[rmathis]

PW 800+ experts,

A friend of mine just bought an 800+ largely on my recommendation. Anyway he got the autodrive with the foot pedal. The drive is too fast to be able to reliably stop at the bottom of the stroke to put in the wad, etc. Right now the auto-drive is not useful in it's current state. What are we doing wrong?

 

[likes-to-shoot]

I've had my 800+ for nearly a year and am just getting around to adding the hydraulic unit. Get him used to the machine first then add the Auto-Drive. I'd bet after he gets used to the machine and then used to both he will comment how slow everything works.

Bill

 

[whiz white]

I've had a couple of customers return their Electric-Drives to trade-in for the hydraulic unit for this same reason.

I use the hydro because with the fool pedal I could micro adjust its movements fore and aft simply by tapping the foot pedal.

I've been buying up hydros for this reason.

Whiz

 

[dverna]

You mean I am supposed to stop it to insert the wad??

I keep my foot on the pedal and inserting wads and hulls without stopping most of the time. I use wads that do not have folded over or deformed petals. I really like the DR wads, Greendusters and Windjammers for that reason. Some AA lots are great and others crappy in that respect.

When I "hiccup", I have no problem stopping the unit. He will get better at it with practice.

Don Verna

 

[Didreckson]

Is there no speed adjustment on the electric drive? Seems there should be, and in the P/W video the electric drive the guy is using with the hand control sure did not look too fast. It looked slower than hydraulic to me?

With the electric drive make full rotation, if he missed bottom dead center(?) it still will finish the stroke and seat the primer all the way I would think? Same with crimps at the top?

 

[rmathis]

Thanks for all the replies. No there is no speed adjustment and I agree that there should be some control over speed. Although you dont have to stop the unit at the exact bottom of the stoke to load the wad, it is necessary to be precise since the wad guide will retract pretty quick on the up stroke. The video on the website is slower than what we are experiencing. PW's customer service suggested that we just use our hand to operate the "foot switch" instead of our foot...no really they did. My guess is that it will be easy to slow the motor. Does anyone know (before I take anything apart) if the motor has a motor controller or if it is just voltage controlled for speed? I can imagine a couple of simple fixes.

 

[sliverbulletexpress]

Not trying to be harsh but it sounds like an auto drive won't be any quicker for your friend anyway so just sell it and use the press manually.

 

[rmathis]

I guess it's just the principle of the thing. Short of just sending it back you want to try to make it work as it was intended. It is really not about speed but about effort. The auto-drive and / or hydraulic units just help with fatigue when loading large volumes.

 

[goose2]

I have the auto drive and I wouldn't have it any other way. But then again I like speed. When you get the hang of it it is the only way to go.

 

[Didreckson]

I can't wait to check out the new patriot, assuming I can get one that does not look like a duck hunt leftover. Add the hull feeder, and now you just have to stick in a wad and hit the throttle. Watch the primer of course. I think P/W or someone needs to invent no primer, no powder drop. Maybe an electric eye has to break beam, or no steel in the primer pocket area, no powder drop. Would save cleanup when the machine screws up the primer feed.

 

[headhunter]

Can you use a dimmer switch of some sort?

 

[rmathis]

Yes, perhaps a potentiometer or rheostat (dimmer switch) if the motor is just voltage controlled. Something different may be required if the motor has a controller of some sort as is often used on a servo instead of just an electric motor. I will let you know what I find out.

 

[dverna]

rmathis,

Seriously, it is not that fast. You make it sound like it is uncontrollable when it is not that sensitive. As the wad arm comes back, lift the foot off. After a 100 rounds it will be second nature. I have enough time to place the wad into the carrier and place a shell on the seating post at least 70% of the time without stopping the unit.

If he still wants to slow it down give PW a call. Doug is very helpful. Hopefully a rheostat will do the job but I am not an electrical guy.

Good luck,

Don Verna

 

[skeeljc]

I don't believe there is any way to vary the speed. P/W has different speed units. I believe that they use different gear reduction units to vary the speed.

First I would be sure to verify that your unit has the correct drive ratio (mistakes do happen).

Next I would try the joystick control. I have an Auto-Drive on my 800 Plus with nthe joystick and it is very precise. I can stop instantly for a folded .410 wad petal, back up ever so slightly, and continue without overcharging anything. It seems to me that the joystick control will be more precise than the foot control. Just based on the mass of the two control elements the small joystick will respond much quicker than the heavier foot pedal.

Jim Skeel<BR>
P/W Dealer/Distributor

 

[Ahab]

Let's face it ... some people have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time!

 

[dverna]

goose2 that was funny - Lee Load-all rep.

Jim Skeel has made a good point. I was not aware they had different gearing options.

Don Verna

 

[pullll]

I use the auto-drive on my Spolar reloader and see zero problems concerning speed. I have suspicions that Mathis friend went from a MEC to an 800+ and is experiencing a steep learning curve with the different placement of the components. MECs are just naturally built to run slow. I have loaded 814 shells in one hour with some help keeping the hoppers filled. It took about a year to gain this proficiency and now load around 500 shells per hour during a normal reloading session with no sweat. Your mileage may vary.

 

[AEP]

You could place a diode on one of the hot or netural 110V lines. That should make it run at half speed until you get the hang of it. The motor will make a little more noise, but thats ok.

Andy P

 

[rmathis]

Thanks for the help. Most comments were helpful anyway. I went to investigate myself this evening and indeed the speed is reasonable and the missing ingredient was/is practice.

I still think there is a use for a slow speed setting for troubleshooting or learning. Anyway, I think in a few days or weeks it will be second nature and he will not want it any slower.

Also we added the shell hopper which eliminates one of the stops in the travel and makes the speed less noticable, it seemed to work well. I'm impressed with the loader and feel better about my recommendation now........maybe I will get one one day.