Thread: chargemaster 1500 woes

My chargemaster will dump powder up to about 1.5 grains prior to the expected weight and then it stops so it won't go through final the trickle portion of the weigh. Also if I hit the trickle button it just won't trickle. I have googled around and I read one case where tweaking the feed tube because it was binding solved the same issue, and another youtube video where they tidied up shit solder joints on the connectors in the keypad part of the unit which fixed a few problems. Comparing the scales of my unit with a redding beam scale they seem to be accurate so I am wondering if the issue is in the keypad/dispenser part. Has anyone else suffered and solved this issue? I have never messed with the throw programming and the unit is well past it's warranty period....

No I haven't ever had this. How did you notice it ? Does the charge master show the actual weight and it never reaches what is programmed for or does it say its reached target weight but on checking with another scales it's wrong? Every fifth load I wait for an extra few seconds and the scales displays what it's actually thrown ( occasionally its 0.2 or 0.3 gr over) most loads I just pick it off when it goes ping and drop it into the case.

The simplest explanation is something going wrong at the step when you zero it with the powder pan in place. Mine weighs about 162 gr. Possible causes could be not waiting for everything to settle out to stable reading before accepting the zero or else error in calibration eg when using the 0 50 and 100 gram weights. Try the whole routine from scratch: switch on, cal with the three weights, zero with powder pan, then weigh loads from your other scales. Repeat weighing of a standard item like a 10mm machine nut that similar to your powder weight would also show if you have day to day calibration problems.

Is it always 1.5gr whatever the target weight ? Eg 20, 40 or 60 gr. That would point to a software problem like having set the threshold for the last trickle dispense speed wrong ( cant immediately imagine howw).

If there is a ceiling max load it will dispense ?

Sometimes I've spilled powder down the hole the black plastic spindle sits in so granules could get in to interfere with the workings. I undid a couple of the screws underneath but not the one with tamper indicator lacquer on it,flexed chocolate open a fewxmm and shook it vigorously to get all rattly powder granules out.

Is it making a buzzy sound trying to get the last powder out or is it just quiet ?
Are you using the right voltage power pack?

I've heard it happens in the chargemaster rather than the cm lite. Quite often the trickle function puckers out. There was one in the buy sell section I was interested in,showing the same symptoms. A quick Google search showed it's quite common unfortunately. Hopefully whatever the problem it's an easy fix

From what I read in the I net RCBS is good to deal with maybe contact them directly or Sportways are the local importer

https://rcbs.com/Help/Customer-Service.aspx

SPORTWAYS DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED
New Zealand
PO Box 8036 Symonds Street
Auckland
Phone: Phone: (09) 638 9609
Fax: Fax: (09) 630 9536
Federal@sportways.co.nz
https://www.sportways.co.n

Yeah I had another fiddle with it tried jiggling/pushing the tube back an forth I now have it doing about 1/8th of a turn every time I touch the trickle button, if I hold the trickle button on it does not trickle continuously. However if I ask it to dispense it still only does it's fast dispense up until it reaches the stage where it slows down to trickle in the last grain or two then it stops. I will try adjusting the dispense/trickle rate tonight to see how that goes. I imported it from natchez and I am using an aftermarket 240v transformer that has never given issues previously. It is just quiet, does not buzz like it is jamming when it stops, scale shows the actual weight it stops at, not the charge I am aiming for. If I tap the tube gently with my finger to trickle in the last grain or so it beeps when it reaches the correct charge weight as it would normally. I always go through the 50-100 zero process before I start weighing. I have a set of rcbs deluxe check weights and both my redding beam balance and the chargemaster scale are good.

That's good diagnostic info. Rules out weighing error pretty well. I'm not an engineer but it sounds as if it has trouble getting onto the slowest trickle speed. In the programming area I think there were three speeds so two transitions to a slower speed and the last trickle one needed to be about 1.5 2.0 grain below the target weight or else it would sometimes throw too much. It would be good to know if the slower speeds are done by gearing or electrically on the motor. If theres no buzz it suggests it's not a mechanical gear or belt. Perhaps it's a stepper motor that can have a software control. Sorry I dont really know about this but there will be someone on the forum who does. Might be worth doing a reprogram of the 3 speeds from scratch and see if it just comes right but let's see if

I got my chargemaster from natchez too and have a local 240v power pack. Just thought if it got mixed up with an American 110v one it might overload the unit or something. I see you posted about these 7 years ago so your unit has done a lot of work I guess.
@Spanners might be able to help.

Reset your chargemaster to all stock settings? Sometimes people change the settings to speed up the distance between main weight and trickle, and the result is a CM that does not trickle.

also, i found that a sine wave computer UPS provides stable, ripple free power, and to date i have no issues with lighting causing issues or anything else. Stable clean power is a must for these units, the power brick does not have adequate choke/filters in it.