Repaired Lee Auto Drum still leaks

[T-Bird]

I started a thread called progressive press advice back in Jan that drifted at the end to me discussing probs that I was having with the Lee Auto Drum I purchased to go with my Lee Classic Turret press. I sent it back to Lee and I said I would report back on the resolution, (or lack of) when I had time. I listed the repairs they made at the end of the thread, and said that they had returned the press in about 4 days. Well, it doesn't leak IMR 4227 but it leaks AA #5 just as bad as ever. I don't know whether to send it back again or just live with it.

[Silverboolit]

I have one that leaks a little of 296. Not enough to worry about, though. I did prep my auto drum with graphite powder when I got it, put it on the rack gear and on the cones and just worked it some to wear the parts together.

[T-Bird]

I fashioned a powder catcher out of an 8 oz sour cream container by drilling a hole in the bottom and threading the bottom of the auto drum through it and into the extender. I caught most of the powder that spilled from loading 50 38 special and I bet it was 30-40 grains.

[wddodge]

My Auto drum has bee working good so far. I've loaded a little over 1,000 rounds with Titegroup and it hasn't leaked a bit yet. I usually weigh about every 5th-6th charge and they've all been within a tenth of the target weight. I have it mounted on a turrent press and have found that I need to hesitate a bit when dropping the powder. If I go at my normal speed the powder charge will be several tenths light.

Denny

[T-Bird]

haven't tried Titegroup yet, it's not as fine as AA#5 so it might not leak. Lee says this measure won't leak even with fine pwdr that's why I'm perturbed.

[bullseye67]

Good afternoon,
I switched to the Lee Auto Drum when they first came out. I have it mounted on my Lee Load Master. I load 32 S&W Long wadcutters for bullseye with 1.7grs. of Bullseye powder. I have NO LEAKS.....Period. I have loaded over 20K of rounds and never touched it once. Just keep pouring in powder.
I have a second one set up to use on the Lee Turret press. I have used, Trail Boss, HS-6, 231, H4895, IMR3010, Red Dot, Green Dot, LiL'Gun and several others. No LEAKS.....IMR3013 was the worst load to load variance 1.5grs. average. Which is better that my RCBS powder measure averages with IMR3013, and I don't have to "clunk-clunk" all the cases away from the press. All the rest are within .2grs. One thing that does happen with the Turret, that can't happen with the Load Master, is the movement as it turns. I did have some powder spill out when I filled the hopper full. It popper the lid up and a bit escaped. Lesson learned I only 3/4 fill the hopper when using it on the Turret press.
The other day I grabbed the old Lee Auto Disk powder measure. It was all set up to dispense TiteWad for 357 loads with 160gr SWC. I forgot how it leaked powder, or was it always that way,and now it just seems like it leaks? After loading 400 rounds, there were 20-30 flakes on top of the turret and about double the amount on the bench. It is still an accurate case activated measure. All the loads were spot-on the original setting when I weighted every 50th reload.
I wouldn't use anything else. The Auto Drum is the best, case activated, powder measure I have ever used. I would change drums, or adjust the tension on the nut. If that all failed.....I would use a different powder or the powder measure I was using before.

[1bluehorse]

haven't tried Titegroup yet, it's not as fine as AA#5 so it might not leak. Lee says this measure won't leak even with fine pwdr that's why I'm perturbed.

The one I have doesn't leak any powder but that's the good part, after that it just goes down hill. Inconsistent charges (not real bad but a grain or two that can happen at any time) and yes before any one gives me grief about it being "defective", I did send it back to Lee explaining the problems. Upon return (with a list of what they replaced) I did several powder tests with it and no change. I may purchase some new drums for it and see if that helps. As of now it sits in a corner all by itself gathering dust. I know a lot (most?) seem to be having good luck with them, but my experience is such that I wouldn't trust one on a bet.

[jmort]

Drop 10 charges and weigh each one, and then total them all, and then divide by 10, and I bet you will be surprised, not by the accuracy of any given charge, but by the fact that the resultant will be what you were aiming for. Since I do not red-line loads, and I do not shoot in competitions , it is close enough for me, in spite of the fact that it is a +/- powder measure.

