Lee Auto Drum Powder Measure quick review

[DoctorThunder]

Had a few minutes to test out the Lee Precision Auto Drum powder measure tonight. I ordered the powder measure and an extra set of drums from titanreloading on Friday and it arrived USPS today (Monday). They had the best price and reasonable shipping, so happy with the service from them. The measure comes with a large and small drum in the box, and the extra set of nylon drums includes 2 large and 2 small drums. The literature claims you can throw any between 1 and 80 grains with infinite adjustability. The hopper is removable and is the same red plastic material as the auto disk measure.


The metal body seems solid enough and the plastic connecting arm seems to be of decent quality as well. Setup was fairly easy. The clamp knob on the side unscrews easily to release the nylon drum for easy switching between drums.


The drum is easily removed and has grooves on the inside so it's difficult (if not impossible) to misalign.


Inside of the metal assembly


By default, the disconnector button is installed and must be pushed down prior to each charge being dispensed. This is to eliminate the possibility of double-charging a cartridge. This seemed like the cheapest part of the assembly and the most likely to break. I see the usefulness of the disconnect button, but I got tired of the extra step of pushing it down each time I needed to throw a charge.


Lucikly, the disconnect button is easily removed by removing the screw and pushing the connecting rod out to its furthest point. If you want to run this in a turret or progressive configuration, you'll want to get rid of this ASAP.


After pushing the rod out, put the screw and washer back.


After installing the drum, the charge is adjusted by inserting the key into the metering rod and turning in or out. Each half turn is 1/10 grain (.01cc), which after adjusting the rods, seems pretty accurate. Getting the rod dialed in was quicker than I thought.

Prior to testing the accuracy, I wiped everything down with a dryer sheet to reduce static and powder sticking. I loaded up some HP-38 to test my standard 9mm and 45ACP load of 4.2 grains. I dialed the 4.2gr charge in and tested 10-12 loads until I was sure it was consistent. I weighed using a Frankford Arsenal DS-750, which has served me fairly well for the past 2 years. I tested 25 loads, all of which weighed in at 4.2 grains until I got bored with the process. I could have done more, but I felt pretty confident it would continue to throw consistent loads.



Cleanup wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The hopper is removable, so that made dumping the remaining powder a lot easier than the auto disk measure hopper because it doesn't require you to unscrew the entire assembly. I'd recommend keeping an air compressor handy to clean out all of the parts, even if you've wiped everything down with a dryer sheet. Powder will stick.

Overall, I'm really happy with the measure. It allows quick and infinite adjustability, which the auto disk measure does not. I'm pleased with the accuracy and the overall quality and would definitely recommend it.

 

[Seancass]

Thanks for the great new product review! This is very timely for me!

I'd be very interested in knowing how low of a charge it'll throw for you and how consistently it throws that. I almost ordered one today to throw charges down in the 2 grain range. With such a tiny charge, it has to be very precise. I feel like my Auto-Disk would run from min to max in variance, if I happened to have a disk dropping the appropriate charge.

 

[bulletsmith]

I got mine today. Actually I was surprised to see a metal body from Lee. Titan is my go to place for Lee stuff too.

BTW, if you are going to use this on something like a loadmaster, you can automate the disconnect reset by using the provided chain.

 

[Broom_jm]

I've been thinking about getting one of these for a while...thanks for the brief, but honest review.

 

[parson]

Another "thanks" for the review.

 

[DoctorThunder]

Thanks for the great new product review! This is very timely for me!

I'd be very interested in knowing how low of a charge it'll throw for you and how consistently it throws that. I almost ordered one today to throw charges down in the 2 grain range. With such a tiny charge, it has to be very precise. I feel like my Auto-Disk would run from min to max in variance, if I happened to have a disk dropping the appropriate charge.

I'll test this out tonight. My scale isn't a precision scale, but I'll test what I can and post back.

 

[straight-shooter]

I would be interested in a honest review of usage with stick powder like Varget and a fine powder like H335.

 

[DoctorThunder]

So I ran some tests as requested. My scale wasn't extremely reliable. I had to recalibrate frequently due to the numbers drifting. Most measurements were within the accuracy range of the scale. However, I would occasionally notice the tare weight would change between measurements without a case on the surface. The issue could be heat or humidity as well as it was warm in my garage tonight.

