About to start reloading when....
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2022 3:25 pm
I discovered a couple problems.
We moved to OK from VA back in May of 2020, and I had broken down the loading bench a few months before that and packed it all away in preparation for the move. It all sat in storage for several months until I decided where I was going to have my loading and ammo storage room, and then found the time among the settling in to arrange it, and set up the bench and press. I finally did, but that was that...
I didn't need to load as I had done so before breaking down the press, and wasn't going to be shooting for a few months, until the range got finished. (That turned out to be more than a couple months due to the tale of woe that turned out to be... ) So... Nearly two and a half years later... here we are.
First, I watched the Dillon 550B video I purchased years ago to keep me on top of my game when I had long delays in using the press. I would load for a couple weeks, knock out several thousand rounds in the primary calibers, then not load for six months. The video made sure I set up everything correctly. I recognized my memory wasn't at it's peak any longer and the Dillon CD was excellent.
Boom, got ready to load and the first hurdle... the Electronic Low Primer Warning feature failed. Supposed to scream when you are below ten primers or so...but no SCREEEEEEE. Nope, wasn't the battery because before packing I had removed all batteries. New battery was installed. I disassembled and checked all the contacts. Cleaned them all even though they looked good. I suspected I was going to be ordering a new one, but upon reassembly it worked.
More worrisome? The Digital Dillon Scale wasn't working. No battery installed, but I had never operated on a battery. I suspected a failed power supply, but installed a new 9v battery and ... still dead. On the phone to Dillon and since the thing was twenty years old and had loaded a half million rounds of ammo over the years.... I suspected it had surpassed it's YEAR warranty.
The tech support guy said, box 'er up with all it's goodies and we'll give you credit toward a new scale. Your trade in will get you a new $149.99 scale for $85 once we receive the old one. Send all the goodies, cover, pan, scale, etc. That way if someone calls and says they have damaged their pan, lost the cover, we can send them your old one free. He gave me the authorization code for the return and I got it boxed and to the Post Office before our Ghost Town post office closed at 11am.
I won't be loading the 9mm I had planned on starting on today, but should be up and running in the next week or so, hopefully. I appreciate the good customer service from Dillon. A lot of places would have said, "Twenty Years, toss er and lets get you a new one ordered. How about a 10 percent discount for customer loyalty?" I would have taken it. I'll add the toolhead to the setup once the digital scale comes in and I can setup the powder drop.
I suspect the two failures were caused by the electronics sitting in storage in the Oklahoma heat while the bank played games with our closing date for two weeks. 110 in the shade, and 140 in the Uhaul trucks. We tried to keep them in the shade as much as possible but it's hard to shade two 26' U-haul trucks.
Can't wait to get started on the 9mm.
We moved to OK from VA back in May of 2020, and I had broken down the loading bench a few months before that and packed it all away in preparation for the move. It all sat in storage for several months until I decided where I was going to have my loading and ammo storage room, and then found the time among the settling in to arrange it, and set up the bench and press. I finally did, but that was that...
I didn't need to load as I had done so before breaking down the press, and wasn't going to be shooting for a few months, until the range got finished. (That turned out to be more than a couple months due to the tale of woe that turned out to be... ) So... Nearly two and a half years later... here we are.
First, I watched the Dillon 550B video I purchased years ago to keep me on top of my game when I had long delays in using the press. I would load for a couple weeks, knock out several thousand rounds in the primary calibers, then not load for six months. The video made sure I set up everything correctly. I recognized my memory wasn't at it's peak any longer and the Dillon CD was excellent.
Boom, got ready to load and the first hurdle... the Electronic Low Primer Warning feature failed. Supposed to scream when you are below ten primers or so...but no SCREEEEEEE. Nope, wasn't the battery because before packing I had removed all batteries. New battery was installed. I disassembled and checked all the contacts. Cleaned them all even though they looked good. I suspected I was going to be ordering a new one, but upon reassembly it worked.
More worrisome? The Digital Dillon Scale wasn't working. No battery installed, but I had never operated on a battery. I suspected a failed power supply, but installed a new 9v battery and ... still dead. On the phone to Dillon and since the thing was twenty years old and had loaded a half million rounds of ammo over the years.... I suspected it had surpassed it's YEAR warranty.
The tech support guy said, box 'er up with all it's goodies and we'll give you credit toward a new scale. Your trade in will get you a new $149.99 scale for $85 once we receive the old one. Send all the goodies, cover, pan, scale, etc. That way if someone calls and says they have damaged their pan, lost the cover, we can send them your old one free. He gave me the authorization code for the return and I got it boxed and to the Post Office before our Ghost Town post office closed at 11am.
I won't be loading the 9mm I had planned on starting on today, but should be up and running in the next week or so, hopefully. I appreciate the good customer service from Dillon. A lot of places would have said, "Twenty Years, toss er and lets get you a new one ordered. How about a 10 percent discount for customer loyalty?" I would have taken it. I'll add the toolhead to the setup once the digital scale comes in and I can setup the powder drop.
I suspect the two failures were caused by the electronics sitting in storage in the Oklahoma heat while the bank played games with our closing date for two weeks. 110 in the shade, and 140 in the Uhaul trucks. We tried to keep them in the shade as much as possible but it's hard to shade two 26' U-haul trucks.
Can't wait to get started on the 9mm.