Any of you using the Lyman Gen 6? Update

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pyscodog

Active member
Mine has been doing some crazy stuff lately. I was wondering if anyone else is having any problems. Sometimes I have to press the enter button several times to get it to drop a charge, the bushings wore out in just a couple of weeks of light usage. I assume they were worn, the motor acted like it was dragging badly. Then it went from 36.5 grains to 3.5 on its own. With the exception of dropping 1/10th of a grain light some of the time, its usually works pretty good. I called Lyman and they suggested a few things to try and were sending me some new improved bushings. Also said if I continued having problems to send it in for evaluation. We shall see!!
 
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I'm still stuck with I think is the gen 2 model. I had a problem with mine when it was a year or so out of warranty. It would work sometimes and throw different charges other than what you wanted it to. I sent it in figuring if it cost me around $150 to get it fixed it would be worth it. About 2 weeks later I received a brand new one. No explanation of what was wrong with the one I sent in just here's a new one. Can't beat that for CS.
 
I have one of the older models too. It sets on the shelf right now. I considered selling it but just can't let it go. The Gen 6 has no trickle mode and I kinda don't like that but it usually drops charges on the money. Sometimes it drops a little light but you can tap the stem and drop another kernel to the correct charge.I hate to send it in but if I keep having trouble its going back. Its still under warranty I'm sure.
 
The reviews are quite good on them.. I watched a few youtube videos and they seem pretty accurate as any other digital powder dispenser.. You cant program weights to be stored as you can with other brands though.. I don't store data in my rcb knock off I bought 4 years ago any way.. Which is still working great.. Looks like a little bit of work to clean out the powder but not a deal breaker.. I believe there are couple members on here or has them and had good reviews about it..

Dan
 
I was loading some 223 today. I had 20 cases ready to load. Programmed in 26.5 grains. I loaded 7rounds then it threw a 7.5 grain load. Hit enter again and it threw an 8 grain load. Hit cancel/stop, re-programmed 26.5 and it ran the rest without a hitch. I may have to call Lyman.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogI was loading some 223 today. I had 20 cases ready to load. Programmed in 26.5 grains. I loaded 7rounds then it threw a 7.5 grain load. Hit enter again and it threw an 8 grain load. Hit cancel/stop, re-programmed 26.5 and it ran the rest without a hitch. I may have to call Lyman.

Give them a call. They sure treated me very well, beyond what I was expecting.
 
Well, Lyman sent me new bushings that were supposed to be an improved version of the old. Ive had them a couple of weeks but had not installed them yet. I set down last night to load some 260 stuff, got all the brass sized and primed and then started to dump powder loads. I loaded four and the machine stopped. I hit the enter button three or four times.....nothing. Then I cleared the data and re-entered it.....nothing. So, I emptied the powder, cleaned up the machine a little and installed the new and improved bushings they sent me. I then re-programmed the machine, hit enter and it started working again. Loaded four or five more and it quit again. I turned the spout a little by hand and it started running again. After a couple more loads, my load data was gone. Re-programmed again and it ran pretty good for a few more loads then stopped again. I'm done!!! I called Lyman this morning and got a RMA number and its now on it was back to Lyman. There was no problems and they said they would either fix it or send me a new one. Seems like they want to help and make thing right so no major complaints. In todays world everything breaks now and then. I'll give an update when it gets returned.
 
Well the ladies at Lyman sent me an e-mail saying my Gen 6 is on its way back but I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about it. They said they cleaned some fine powder from it and replaced the box and bushings and everything checked out OK. The major problem was it lost the load program after a few rounds. Sometimes it never glitched but a few times you couldn't load five rounds. I know, I can send it back but I paid a premium price for it due to poor shopping on my part and it cost $16 bucks to ship it to them. Getting a little pricey.

 
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Well, the Gen6 was returned, I got it set up according to Lyman.They recommended letting it warm up for 24 hours, which I did. Got ready to load 20 rounds of 260 using H4350. It ran 5 cases and crapped out again doing the same thing it was doing when I sent it in. Now what? Not a happy camper right now.
 
Yet another update. A nice lady named Cathy (from Lyman) called me today and said she was very upset about the trouble I was having with my Gen6. After a conversation and giving me some tips as what I need to do and things to look for I ran a test on the machine. I ran 24 loads with 4 different powder charges and didn't get a single glitch. She said to try the tips she gave me and if I continued having a problem they would replace the machine.

Tips- Wipe the pan and machine off with Window cleaner to reduce static and to keep an eye on the pan weight. If the pan weight changes so will the grain weight.

I'm still unsure why it seemed to loose its memory but until I can give it a good work out I have to assume it was operator error. I do have to give Lyman a thumbs up for customer service. Seems they care about keeping their customers happy.
 
I do too. Its been giving me grief since day one but always thought I could figure it out. I'm not giving it a clean bill of health yet but I am going to use it and see if it holds up. She thought it was because I was using ball powder and not cleaning it good enough but I use very little ball type powders. I ask about it being to close to my computer modem but she said they have a shield built in to protect them from that. No running ceiling fans or wind blowing on it. Its sets on a very sturdy level table. I don't know what is/was going on. Hope its fixed!!
 
I would be curious if you have a bad DC transformer.. If it drops below the volts needed to operate correctly it could cause some issues.. Dan
 
IDK about that Dan. All I can do now is use it and see if it takes a dump again. If it does, I'm going to throw a little hissy fit till the replace it.
 
Loaded 40 rounds today and not a hick up. Looking better! I do know the new powder tray is different than the old one. The stem is a lot easier getting in and out when changing powder.
 
Hows it been running?? I checked reviews and they have gone down hill quite a bit. I am going to need a new one soon.. When I calibrate my rcb knockoff I can put pan on it without weight and it passes.. LOL but the scale works perfect and the charges are perfect also when checked with the beam scale
 
If I clean it with windex every so often, its been working pretty good. Ican't say that I am just super impressed with it but it works.
 
I am confident this Gen6 is my last electronic scale and dispenser. It will be a Harrell's after this one dies. The biggest issue with electronics is that there are just too many ways a device can be adversely affected.
 
I even got a gem pro 250 and I have to re zero to many times with it.. I am thinking about just getting a good beam scale and a small camera and monitor and set that up.. I seen that done and seems to work real well.. You can see the indicator a lot better and not have to strain your eyes.. Well mine anyways.. Dan
 
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