didn’t matter if I used the Dillon powder measure, the Harrel or a scoop there was always slight variances in charge weights so I settled on final trickle to ascertain correct weight

Now I have a AutoTrickler and have zero concerns 😂
 
Mungo said:
I don’t load a great deal at a time - usually batches of 20. Primarily because the thrower IS so irregular. I have to set it to throw 2 or more grains under to make sure it never goes over, and then trickle up. It’s slow and tedious, which is why I tend to only manage 20 or so before I get fed up.
Click to expand...
Yeah I hear you.
I would hazard a suggestion and that is to forget the thrower and go it by hand.
There's a certain satisfaction in knowing that each case is correct to the nearest 1/10gn.
It really doesn't take as long as you think once your muscle memory develops.
Probably the same as you are currently spending trying to get the thrower to work properly.
 
hybridfiat said:
Yeah I hear you.
I would hazard a suggestion and that is to forget the thrower and go it by hand.
There's a certain satisfaction in knowing that each case is correct to the nearest 1/10gn.
It really doesn't take as long as you think once your muscle memory develops.
Probably the same as you are currently spending trying to get the thrower to work properly.
Click to expand...
When you say by hand, what do you mean?

I’m already more or less doing it by hand, I think - I have to throw over 2gr short then trickle up.
 
My reloading method because of wanting to throw a charge direct into the case has been using the ladder method where by I found a velocity flat spot between 3 or more charges and then settle on that and use seating depth to adjust for accuracy. This way 0.3 of a grain difference didn't affect velocity or accuracy enough to worry about and so throwing straight into the case was possible.

Even thinking of throwing a charge under and then trickling up seems like such a waste of time and energy now!
 
Mungo said:
I’d be very grateful for advice.

I have a Lee Perfect Powder measure, and just cannot get it to throw anything approaching consistent charges.

I know I probably shouldn’t expect too much, but it varies by up to a grain from charge to charge, which seems excessive.

Does anyone have any advice on how to improve this? I know many people use them and get very good results.
Click to expand...
Don’t bother with a powder measure. They do my head in as well.

Get a set of yellow lee powder dippers. Pour your powder into a round bottom cereal bowl. Scoop the powder, tap to settle and dump on the scale. Use a scoop that isa little under the charge.

Then a little powder in next scoop and tap with finger.

You soon get a technique to scoop then tap trickle in the rest.

Indeed you will soon realise that a volume scoop is really quite accurate.
 
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