[T-Bird]

Mine drops accurate charge wts, but leaks around the drum. On mine, the cup in the drum doesn't align with the throat of the measure., it's off by 1/2 the diameter of the cup. I thought this was the prob. but when it came back, it still didn't align. My main prob is that I use AA#5 for a lot of my handgun reloading in several calibers. I guess I could just use my "fix" catch the powder that spills since it throws accurate charges. I just believe things should work like they're supposed to.

[JohnH]

I love my Auto Drum. I have twelve rotors, eleven for each charge I use and one I use for two different charges. The Auto Drum has radically simplified my life, whether I'm using it on a single stage press on on my Load Master. I hate hearing the OP is having so much trouble. Mine leaked a little initially, but not more than 20 grains total if that much. I also had trouble with the case neck sticking on the expander and causeing a chatter but chamfering the inside of the neck solved that problem. I regularly run Titegroup and Titewad through mine with no issues. I run Red Dot, Unique and 7828 again no issues. I load 32 S&W Long, 9mm Luger, 38 Special, 44 Special and Mag, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 223, 7.42 x 39, 308, 303 British. The thing is a Cadillac in my experience.

[JohnH]

Mine offsets like you describe the cup/drum offsetting. I think this is part of how the measure works, creating a wiping effect in rotation to keep the charges consistant. My question would be how much do you tighten the nut? I tighten mine what I'd call firm but not cranking down on it

[TCFAN]

I have 3 of the auto drum powder measures and I don't know how many drums and have never had any leaks from any of them. I mostly use Bullseye, Unique, 2400, Titegroup, AA #9,#7and 4227....

[bbogue1]

I think the leak comes from the drum and the body do not match. The Perfect powder measure and the drum are similar, but the drum will not work as a stand alone. The voids cause fine powder to collect then spill. I fixed that issue with my Lee Perfect Powder measure as I describe in this post http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?329588-Making-a-Perfect-Powder-Measure-Accurate-and-Stopping-The-Leak Not only did it stop the leak but now evry throw is within 1/10 grain variance of what I want. I load Winchester 231 as my standard load. Consistently I get 3.8 with an occasional error of 3.7 grains for 9mm.

[SARuger]

I have 10 Auto Drums already mounted to my turrets. I use all kinds of powders from fine ball to extruded sticks. All work flawlessly and reliably. Only one powder leaks and only from one drum that's the one on my 357mag turret and only H110, 2400 doesn't leak.


I do several things to my LAD's before putting them in service. I guess I should make a list or a video or something

[T-Bird]

I wiped mine with a dryer sheet in the hopper, cleaned the insides with alcohol as suggested. I am tightening till the knob stops with "normal " pressure. I'm glad to know the offset is apparently normal.

[flashhole]

My experience on multiple forums is - operator error is generally responsible for poor performance of the Lee Auto Drum.

[jimkim]

This works with the PPM and AutoDisk. It should work with the AutoDrum too. Try spraying the inside with graphite or drop out. Put it on thick. Put it back together, and it should mate up after a while.

Sent from my VS880 using Tapatalk

[T-Bird]

Well flashhole, when I sent it back, they replaced a couple parts (listed at the end of my post "progressive press advice), sanded the edges of the drums never mentioned operator error. What error would you be referring to? I'm wide open for suggestions.

[T-Bird]

Jimkim where do you get spray graphite?

[1bluehorse]

My experience on multiple forums is - operator error is generally responsible for poor performance of the Lee Auto Drum.




Oh jeez, come on. What operator error ? The AD is not exactly a complicated piece of equipment, especially after removing the intricate plastic "button" and plastic arm to eliminate the auto-reset. A good cleaning and a couple hoppers of powder run through it and it SHOULD work. Maybe I received a left hand model....[smilie=b:

[jmort]

My experience on multiple forums is - operator error is generally responsible for poor performance of the Lee Auto Drum.

It is hard to admit.

[flashhole]

Over tightening the drum, under tightening the drum, didn't clean the device before using, inconsistent actuation of the drum ... not rocket science for sure but look at all the threads where people admitted doing these things and corrected their actions. Cleaning is especially important.

[T-Bird]

My thoughts exactly bluehorse

[T-Bird]

Apparently, when I sent mine back, they thought it was defective because they "fixed" some stuff. They sanded the drum faces too. Were they supposed to be sanded before it was sold? They were shiny when I bought it. Or was this an attempt to cover for a poorly fitting drum?

