We decided to exchange gifts at the house today, and I gave my stepdad the kit I put together so he can reload 45/70 for his Trapdoor Springfield. In return I got this:



I'm giddy

ETA:

I decided to turn this into a pictorial review thread of the Hornady Auto Charge Powder Dispenser.

Assembly is pretty self-explanatory out-of-the-box.


Included are 2 check weights, a 50g and a 10g.


This red disc is set into the hole, under the dispensing tube.


Like this:


1) You will want to turn the machine on, and let it warm up for about 5 minutes.
2) The included literature recommends calibration before EACH USE. To calibrate the machine, press the "CAL" button and the unit will display "0.00g"


3) Remove the tin powder pan and make sure the red scale disc is empty
4) Press "CAL" and the unit will calibrate while displaying "- - - -"


5) When the unit displays "10.00g" place the 10g weight on the red scale disc and press "CAL" again. The unit will continue to calibrate while displaying "- - - -"






6) When "50.00g" is displayed on the screen, remove the 10g weight and place the 50g weight on the scale plate. Be careful not to hit the dispensing tube.






7) Press "CAL", and the unit will finish calibrating while displaying "- - - -"
8) After calibration is complete, the unit will briefly display "PASS" before returning to normal operation.

CALIBRATION IS COMPLETE, NOW ON TO THE FUN PART

Place the powder pan back on the scale, and press "ZERO"




Add your powder of choice to the hopper


Using the number pad, type in your desired weight of powder to dispense, TO INCLUDE the first decimal place, and press "ENTER"


Press "DISPENSE" and the machine will begin to dispense powder into the pan. The literature recommends for best results to replace the clear cover over the tray before dispensing, but I did not as I do not have any fans blowing currently.






If the powder is over by 0.1 grains or more, "OVER" will be displayed, and a short beep immediately followed by a long beep. Remove the pan, dump the powder back into the hopper, replace the pan, and press "ENTER" to continue.


After an adjustment, the correct amount was dispensed. When the correct amount is dispensed, the machine will produce a short beep. If the unit dispenses a weight under the target, you can press "TRICKLE" until your target weight is achieved.


This is a side-by-side comparison to my manual RCBS unit


After you are done with the unit, you need to remove any remaining powder by placing a small dish under the powder reservoir empty tube cap and rotating it so the opening is facing down.




Using the included brush, help and straggling powder to the bottom


At this point, I set the machine to dispense a large amount of powder and pressed "DISPENSE" to draw any remaining powder out of the tube


Verify all powder is out of the machine, to include the dispensing tube


Close the powder reservoir empty tube cap by rotating the opening upwards.


SUMMARY

Overall, the machine worked to my expectations. I had to adjust the speed to SLOW to prevent the machine from over-dispensing powder. The included literature recommends that you set the machine to SLOW for large grain powders so the last 1.5 grains will be TRICKLED slowly out of the machine. Originally I had it set on NORMAL speed and that was what resulted in the OVER warning in the beginning. When removing the powder pan to place powder in your prepped case, be sure not to bump the dispensing tube, or more powder may fall into the tray.

Also, if you have the machine set on AUTO, when you remove the powder pan and dump the powder into your prepped brass and return it, the machine automatically dispenses the next batch. Essentially all you have to do is dump the powder and the machine does the rest.

I would not hesitate to recommend this machine to others.

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you have any questions about anything I have not covered, please ask.

Sounds like a great time! Good present!  Do a write up on it sometime, Ive been contemplating getting one

Will do. I most likely will load up some precision 30-06 tomorrow for a range trip Saturday.

Sounds like it was a great present, I'd like to know how you like it as well. I am between this one and the RCBS

Nice gift.  I have one and love it.  Makes reloading much easier.

sweet!

I look forward to seeing a your review.  Hope you enjoy your dispenser.

I have debated getting one of these has well, please let us know!

Very nice, my wife is picking up the tab for my next NFA Stamp. Look forward to your "opinion" on this powder measure.

I updated the OP with a review.

A link to this review was added to the Usefull Threads link above

Nice write up. Thank You.

Good write up!

How long did it take to dispense one charge of the powder in your pics?

I have the same one, only in green plastic. They are awesome.

I was wondering the same thing.

I seem to be on an endless loop of load development and this would be a nice time saver.

maybe 10 seconds? Not too long, and if you have your brass staged and a funnel ready to go, you get into a rhythm, and your done before you know it. Changing a goal weight is simple as typing a new number and pressing ENTER.

I love mine. I use it all the time for my .308 loads, it works great.

Good to hear.

Great! Just one more piece of equipment I may 'need' to get.  

Thanks for the great review, and nice present. Merry Christmas

I have made some bad ass accurate loads out of my RCBS dispenser. Don't know how I lived without it That think is going to spoil you, but in a good way.

I check mine it all the time with my ohaus(RCBS) 5-10 beam scale, and it is dead nuts on with it.

Do you still like it?

Would you still recommend it?

Absolutely! 4 years and still doing its job!

As with any powder measure, I keep a few dryer sheets in the hopper when not in use to reduce static.

I am a bit interested in an automatic scale but this one sure looks like a pain to empty and clean, are other ones pretty much the same?

10 grams = 154 grains !

50 grams = 771 grains !


You need to buy or make a lighter check weight.  Make one that is about what you use as a powder charge.  The scale should repeatedly display the same value when the check weight is on the pan.  Let's say a weight of 25 grains or 1 gram (for 223).  The actual value does not matter, it is the consistency, repeatability you are after.

Thanks!

Jeez, I didn't notice this is a zombie thread - almost four years old.

Holy hell, i thought I've only had my auto-charger for a few years but I see I had replied in this thread I had already bought mine.  Mine is still running strong....thanks Hornady!!!