New lee auto drum powder measure: what am I doing wrong

[Andy]

Just tried out my lee auto drum powder measure for the first time and can't get it to throw consistent charges of green dot. I have this set up on a single stage press right now and have removed the disconnect thing as per the manual so I don't have to manually trip that every time.

I was trying to throw 3.0 grains of green dot and did probably 150 throws over the session, ended up having to accept frequent charges as low as 2.6 grains in order to never go over 3.0 grains. I didn't make an actual log of each charge but I'll bet it put out the following:

10% 3.0 grain
40% 2.9 grain
40% 2.8 grain
10% 2.6 grain

Just to avoid confusion with other lee powder measures, this is the new offering of this year that is infinitely adjustable and can be put on a progressive press or used on a single stage.

Any tips from fellow owners on improving the performance? Right now it is just like it came out of the box (no baffle etc). Hopper was 75% full during this test and I made sure to pull the press handle the same way/same force every time. Does it improve as you use it more or is this all I should expect out of it?

[Outer Rondacker]

Tag. I can not help yet. I need to learn lee powder measures so I will be watching this one. Good luck.

[Mike67]

I haven't tried pistol powder yet but consistency with stick rifle powder was within .1 grain +/- . You are using the smaller pistol rotor I assume. The unit has been cleaned of any oil. With the hopper there can be an issue with static charge perhaps an eventual buildup of powder residue will take care of that. Do some more practice runs and I think you will be very happy with you're results. I'm extremely happy with this powder measure.

[Newcast]

Andy, I've been using the lee drum for about 2 months now and get +/-.1 grain throws each time. Mostly dead on what I set it on. I would recommend getting a good coat of graphite in it but first a good cleaning. For any new powder drop or die I get I clean it good with rubbing alcohol, let air dry, and wipe it down good with dryer sheets to help with static. After I run some powder through it to get a good coat of graphite they run very accurate for me. This is what works for me, hope it helps.

[1bluehorse]

I haven't had the "stellar" results that others have claimed either. Trying CFE 223, which is a fine grained powder and should meter well (does in the Pro disc even with the double disc) and had really "intermittent" drops. By that I mean it worked well at 25gr (within .1 or so, quite acceptable) and then the next time I tried with 27gr. it was all over the place. Using 2400 in 357mag the darn thing was spot on all day. But I wouldn't trust it to be the same tomorrow...I've tried it with several different powders and that's how my experience has gone with it. I wanted to really like this measure and had it in mind at first kiss to replace all my Pro disc's with them, but not now. It's just been to hit and miss for me and no where near as reliable as the disc measures. YMMV....

[mdi]

Are you consistent? Do you do the same move, the same way, with the same speed every time?

[Andy]

Thanks guys, good tips here. I feel dumb to say it but I did not clean the measure before using it and will go back and do that. My only other measure I own came to me used so didn't think of that and of course any residues left from manufacturing could be causing an issue.

I will also confirm that I have the right drum in there, nearly certain I do but could use a double check. Will do another test after cleaning and report my results.

[swamp]

I usually run a hopper thru a new measure after cleaning to help get a coat of graphite. Also good to practice and see how consistent I am.
swamp

[dudel]

That looks pretty similar to the Lee Perfect Powder Measure. In the PPM instructions, Lee recommends FIRST running at least one hopper of powder through the measure to get it slicked up with graphite that coats most powders.

IMPORTANT! YOU MUST DO THIS BEFORE USE
If using the measure for the first time, you must process at least
one hopper full of powder through the measure to coat the nylon
parts with graphite from the powder. This conditioning is important
so static electricity will be bled off. Otherwise, you’ll find the
measure continues to dispense charges progressively heavier.
This need only be done once.

Perhaps that might help with the auto drum measure?

[Silverboolit]

When I got mine a few months ago, I wiped the casting off with at towel and did the dryer sheet to the hopper. I also put in some dry graphite lube into the gear mechanism as well as coating the drums. Haven't had a problem and very consistent.

[Gunslinger1911]

Run powder thru it, and / or graphite; let everything get slicked up.
I think this measure may be a little more sensitive to fluctuations in how you operate your press.
Play with the screw that holds the drum on, I had to loosen it just a tad to get the drum to reset to the same place every time.
I've loaded something on the order of 1500 9mm, 800 45acp, 300 44 mag, 500 357 mag, plus others using this measure. No leakage, consistent drops.

I will add that my take on Lee is their stuff is about 85% engineered, you have to be willing to go the 15 % on your own. And maybe their consistency in manufacturing isn't 100%. Seems around 15% (there is that number again) of people who have reported on the auto drum can't get it to work correctly.

[daboone]

After a thorough cleaning, drying and cycling a full hopper of powder thru the Auto Drum (this one was apparently 100% engineered;)) mine worked very well. The measurements below require the enough cycling to obtain the desired weight except for the IMR 4350. Measurement made off of a 550B.

