HORNADY LOCK-N-LOAD AUTO CHARGE

[Dangermouse]

With the comments on USA Customer relations this appears to an appropriate time to up date you on my purchase last August from Sinclair's.

In the last month or so I have started re loading after a couple of months dormant. During this time the unit has been sat in dry conditions.
First thing I noticed, and this is because I now realise the importance of getting it spot on, is that it will regularly / mostly dispense .1 or .2 grains over the requested weight.
This requires tipping a small amount back and trying again. I am getting good at guessing this!

I now set the required weight .1 under and this appears to get a better average on the actual weight I want. I have to be careful though to be paying attention to the reading just in case it does get one .1 under.

Messing about is obviously adding to the amount of time it takes to do each round and with the competition seasoning approaching I need to be spending less time loading.

Another common occurrence, is that it will get near to the target weight and then stop. Make a few grunting noises but not actually dispense anything.
I have noticed some small bits of rubber in the thrown powder and wonder if an elastic band rive belt is causing the problems. To get the unit working again I have to add a small amount of powder and it starts working.(This does not confirm my rubber band train of thought). It is like the machine is having a "Blond" moment and needs a gentle reminder as to what it is suppose to be doing.
Again this all adds to the time taken etc.

Lastly and a little concerning,
I have noticed that it has a habit of stopping exactly 1 grain under the required amount. For example, my load this week is 47.5 it will regularly stop at 46.5.
Clearly if I am not paying attention this will cause an under weight round to be loaded and points will be dropped on the day. Not unsafe in this instance but one wonders what could happen for pistol calibre shooters.

All my loading to date has been with Viht 550.

So an email has gone off to Hornady 10 Min's past, out lining the issues and questioning if their is a fix.
My thoughts are that it is a soft wear issue (No I have not messed with it), I will let you know what comes back,

DM

[Sim G]

Got to be a problem with your machine, DM. I have a Chargemaster Combo, they reckon the accuracy is .1 of a grain, but the scale always stops on the required weight set. Rarely does the scale go over and if it does stop short of the rquired weight, it tells you.

I'd imagine like mine, when it gets close to the desired weight, the dispenser slows right down and then trickles the last amount in. Is that where it's failing as the grunting noise and nothing being dispensed....?

[Dangermouse]

Yes, at the slow stage of the cycle.

It has 3 dispensing speeds, Slow - Fast.
I find Fast will on average throw more "ERROR" charges ie more than .3 grains over.
No obvious difference between the other 2 speeds and certainly no benefit to keeping it on slow all the time.

DM

[Dangermouse]

Nothing heard back yet!

A reminder sent and the symptoms explained again,

Fingers crossed that I will at least get a reply this time - perhaps their system was affected by the clocks going forward bug?

DM

[ovenpaa]

Or possibly caught in a Spam filter? It may be worth giving their customer service a quick call.

[Dangermouse]

I have completed Hornadys' own on site forms that you have to populate the boxes that they provide and have received a receipt.
I have also been checking my spam box as their have been a couple of emails that have not arrived,

Calling them on my tariff (sky) is not something that I will be trying too quickly,

DM

[ovenpaa]

There is a number that we use for International calls, basically ring it first and then put the final number in and calls are very very cheap. I will ask the Viking to supply more details, I have no idea how it works, it just does and is very cheap!

[Christel]

I use these people but there are many others online to choose from.

http://www.phonecheap.co.uk/rates.php

It is 1p a minute to call the US.

[Dangermouse]

On 07th April received this message,

Dangermouse,
I’m sorry to hear that you are having problems with your Auto-Charge powder dispenser. I have forwarded your email to the person who handles our foreign warranty orders. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.
Thank you!

Nothing since - another reminder sent today,

DM

[Dangermouse]

Sadly I have come to the end of my Patience with this product and am now investigating if I should send it back through Sinclair's - and get a different product, or to send it back to Hornady and risk having it replaced with another unit with similar problems,

I wonder if they will respond on this occasion?

Sir,

It is now the 30th April, one month since my initial enquiry and I have still not heard back from the foreign warranty person - I hope that they are well.

I again tried to use the dispenser today with continued problems which I know suspect is a software issue. During loading 50 rounds the unit went from consistently stopping around 1 grain under weight to speeding past the required weight and stooping over weight. For the last 30 + rounds I was having 100% over loads.

I am sure that this is not the way in which you expect your machines to perform and it is certainly not to the standard that I expect.
In the absence of a reply from yourselves I will have to contact Sinclair's re returning this unit. Due to the expense and inconvenience that this is going to cost my self I will be asking Sinclair's if it is possibly to purchase a similar product from another manufacturer.

Although initially happy with your product, I am disappointed that it has become faulty before 1kg of powder has been ran through it and I would be concerned about the quality of any replacement. I am also disappointed in not having heard back from yourselves and feel let down by your after market service,

Regards