The instructions said something about running a hopper full of powder through it to displace static to ensure a consistant charge every time.

Am I reading this correctly that I am supposet to fill the entire hopper full then empty it? IMHO Lee doesn't write the best instructions. Thanks.

I always read that to do it once, then it should have enough graphite from the powder to be pretty well ready to go.......

So actually fill the hopper then cycle it until it is empty back into the container? Just wanted to make sure I was reading correctly. Thanks for the quick reply.

Understand the point is to get a bit of graphite (dry lube) in the moving parts, not how much powder you move, per se. You can get small quanities of powdered graphite at auto parts stores. Dust some in into the measure, work it a few time and you will accomplish the same thing more quickly.

Also, wiping the inside of the hopper with a clothes dryer sheet will kill the static. You still want to run the graphite (or a graphite coated smokeless powder; note that some now are not so coated) through to help lube the drum and line the chamber.

I also found its consistency can be improved by putting an additional (to the built-in one) baffle in the hopper. You can download some templates for baffles from my file repository (http://drop.io/unclenick) in .PDF format.

Also, if you are not interested in using an automatic dispenser system in the future, you can do like Mr. Lee says in "Modern Reloading" Second Ed, and cut the stop off(~1/8") on the bottom of the drum. It is the stop when dumping the powser. This will let the measure go verticle and ensure a complete empty of the measure reservoir every time.

Just got one of these delivered from Midwayusa today. Ran a hopper full each of Varget, H-380, H-322, and H-335 thru it. No leaks like I've read about and H-335 is a fine powder. Anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of the few granules of powder that insist on sticking around inside the hopper after empty or is this part of that static cling thing? Hope to see how consistant it is tomorrow and load up!

Don't mean to hijack a thread, but I found this using the search feature and figured why not, its old anyway.

Anything with plastic or nylon parts will require time to get coated with enough graphite or wiping with anti-static cloths to eliminate the powder clinging to those parts.

These measures (I have one) leak very fine granulated powders such as H110 around the drum and frame.

Should I squirt some of the dry graphite into the hopper and shake it around to help? I did the dryer sheet thing to wipe out the powder between powder changes. Just don't want any powders mixing if I can help, even if it's a few granules.

The best would be to disassemble the measure and rub the powdered graphite into the surface of all the moving parts and parts that come in contact with the powder it self.

I'd be hesitant to use powdered graphite; the risk would be having too much graphite in your first real charges.

Just run a hopper of any IMR rifle powder through it. All are graphited.

The dryer sheet (a used one, new ones are too "wet") trick is excellent. You can even keep one in the hopper between load sessions.

Probably where I messed up. I grabbed a new sheet and it probably caused things to stick around.

I once used a plain old "Ticondaroga" #2 pencil to lube the drum. Rubbed the pencil "lead" on the drum and it helped break in the new measure.

I wrap two dryer sheets around the outside of the plastic powder hopper on my mec 9000 shotgun reloader, and leave them on, held on with rubber bands.Iv'e had no static problems to cause inconsistant powder drops doing it this way. Hopes this helps. Paul.

The used dryer sheet worked wonders. Thanks good people. This little device seems to throw a fairly consistant charge with H-322. Most hit the nail but some are .1 either way. This is acceptable in my book.

Back when Alliant first introduced their "Steel" powder, I was beside myself for wanting to work up some duck-hunting shells with it. So, I went out and bought a pound, along with some #4 steel pellets, and figured I'd just go to town, loading up shells like I did for trap. Well....not exactly! :eek:

Along with screwing up my shotshell reloader and waiting for the proper bushings to come in, I quickly learned that the Steel powder is the driest, fluffiest, most static-prone powder I had ever worked with! Don't ask me how I know, but I found out that even the slightest breeze would blow half of a pan of powder all over your patio, before you could drop it in the case. This stuff has all the properties of finely shredded packing material...you know, those styrofoam peanuts? That was when I learned the used dryer sheet trick. It is so fluffy I had to drop the charge, seat the wad and then, using a bathroom scale and a wooden dowel rod, create the ~70lbs of pressure that was recommended to compress the charge. (Trying to compress it that much with the handle of the MEC had me feeling like I was gonna break the darn thing!)

Yeah, I know you're all out there shaking your heads, saying no way can this be, but that's what I did to make those loads. They worked well enough, but after only loading a couple hundred, I went back to forking over the cash for factory steel loads...that was just too much work, for me. Still got half a pound or so of Steel powder, sitting on a shelf over my bench. :rolleyes:

I have done the used dryer sheet thing, but I have also put just a touch of powdered graphite into the hopper and cycled it 10 to 15 times, then inverted the hopper and tapped on the hopper a few times. Never had a static problem.

Jerry

A couple of guys have actually resorted to grounding. It's a little tougher with a plastic measure. You really need the graphite on the parts in there. But you can clean the hopper with alcohol before spreading new graphite and use double-sided sticky tape to attach a strip of aluminum foil down the inside of the hopper, up over the lip, and down the outside of the hopper. If you happen to have copper shielding tape, that's even easier to use. Either one can be grounded by picking up an anti-stat wrist strap and wrapping it around the hopper so it touches the foil on the outside, then attaching its clip to a grounding wire or to a copper water pipe. The wrist strap has enough resistance to discharge static slowly to avoid creating a spark. A direct metal run to the grounding point should be avoided because of the spark hazard.

If you use, as I do, an additional powder baffle or two cut from Lowe's finest aluminum roof flashing stock, the baffle will ground through contact with the foil. The powder will then pass over it, which gives it another opportunity to lose residual charge. I have a pdf file of baffle templates with instructions free for downloading, here (http://drop.io/unclenick).

Grounding straps are an interesting idea. What I did was took a 3-prong entension and cut off the two flat prongs, leaving only the round ground plug. I stripped the other end, ground wire only, and attached it to the equipment, then plugged it in to an outlet to get grounded. I used this on an older piece of equipment (press) that would allow mass primer detonation. I read this in a book authored by one of my old handloading heros. I don't know if it would work on powder measures with no radiators or water pipes nearby, but it would be easy to find out.