Lee Perfect Powder Measure not so perfect

A

AL45

New member
I have a Lee Powder Measure that has worked well on all powders I have used except H110 and Accurate No.9. With these two powders, it leaks terribly. Is there something I can do, or is that just the way it is?
 
Yep. Tighten the screw. Usually, this is done in conjunction with adding some graphite inside the drum, so the added tightness doesn't make the drum stick. Or you could get their Classic version made from metal castings rather than plastic. This gets around the tendency of molded plastic parts to warp slightly.
 
Had a Lee "Perfect" Powder Measure, I finally got tired of powder on the floor of my reloading bench. Bought a Lyman No.55 and shortly thereafter, threw the Lee in the garbage.
 
I don't know what your budget is, but if you are throwing powder charges, it is worth it to get a good powder thrower. The RCBS uniflow with or without micrometer adjustment is a decent one for the money.

The plastic parts, tolerances, and inability to snug it down means you will fight this indefinitely.
 
Thanks for the information. Looks like I need to spend a little more money.
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A quality powder measure will last virtually forever so even though it may cost you over $100, it's a 1 time purchase and measuring out powder is a pretty critical operation, so if you can afford it, get a good one.
 
I had the same leak problem with mine. My RCBS Uniflow never leaks but it crunches stick powder like Varget, and it is too heavy for my Lee Classic Turret press. Just got the new Lee Auto Drum snd it is "perfect": no leaking, no crunching and fits well on the turret. Since rhe Deluxe PPM is similar cast metal design I expect it would perform well as an off press measure.

If you get the Uniflow be sure to get the micrometer stem.
 
PPMis far from perfect, but for about $20 its hard to argue with. H110 is the worst powder Ive tried to run through it. Everthing else is fine.
 
Before you tighten the screw, dismantle the drum and clean all the powder crumbles out. By starting over, you have some semblance of a chance to stop the dribble.
I've run thousands of charges of H335 through a couple of these measures and they do need some attention now and then.
 
I have had mine since 1992 or so, never had an issue, leakage or otherwise. It works better than others costing 5X as much.

And I do use AA #9 on occasion.
 
I have had mine since 1992 or so, never had an issue, leakage or otherwise. It works better than others costing 5X as much.
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No matter how cheap or unreliable something is on average, you will find plenty of folks claiming that they have the "anti-lemon". That is, one that functions perfectly all the time, never needs maintenance, and that they wouldn't trade it for models that are better built.

One such reason for this is folks have expectations for performance. Another reason is that someone might, in this case, only be using powders that work well in it while someone else intends to use a powder that doesn't work as well and so there are two conflicting stories.

Finally, when something is made with loose tolerances, sometimes you get the one that works great, sometimes you get the lemon, but the average item is not as good as the average of a higher quality one.

The point is that it is rare to see a uniflow not work or Redding BR powder measure,...my Dillon powder bars work outstanding too.
But Lee is very hit and miss
 
The place the design has always been exceptional is with stick powders. But, again, if you want to spend a bit more and retain that stick powder capability, the metal Deluxe Perfect measure is nice and you can get spare metering cavities for it so you can leave them set up for different powders.

I have two of the plastic ones from when they came out in the 90's and whose only purpose is to go to the range with me and they work well for that in part because of the hopper cut-off adding extra leakage prevention. I wish they'd come up with a screw-on cap or one with an 0-ring to handle that problem at the top end, but big rubber bands do pretty well about holding it on.

I also got one of the new Deluxe units on sale to try out, and it is a whole different thing. Hefty and solid feeling. The bench stand for it is very heavy and stable, too, though I did have to scrape some of the paint out of the hole for the measure before it fit. It uses the same hoppers as the plastic Perfect so they change easily. But the hopper is not anchored to the top in any way and would fall off if you put it on its side, so I don't see it as a measure for range use if you aren't disciplined about using the hopper flow lock.
 
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