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RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

N

nfngun

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 26, 2011
246
12
NY
#1
OK its not like i have the money for it but is the RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser Combo any better then the others on the market.

Right now I'm using a borrowed scale a cooking tsp set and a 30-06 case to trickle. Believe me its been getting the job done but if i buy manual dispensers, scale, ect seems like the combo isnt that much more for the convenience..


EEK! just found a thread talking of issue with the 1500 ... question how common are the issues? For the price thing should be dead on!
 
#2
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

My buddy has purchased chargemasters over the years and has nothing bad to say about them. He would dump the powder into the case and by the time he seated the bullet, the next charge of ~45gr varget was ready. The RCBS gets my vote
 
#3
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

I usually set it .1 grain above what I need and use a tweezer to get back down to my charge. I think it's awesome. Highly recommended. Also, if you spend $300 on RCBS items, you get a $50 rebate.
 
#4
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

~800 rounds loaded via chargemaster and no problems. Maybe 2 overthrows in a batch of 50. I would say its worth the money. Depends on how much you are shooting though.
 
#5
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

I bought one here last week and have loaded a couple boxes of shells and it is awesome...I haven't had but 1 over charge and it was only .1, very easy to fix.

Great tool in my opinion.
 
#7
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

This is one time where the Buy Once Cry Once motto is dead on!
Unlike the other poster I set it to throw 1/10 grain light and tap in the remaining few kernels with an Omega powder trickler as I hate picking out powder grrains and haven't figured out an easy way to do it without making things worse.
Do the free and simple "straw mod" and your charges will be even tighter and less overthrows.
 
#8
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

Owned one for 6 years. Just had to send it to RCBS for work.They fixed and gave me a 2 year warrenty all with shipping for $50.00. I do the same as in2deep keep it light and trickler it to finish. Good product.
 
#9
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

Yeah, but I fixed the Chargemaster!! ahaha. Well After dealing with my issue I would give a definite vote for it still, as long as I can source a permanent fix for it (i'm sure its a static problem)

In all reality if the scale is reading out it is quite noticeable because any interference will mess up the zero, and the scale will stop dispensing until the zero is corrected.

I love it, works well and I love being able to dial out different charges and sit and wait for it to beep. Also the powder drain is awesome, very handy.
 
#13
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

I have completely worn out an older PACT/RCBS and now using the newer version RCBS for the last 1.5 years. No complaints with either and between the two I have loaded many, many rounds.
 
#14
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nfngun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">whats this straw mod and what does it do? </div></div>

You shove (goes easily so not really a shove) a 1/2 - 1 inch of a MickeyD's straw in the end of the powder tube. It makes the powder not clump on the threads that are down there. Works well too.
 
#15
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Judd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nfngun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">whats this straw mod and what does it do? </div></div>

You shove (goes easily so not really a shove) a 1/2 - 1 inch of a MickeyD's straw in the end of the powder tube. It makes the powder not clump on the threads that are down there. Works well too. </div></div>
And if you cut the end of the straw so it looks like a "hole saw", with little pointed "petals" sticking out, it will do even better. Just let the "points" stick out about 1/8th inch or so with the base of the cuts still inside the tube.
 
#16
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

Somebody said if you cut the straw with pinking shears it will have the desired effect but I don't know WTF those look like..... probably course serrations or something.
 
#17
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

Its worth its weight in gold....proud owner and ive loaded over 1k rounds of 308, over 500 of 338 lapua... very few over throws .. I have never heard of the straw thing, but ill give it a shot next time. Buy once, Cry once, its well worth the money.
 
#19
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

I have an early RCBS metering system. I found out I could use Lee
powder scoops to get close and then trickle the remainder a whole lot faster. The RCBS sits in the closet.
 
#20
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nfngun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">OK its not like i have the money for it but is the RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser Combo any better then the others on the market.

Right now I'm using a borrowed scale a cooking tsp set and a 30-06 case to trickle. Believe me its been getting the job done but if i buy manual dispensers, scale, ect seems like the combo isnt that much more for the convenience..


<span style="color: #000099">EEK! just found a thread talking of issue with the 1500 ... question how common are the issues? For the price thing should be dead on!</span> </div></div>

Back in '06, there was a 'keyboard' issue, where people would press 1 and 4 would display, or 8 and 2 would display. RCBS was very good with customer service, even paying shipping both ways.

It's made in China, but a guy named Chang The Merciless, so things happen.

Like any electronic scale, they 'can' be a bit twitchy, but I'm past 6 years on mine, so I can't complain. I run it stock, but might speed it up a bit, as it's not lightning fast out of the box, expecially when I load my 338LM stuff.

There have been other issues, no doubt and some people have had bad luck with a couple of units, but I think that the sample size is pretty good just here on SnipersHide and it's a good unit.

I think that out of the big three--Pact, Lyman and RCBS, the CM1500 is the way to go.

At least C.S. is going to be there for you, even on out of warranty units.

If you have a good power supply, use one of those. Don't use it while yaking on your cordless, or cell phones. Don't use it under flourescent light fixtures, or halogen bulbs and let it warm up a good 30 minutes before use.

If you get some floating, or glitching (rare in my case) just power it down, disconnect the power cord for 30 seconds and then reboot and recalibrate it.

Get a decent check weight system for any of your scales and go from there. Trust, but verify.

Chris
 
#22
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

We just picked one up two weeks ago. I used it to charge Bullseye for a .45 load, H110 for 357 and it worked fine. On the other end, we loaded a box of 375 H&H (IMR 4350) rounds yesterday. So far, I like it. The only thing I've noticed is that occasionally there will be some spillage out of the trickling tube and you need to keep an eye on it so that it does not alter the actual weight on the scale. It counts the number of charges thrown so you have a count of whats been done. I've been verifying the charge weights on another digital scale and so far everything has matched up fine.
 
#23
Re: RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder Scale and Dispenser

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: in2deep</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Somebody said if you cut the straw with pinking shears it will have the desired effect but I don't know WTF those look like..... probably course serrations or something. </div></div>

They are a pair of scissors used by dress makers that cut a zig/zag line. Leaves an edge that looks like a whole bunch of little triangles, side by side.

I cut the straw for mine by just cutting the triangle points freehand. I now have the straw in the end that has about 1/3 of the "points" recessed into the tube. This seems to work best for me with varget. Helps break up the "clumps" and drop only one granule at a time while on the slowest speed.

You have to experiment to see what works best for YOUR powder.
 
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