Lee Loader

Maximumbob54 wrote:How is that Smart Reloader powder measure working for you? It looks a lot like a lower cost clone of the Hornady Autocharge.

Yes -- looks very similar, but not having used the Hornady model, hard to compare objectively. The scale seems stable after about a 15-20 minute warm up. It has a much higher capacity than my GemPro scale. It calibrates with 100 gr weights (2x50's) vs a 10 gram weight with the GemPro. Pretty good precision after adjusting the trickle speed. I found the recommended adjustment on the on line video way too slow for my preference. The auto trickle doesn't stop until the target weight is reached. It overshoots by 0.1 grain not infrequently at trickle speeds that make it more efficient than just hand trickling. I will set, for example, 6.7 gr of Unique, accept 6.7 or 6.8 grains, and label the reloads as 6.75 grains. Cross check on the GemPro is consistent. If It overshoots by 0.2 grains, I dump the charge and start over. For more precise loads, I undershoot by 0.1 grain, then manually trickle the last 0.1 grain using its manual trickle feature. The powder hopper is fairly easy to drain with the side port. I have dispensed Unique, Universal, Varget, and H322 powders with acceptable results.

Shortcomings?

The scale comes with no detailed instructions, whatsoever. On line videos are available, but are amateur videos and not that great. Saved load functions are cumbersome but this is offset by a very easy sequence to calibrate, zero tare, set desired weight, then touch dispense. It then returns to zero before dispensing, wont dispense if the zero drifts, and will continue to dispense loads at the set weight every time the pan is replaced on the scale unless the zero has drifted, or the CANCEL button is pressed. The scale seems very sensitive to RF interference. A cell phone, iPad, or laptop on the bench within a foot or two of the scale drives it whacky, but it is obvious when this is happening. The trickle spout centers over the pan, which is good, but it makes weighing a standing case in the middle of the pan impossible. If I weigh empty rifle cases, I lay them on their sides.

Hints/tips: use a foam hearing protector to plug the trickles spout if you want to avoid spillage and use the scale to weigh something other than a trickled load. Replace the supplied aluminum pan with a Lyman electronic scale powder funnel pan



The current price point of $165 is much less than similar other models, for example the RCBS version at $290 (natchezss.com) or the. Hornady at $240, but I can't give an objective comparison in performance, service or warranty issues.

Overall rating: 4/5 stars

TCups wrote:The current price point of $165 is much less than similar other models, for example the RCBS version at $290 (natchezss.com) or the. Hornady at $240, but I can't give an objective comparison in performance, service or warranty issues.

Great review TCups, where did you find it for the $165?

Natchez Shooters supply
NatchezSS.com

You pretty much just described my Hornady Autocharge to a T in that whole write up. As neither the RCBS or Hornady (or really any brand) give you any serious warranty I hesitate to say I would buy any of them for the money they ask instead of now buying the Smartreloader version and saving the money. Thanks for the review!!!

Now here is some irony... Amazon is selling the Hornady for less than the Smartreloader...

And I think it's less than I paid for mine a while back.

Good morning
Possibly a case where they found demand has slacked due to a lower price competition selling the same product for substancially less.
Back in 69 I worked for an outfit named Voice of Music in Benton Harbor, Mich. VOM built record players and radios. The innerds were the same but the outside cabinets were made to order. We shipped to every big name electronics pedler out there. Same inerds.. just a different label on the outside and a price tag .
Mike in Peru

Sounds like good old American competition. At least the Hornady unit would match the other "red" stuff on my bench! Could be that after the buying frenzy of the last year and manufacturer, distributor, and dealer ramp up to capitalize on it, suddenly has dropped off to nothing.

How noisy are these things? Say, compared to a case vibrator or powered trimmer. I'm a little spooked concerning the Hornady product as I've not used the last two things that I purchased with their name on it and replaced them with equipment from another manufacturer. The Cartridge Run Out Gage and a Power Case Trimmer. Actually, I didn't return them but sold them on ebay as I noticed that they were selling them for more than I had paid. The Cartridge Run Out Gage was replaced with a Sinclair unit, it is outstanding. The power case trimmer took another dive with the Lyman Unit. I ended up just keeping my simple Lyman hand crank unit but did sell the Lyman Power Trimmer at a profit as well

I finding out that if I need something that Lee does not offer, I've started turning to Sinclair first.

My Autocharge is fairly quiet. You here the electric motor spinning the gears and that's about it. Trying to type it out it sounds like, "rowr, rowr, rowr..." as it spits out the powder. The beep when a drop is complete is loud enough to draw your attention but not so loud as to make you jump if you aren't paying attention to it. I was reading the reviews on Amazon and I think some of them must ship flawed. Mine has no issue measuring out any type of powder flake, stick, ball, flattened ball, whatever. It has three speed settings so I turn it down for the faster flowing powders like the ball and usually turn it to fast for stick and flake. Flake is the worst one about throwing a bit too much and some stick or extruded has trouble. The flakes or sticks get right to that list tiny couple of tenths of a grain and if you look you will see as it's trying to bump that last tiny bit out the flakes or sticks are building up at the edge and then a clump will fall and the scale will alarm and error out. But it's pretty rare. I've measured out a LOT of Varget, IMR 3031, Trail Boss, and measured out several others in lower volumes like Win 748, Unique, and Red Dot. The Unique was as usual for me the worst one with the flakes building up the most often of any of them causing fail. The smaller flakes of Power Pistol didn't do it at all that I remember. The ball powders like Accurate and Hodgdon/Winchester will want to pour out if the unit's brain can't slow it down fast enough. But that's just the way ball powders are and if used at normal or if needed slow speed then it measures them out more than well enough. I'm pretty sure even if mine broke tomorrow then I would be shopping for another of the same style again in that under $200 price range as it has just been too convenient for making max load data loads. And not once has it gone out of calibration in the few years I've been using it. (knock on wood...)

Very nice review those scale dispensers have always intrigued me but i guess it just me i am old school i just don't trust them. I have to say it would be great just to push a button and get a perfect charge. Nothing is perfect the automatic powder dispensers are about as close as you are going to get.