Powders tested in picture below, from top to bottom - Hodgdon Varget, Ramshot X-terminator, IMR 800-X



Anyway, on to the numbers. Varget and 800-x did not measure as well as finer grained powders, as would be expected. First test was to determine the accuracy of the smallest load the measure could throw. Smallest I could manage was 1.2gr of Ramshot xTerminator (fine grained). Results are below

Ramshot xterminator smallest load
1.2 Standard deviation 0.0543492976389406
1.2 Median 1.2
1.2 Average deviation 0.0337278106508877
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.2
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.2
1.2

Next test was a stick powder. Varget was the only stick powder I have, so results are below.
Varget
4.4 Standard deviation 0.0795146567945891
4.2 Median 4.3
4.4 Average deviation 0.0561914672216444
4.4
4.4
4.2
4.3
4.2
4.4
4.3
4.5
4.2
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.2
4.3
4.2
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.2
4.3

Next test was a large flake powder, 800-X. This stuff is the size of potato chips and has never measure consistently in the auto disk measure. Results below.
800-x
2.7 Standard deviation 0.0933699561847853
2.6 Median 2.5
2.7 Average deviation 0.0790123456790123
2.6
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.6
2.5
2.6
2.5
2.7
2.6
2.4
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.7
2.4
2.4
2.6
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.6


I think overall, it performed fine. I honestly have a little less faith in my scale as it would frequently drift. I want to double check charges with a manual scale next time. Make of this what you will, but I do plan to retest at some point in the future.

 

[oldpink]

Wow!
Now, that's one well done review.
Lots of data.

 

[Broom_jm]

With all powder dispensers and scales, it is important to keep in mind that powder volume is another critical aspect of safe reloading. In fact, the volume of your case, along with the volume consumed by the amount of powder you put in the case, matters more than the actual weight. It's just more convenient to check volume using weight because quality scales are available to do so.

In the above example, using Varget, the total variation was three tenths (.3) of a grain, but it is very likely that the volume of powder did not even vary that much.

 

[Seancass]

Thanks for the test! I think you've talked me into one of these!

I have a hard time trusting electric scales, I've frequently had experiences like you. Or worse! I learned that static (or something) from latex or rubber gloves would move the scale a whole grain just by putting my hand near it! When in doubt, i double check with a balance beam or triple check with a third scale!

 

[straight-shooter]

On other forums their showing a .6 variance with some of the larger and very fine powders like H335 and Varget. Since I use these two quite frequently in rifle that's unacceptable for my purposes. I had really high hopes for this gizmo but alas I'll have to stick to my RCBS Chargemaster. Many of my chrono results show such a large difference in just a .01 powder variance when it comes to ES, SD and PF.

Why take the time to go thru all the trouble to insure every aspect of my rifle brass is as identical as humanly possible just to throw varying charges in it whether it be by weight or volume.

Plinking ammo, it might be acceptable but let's say I'm near the top limits of the charge. With these powder drops I'm limited to middle of the road without risking going over the top. I don't know folks but I'm not willing to risk it.

 

[DoctorThunder]

On other forums their showing a .6 variance with some of the larger and very fine powders like H335 and Varget. Since I use these two quite frequently in rifle that's unacceptable for my purposes. I had really high hopes for this gizmo but alas I'll have to stick to my RCBS Chargemaster. Many of my chrono results show such a large difference in just a .01 powder variance when it comes to ES, SD and PF.

Why take the time to go thru all the trouble to insure every aspect of my rifle brass is as identical as humanly possible just to throw varying charges in it whether it be by weight or volume.

Plinking ammo, it might be acceptable but let's say I'm near the top limits of the charge. With these powder drops I'm limited to middle of the road without risking going over the top. I don't know folks but I'm not willing to risk it.

I understand your concerns. However, I didn't get anything near a .6 variance, but a +/- .2 grains (.3 max variance) from the median was about the max I encountered, and that certainly wasn't the norm. I will say that I tried to be very consistent in how I processed each throw. I also re-wiped everything down with a dryer sheet because of powder continuing to stick to the plastic components and throwing inconsistent charges. Static seemed to be an issue in my workshop last night (see issues with scale). The manual mentions to allow 1 second per cc to charge the case. Although I was throwing small loads, I always held the handle down 2 seconds per charge.

If you're going for precision, the Chargemaster will be better for that application. It's difficult to strike a balance between speed and precision, and this is no exception.