Unique set for 4.0gr:
1- 4.1gr
2- 4.1gr
3- 4.0gr
4- 4.0gr
5-4.0gr
6-3.9gr
7- 4.1gr
8-4.1gr
9- 4.1gr
10- 4.0gr


Unique set for 10gr:
1- 10.1gr
2- 10.0gr
3- 10.1gr
4- 10.1gr
5- 10.0gr
6- 9.9gr
7- 9.9gr
8- 9.9gr
9- 10.0gr
10- 10.1gr




Bullseye 4.6gr
1- 4.6gr
2- 4.5gr
3- 4.6gr
4- 4.6gr
5- 4.5gr
6- 4.6gr
7- 4.6gr
8- 4.5gr
9- 4.5gr
10- 4.5gr


2400 set for 26.3gr:
1- 26.2gr
2- 26.3gr
3- 26.2gr
4- 26.4gr
5- 26.3gr
6- 26.3gr
7- 26.5gr
8-26.2gr
9-26.3gr
10- 26.3gr




IMR 4895 set for 44.8gr
1- 44.8gr
2- 45.1gr
3- 44.8gr
4- 44.9gr
5- 44.8gr
6- 45.0gr
7- 44.9gr
8- 44.7gr
9- 45.0gr
10- 44.9gr




IMR 4350
(Used the same drum as set above for IMR 4895 but for this time with IMR4350)
1- 38.2gr
2- 37.9gr
3- 38.0gr
4- 38.2gr
5- 38.2gr
6- 38.1gr
7- 37.9gr
8- 38.1gr
9- 38.4gr
10- 38.3gr

[berksglh]

Ive been leery to try the drum. Seems like it would be more user friendly then the disc.

I have had 2 of the auto discs and never had issues like you say. Guess Ill stick with the auto disc and its clumsy setup.

For small pistol charges Ive been using the adjustable charge bar which works nice, but just seen a micro disc option Titan was 3D printing last weekend that may be the ticket for tiny consistent loads on a Lee auto disc. Think he said they were $20 bucks? Not bad, but if you don't already have the auto disk measure....?

Good luck

[ancientriflesmith]

Andy, those here are giving you straight dope. I have used every one of Lee's powder handing devices for years and can't complain about accuracy. I have one of the Pro auto disk measures that had about the same deviation you were getting with all powders. I finally took the whole thing including the rifle through the die charging tube and washed them in the kitchen sink with Dove dishwashing liquid. I got a wad of powder out of the rifle tube. Seems I missed some of the oil left over from manufacturing. After I air dried the assy for a day, I rubbed everything with a dryer anti-static sheet. Then I put about half a tea spoon of Molybdenum DiSulfide in the assy and shook it all around. After that it was the most accurate of 4 auto-disks, and two rotary measures. So I did the same to all my powder handling equipment, even my RCBS Chargemaster which helped reduce static cling to the side of the hopper. One more thing, Green Dot, Red Dot and all flake powders seem to have a small deviation most of the time. Its because the way the powder stacks up in the measure. Take something light and gently tap the measure between throws and/or be sure you repeat every dump with the same amount of vibration and it will work better. Oh! on the Auto Disk, I use the double disk kit and even made a triple disk assy for larger rifle cases.
ancientriflesmith
Retired USN, Life Member NRA, Author, Civil War Historian, Consultant to Big and small screen movie productions

[Moonie]

I found it meters Unique quite well after running a hopper of powder through it. Was loading 5.4gr in 9mm (120TC) and 40S&W(175TC).

[flashhole]

I'm a bit late to the party here but I agree with the advice of cleaning it first to remove the residual oils (I used very hot tap water) then running a couple of hoppers of powder through it to slick it up. The two I have work great.

[Andy]

Well I cleaned it today and retested it but unfortunately had not read the most recent posts first. All I did for cleaning was a thorough wipedown of everything with paper towels and q-tips (which did remove some residual oil) didn't wash it with water/soap or anything.

I only obtained a slight improvement with this (went from 2.6-3.0 range up to 2.7-3.0 range).

How do you guys run a hopper of powder through the whole system easily? The only way I know is to do one charge at a time into a shell casing, is there any way to just flow powder through the whole thing to give it a good break in quickly?

I guess I'll take it back apart and wash it, should have read this thread before I got back to messing with it.

I did confirm that I am using the correct "small" drum.

Thanks for all the help, I'm sure I'll get this sorted out with your advice.

[dudel]

How do you guys run a hopper of powder through the whole system easily?

The only way I know is to do one charge at a time into a shell casing, is there any way to just flow powder through the whole thing to give it a good break in quickly?

Set the measure to dump the largest charge it can, then hold the powder measure over the powder canister, and work the lever back and forth. Dump the powder directly into the canister, not into the case.

It's not easy (or fast); but it is easier than doing it case by case.

[John Boy]

Using any powder measure, I have found that uniform Up - Wait - Down of the charger handle produces more uniform powder drops. If one jerks the handle - drops the handle sooner than other times - inconsistent powder drops will happen. It's like casting for uniform bullet weights - Consistent Rhythm. In addition, the weight of the powder in the hopper has a lot to do with consistent powder drops. So keep the hopper filled at a uniform level

Now, will every powder drop be exactly the same? No not all the time, that's why powder trickler's were invented

[websterz]

Someone mentioned a powder baffle. I have baffles in both of my Pro Auto Discs and it makes a world of difference. My Titegroup charges went from +/- .3 grains to +/- .1 grains. The Auto Drum doesn't need a baffle, it is built in. The drop hole at the bottom of the hopper maintains uniform pressure on the powder in the powder measure body. I believe this is the main reason why the Auto Drum is so consistent when properly set up.