For those who are interested, I thought I would share my thoughts on the RCBS Chargemaster Lite that I recently purchased.
I have been thinking about trying a digital scale for the past several years but never got there as my old RCBS 5-0-2 seemed to meet my needs. Recently, powder trickling has become more of a chore and I figured a digital scale would be easier to use than continually staring at the balance point on the 5-0-2 with my 50+ year old eyes. After getting some advice from CFJunkie on how to up my game, I started looking at a few products and reached the conclusion that one of the combination scale and dispenser units would speed things up for me at the loading bench as well as potentially improve weighing accuracy.
I chose the RCBS Chargemaster Lite after reading a lot of reviews and watching a few demonstration videos on YouTube. I’m sure the other products out there are also good but this one appealed to me the most. After a week of use, it has dispensed about 150 charges of three different powders either in testing or actual loading. I am happy with it so far.
Inside the box, you get the scale unit and platen, an AC power adapter, two 50-gram weights, a powder pan and an instruction manual. It comes almost completely assembled and the only thing you have to do is install the platen which takes about five seconds. It has the following weighing specifications;
2000.0 grains +/- 0.3 grain
1000.0 grains +/- 0.2 grain
500.0 grains +/- 0.1 grain
The unit is operated by way of a touch screen interface. Touching each key provides audible feedback in the form of a beep. In addition to the numeric keys, it has five function keys for Calibration, Zeroing the scale, Auto/Manual mode selection, Display unit selection, and Manual trickling. There are also two hard buttons, the GO button and the Power button which are located on either side of the touch screen. I find the touch screen to work well without any issues.
Prior to each use, the unit must be powered on and warmed up for 15-20 minutes with one of the 50-gram weights placed on the scale.
The scale must be calibrated prior to each new use after the warmup period. This is accomplished in a five-step process using the Calibration (CAL) key and both of the 50-gram weights. Calibration takes less than one minute once you remember the sequence and don’t have to read the instruction manual. After calibration is complete, you place the powder pan on the platen and press the ZERO key to zero the scale. It is now ready to dispense.
To dispense powder, first enter the powder charge weight using the key pad. If you make an error or change your mind, press CANCEL to start over. Once your desired weight is entered, press the GO button. The Chargemaster Lite immediately begins dispensing through the rotating trickle tube at a pretty good rate. When watching the scale, your initial thought is that it will overshoot the target. However, it always tapers back the dispensing rate at the right moment and usually ends up 0.1 to 0.5 grains short when it enters the slow trickle phase. The slow trickle phase continues until the target is reached and you are notified that the dispensing is completed with an audible beep. I can tell you with certainty that in approximately 150 charges, it has not overshot the target even one time. Reviews of some other products I looked at indicated a typical overshoot rate of one in ten charges.
You can toggle the Chargemaster Lite between Auto or Manual mode by pressing the MODE key. When operated in Manual mode, you must hit the GO button each time you want to start a new powder charge. When operated in AUTO mode, dispensing will automatically begin when you place the empty pan back on the platen and the weight stabilizes at 0.0 grains. I find this feature to be very handy as I can start a new dispensing operation while I am seating the bullet in the case that I just charged.
If desired, you can manually trickle powder by pressing and holding the TRICKLE key. To stop trickling, simply remove your finger from the key. I have not yet used this feature except for emptying the dispensing tube when emptying the hopper.
As far as dispensing accuracy is concerned, I have weighed about 10% of the charges on my RCBS 5-0-2 scale and found all of them to be right on the money. The balance point line is rarely ever dead on but when I slide the weight over 0.1 grain to check it for a better match, I always go back and it ends up indicating closest to the desired set point in the Chargemaster Lite.
I have used the Chargemaster Lite with H322, W748, and H110 powders. H322 was the cleanest as far as scattering on the scale and surrounding bench top. W748 was worse but not bad and H110 was the messiest like it always is. The ball powder definitely charges faster with its higher bulk density than the stick powder. I took some dispensing time measurements for H322 at 23.2, 30.0, 40.0 and 50.0 grains and for W748 at 25.0, 30.0, 40.0 and 50.0 grains with the following average results;
H322
23.2 gr = 26 seconds
30.0 gr = 40 seconds
40.0 gr = 31 seconds
50.0 gr = 37 seconds
W748
25.0 gr = 14 seconds
30.0 gr = 20 seconds
40.0 gr = 22 seconds
50.0 gr = 23 seconds
I mentioned previously that the undershoot before slow trickling ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 grains. If the undershoot is 0.4 to 0.5 grains (a minority of charges), total charge times can be 30%-50% longer than the average.
The Chargemaster Lite has a generous powder hopper which I believe will hold one pound of powder. At the end of your loading session, emptying the hopper is accomplished by opening the drain outlet and allowing the powder to flow into a container (or onto the floor if you miss). It comes with a small brush to assist in brushing powder toward the bottom drain. When I initially filled the hopper, there was a bad case of static cling and powder stuck all over the inside of the clear plastic hopper body. I resolved this afterward by dipping it in a solution of dish soap and water and allowing it to air dry. The instructions say to use the TRICKLE function to run residual powder out of the dispensing tube. Initially, I found this to be inadequate at emptying the tube due to static cling. The tube can be removed by unscrewing it from its drive connection at the rear of the hopper and gently pulling it out. I’m not sure if this is recommended but I did it anyway. After a few uses, static cling seems to be less of an issue and I have been able to empty the tube using the TRICKLE function.
I will admit that while not difficult, I do find emptying the hopper and getting everything out to be a bit of a pain because you have to resist the temptation of banging on the hopper body lest you damage the delicate load cell.
In conclusion, I am pleased with my new Chargemaster Lite. Only time will tell if it will be durable and continue to be reliable. So far, I like what I have seen.
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