[kmw1954]

T-bird I use mine with HP-38 powder and get very little leakage. I get more powder flakes around my beam scale from weighing charges than I do on or around my press. I have intentions of picking up some #5 powder this weekend to try so when I do and actually use it in the drum I'll relate back my experience.

[dragon813gt]

I bought a second one because the first was a complete dud. And trust me, it wasn't operator error. Second one has been working fine w/ no leaks but has only seen occasional use. At the price point I expect there to be poorly manufactured ones. I'd buy another one and go from there.

[jmort]

No doubt there are some Auto Drums that will not function properly. Fortunately most do, as it is a great measure at an even greater/better price. Love the Auto Drum.

[T-Bird]

Yeah, come to think of it, I used it the way they put it back together when I got it back. Used it with IMR 4227-no leaks, AA#5- leaks like a sieve. Wonder if it would help to just buy a new drum?

[jmort]

I have a lot of drums. That might help. The measure body might be the problem. It is easy to spend other peoples money, but for around $30, knowing what I know now, I would get another one. I heard that Midsouth had them on sale for around $21
That is a crazy good price

[dragon813gt]

Wonder if it would help to just buy a new drum?

Tired that w/ mine, no dice. It leaked w/ the two drums that came w/ it and the four additional I bought for it. I have not tried any of these drums in the second one. I guess I should get around to doing that :laugh:

[T-Bird]

Think I may just load up enough .357 for a while, then send it back with the invoice for what they did last time, and see . Give them a chance to make it right -again.

[JohnH]

The idea that this could be operator error is absurd. The only thing the operator does that could affect the sealing of the rotor to the measure body is the adjustment of the keeper screw for the drum. It is as fool proof a system as can be. If it's loose, the drum will be sloppy in it's seat. I don't know if it can be made too tight, I've never tried, but it would be immediately obvious to any but the most ham handed of persons. It would take some effort to screw this up. The operation of the measure is completely automatic and hands free, the rising of the case in the expander die rotates the drum, a heavy internal spring resets the drum. The only cause of leakage I can see would be a mismatch of drum size to body size, and I would think most likely be a machining fault creating too large a drum cavity in the body. Obviously without the gauging available, it would not be possible to know. I hope you find some resolution, for me this has been a tool equal in utility to the old priming tool Lee made before they screwed it up by "improving" it.

[opos]

The Autodrum is the one measure I've never had any problems with...I will say I don't load rifle loads on my Lee Cast Turret (I have a classic cast single stage for that) but all my handgun stuff goes through the Autodrum with no hassles at all..I deactivated the chain/link and glad I did...The Auto Disc was like a hail storm with W231 but nothing dribbles or leaks with the autodrum..I used powdered graphite when I first got it...did a little experimenting with tightness and never an issue since.

[jmort]

^^^
This

[T-Bird]

Exactly, John H.

[1bluehorse]

I just ran a small sample test using Bullseye powder through my AD that I just got back from Lee. Cleaned, wiped down with anti static cloth. Without giving each "throw" I'll just give you the totals, numbers were random.

3- 9.4
6- 9.5
7- 9.6

2- 12.0
4- 12.1
3- 12.2
1- 12.3
NO LEAKS WHATSOEVER


These were done with the measure mounted on a SS press. Weights were from my RCBS Rangemaster 750 and a Lyman D5 beam scale, both were verified with check weights. Would do some more for you but that is just boring as hell. Besides it tells me what I need to know about this measure. It's does O.K. with bullseye. I have others that do better though.

[kmw1954]

Last time I did a test run I ran 50 rounds with a set point of 4.15gr of HP-38. All 50 were weighed on a Lyman D5 scale before seating bullets. About 40 of them were between 4.1 and 4.2 with most at the set point. I had 3 that were just over 4.2 and 6 that were just under 4.1 By my judgment that is pretty accurate.

[T-Bird]

Over the last couple days I loaded about 75 rnds of .357. I collected the spill in my sour cream cup "collar" that I fashioned to fit under the AD. It caught 35.9 grains of spilled #5. The cup works to eliminate the mess, the measure throws are very accurate tho.