Scale drift control with dryer sheets

N

NYDAN

Handloader
Sep 17, 2013
1,974
1,595
This is probably old news to you "Old Pros" out there.

Since I got back to reloading for the .270 Win. and the 450 Marlin I have been plagued with electronic scale drift. I would have to rezero/recalibrate frequently. It was very annoying. After my last reloading session, I called RCBS to see if a newer model would fix the problem. The customer support lady asked about the model I had and the color of it. I told her it was a green colored model. She told me I didn't need a new scale - that the problem was static electricity. She said before I started reloading to wipe everything down with a dryer sheet to control the static electricity.

So today, I sprayed the reloading bench and myself with "Static Guard" spray and wiped the scale and everything else on the bench with dryer sheets.

Low and behold, I went the whole reloading session without having to rezero or recalibrate my electronic scale. Between the "Static Guard" spray and the dryer sheets, I had no drift problems.

How come I am the last one to learn about these things?

PS. You know, that RCBS customer support lady could have sold me a new scale but she didn't.
 
Maybe she just didn't want any more static out of you Dan? :p :mrgreen: :lol: That's what I keep hearing personally. :shock:
 
6mm, you don't know how close to the truth you are! I am laughing out loud.

Seriously, do you know someone that knows me? If you do, you recieved good intel. Still laughing out loud!
 
Dan is a fountain of good intel... :grin: Dan, I will let you try my RCBS Chargemaster.. it is a giant leap forward in hand loading efficiency...
 
"Dan, I will let you try my RCBS Chargemaster.. it is a giant leap forward in hand loading efficiency..."

As my pastor would say, "Can I have an amen?
AMEN!
Paul B.
 
In all my years of reloading, I have never heard anyone comment about static electricity being a factor in using a electronic scale. I can't wait to give it a try as I too am frequently calibrating the darn thing.
 
My Chargemaster 1500 went on the fritz Wednesday evening. I e-mailed an RCBS tech who has been very helpful in the past, and here is what he said:

"Try to keep it unplugged when not in use.

You might have some static electricity affecting the unit along with another issue. Wipe the unit down with an anti-static cloth or a dryer sheet from the laundry to remove any static electricity.

Another thing could be if powder got down below the platen and into the load cell area. These units work off the deflection principle, and powder kernels can mess this up sometimes. You can blow some canned air into the area the platen sits in to try to remove any powder.

You can also remove or loosen the two center feet on the right side under the unit. If these feet are too tight, it can put pressure on the load cell and you can have this issue or have other problems. If powder gets below the platen, it can stick to the load cell making the unit feel as though the feet are too tight.

The powder can also catch on the last groove of the dispensing tube and drop in clumps. This will usually give you a .3-.4 grain over charge. A McDonalds soda straw is the perfect diameter to slip into the dispensing tube to relieve the threads, allowing the powder to trickle smoother. Cut off ¾” of the straw and leave ¼” sticking out. Check these things and let us know how it goes.

Hope this helps, have a great day and enjoy your reloading."


I went over my whole scale with Static Guard spray (I had not done this in a couple of months) and then wiped it down wit a cotton towel, aka old t-shirt. I followed his other directions regarding cleaning as well. I have used the straw trick since Day 1 of my first 1500 and it works well.

I ran 20 practice loads Thursday night, and they went 42.44 to 42.56 for a 42.5 indicated, using my GemPro 250 as a confirming scale, and this was better than what I was getting Wednesday. Friday night I recalibrated it and every load that I checked after that was dead nuts on the money. So, I would have to say that his instructions made a big difference.
 
:mrgreen: I've used used dryer sheets on my rifle rest as well as my powder measure on my Dillon to keep things running smoothly.
 
The other thing that could cause issues in fluorescent lights. Some of the newer t8 ballasts give off horrible RF. Anything directly under the light seems OK. But if a radio is about 6-10' away you have a lot of static.

Another thing to try it plugging the scale into a UPS. That would rule our "dirty" power causing issues.
 
I've got an RCBS scale that has been reluctant to hold calibration since I got it. Consequently I've not used it much until I started loading pistol loads with a powder measure. I'll try the dryer sheets and see if this helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Tip: Plug the dispenser in and turn it on for an hour before you start loading.
Like a finely fitted race engine they need to be properly warmed up.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
 
Ditto to what Vince said. Let it warm up for 30+ minutes and she will perform a lot better. I use a lot of course cut powder (RL-33) and the straw in the dispensing tube works like a champ...
 
Yup, since I started using dryer sheets it's like I have a different scale! Works like magic.....
 
Add me to the list of those who will try this. I have the same issue with my RCBS scale.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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