[mtgrs737]

I have two of the metal ones that came with the UCB's that I have on my Mec 600 jrs. I installed them and they work fine. I get very little charge weight variation. I also have two of the read plastic baffles but I have not tried them due to the metal baffles working well. I use them with Clays, and 20-28 and they do help with consistant charge weights over no baffles.

 

[marshal kane]

I bought two of the PC baffles (one to use and the other as a spare) for less than the price of one of the metal ones. Not to say which baffle is better, but the PC works for me helping to keep my powder throws within + or - 0.3 gr. with Green Dot or American Select. I too, am a bit surprised at the poor fit of the threads at the male end although there is no problem at the bottle end. I took the baffle on and off a half dozen times and noted the plastic threads show wear from the metal charge bar housing and the fit is what I would consider "snug". I take my PC off the Mec when I'm through reloading after reading here that the baffle can crack. I'm assuming that the ones that cracked were left on the reloader. If mine cracks either on or off the reloader, I'll be sure to post it.

 

[Skeet_Man]

And I was told it was unnecessary when I came up with this a couple months ago:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=259229

 

[pitted bore]

Ford/Chevy? Belt/suspenders? Blond, brunette, redhead?

I've owned Fords & Chevys. I'm a belt and suspenders type of guy. (I won't go near the last set).

Set up on my old Versamec shown below. (The idea may have come from an earlier thread about baffles.)
--Bob

 

[marshal kane]

If it was me, I'd take the PC off both the reloader as well as the powder bottle when not reloading. YMMV

 

[DrMike]

Pitted... that whole arrangement is simply baffling. Well done.

 

[Duckshoot]

I have two of the grey metal baffles only because I got them both free, one with a charge bar and one from a friend who did not want his. They work very well with some powders like any ball powders(not really needed with these) clays international clays and these type of powders but be warned they work very poorly with powders like 800x and I would imagine blue dot and some of the courser powders. I am just using up a older can of 800x and the power drops were terrible. using a 18 grain charge of 800x I was getting some drops a low as 7 grains. this was with a adjustable bar so i took the baffle off and now my drops are very consistent back at 18 grains. 800x is known for poor metering but I have to wonder if part of this reputation does not come from people using a baffle . The charge of 18 grains is a 20 gauge load and I also use a load of 25.5 grains of 800x for a turkey shooting load in 12 gauge and load these on a grabber that i have drilled out and polished a bushing to drop a consistent weight, this seems to work far better that the adjustable bar for some reason.
the bottom line is use a good scale to check a number of loads before you settle in to using a load full time. I should note that with the grey baffle on the bottom of a half full large mec bottle of 800x you could turn the bottle upside down out of the press and the powder would actually stop flowing.

 

[Zeeba]

I received a new powder bottle from Ballistic Products this morning, and it screws onto the PC baffle with no effort.
Meh. Here I was thinking it was the baffle whose threads were suspect, when it was the bottle at fault. The bottle that I broke the other day is over 30 years old and kinda brittle, but both of the "legacy" bottles were very hard to attach.

 

[bprater]

As Curly wrote above contact Downrange and get a new one for free.

Tangarm -

Sadly, it doesn't do much good to get a replacemnent that is just as bad as the one sent back. Downrange needs to figure out where/what the problem is and fix it, instead of just sending replacements that are just as defective as the what they are replacing! The problem is either a QC issue or a basic design or manufacturing change that isn't readily visable to the end user.

 

[EyeMissum]

Use bottle supports an you'll have no more problems with the PC baffle cracking. I haven't cracked a PC baffle in the 5-6 years I've used them. I have them on 8 Mecs, from Sizemasters to 9000's.

 

[kosmo]

Use bottle supports an you'll have no more problems with the PC baffle cracking. I haven't cracked a PC baffle in the 5-6 years I've used them. I have them on 8 Mecs, from Sizemasters to 9000's.

As much as I would like to think that is the magic bullet, I do have to report that I have not operated my 9000's without a bottle support and have cracked two baffles in the past year.

For what its worth and all.

 

[Curly N]

I maintain that the problem is wear and tear on the molds used to make the baffle castings.

 

[Tangarm]

I am grateful that I have a oldie but goodie.

 

[bprater]

I maintain that the problem is wear and tear on the molds used to make the baffle castings.

Curly -

You are quite probably correct. I don't know enough about plastic molding to have a really valid opinion. But I am convinced that something has changed in the manufacturing process.

And I too am glad that I have at least one of the 'old' style. Unfortunately, I also have 2 of the 'new' ones!

 

[DEG]

Use bottle supports an you'll have no more problems with the PC baffle cracking. I haven't cracked a PC baffle in the 5-6 years I've used them. I have them on 8 Mecs, from Sizemasters to 9000's.

That didn't help me. I have bottle supports on each of my reloaders and still had 3 break in the last few years. I don't even remember the last time I even tilted back the bottles or removed one. I don't empty powder or shot and haven't changed a shot bar or powder bushing in years. They all broke around the thread area of the baffle.

The newer one's do fit the bottle threads much tighter and it seems like the threads per inch do not match between the bottle and baffle. I also think they may have changed their plastic mixture. The old one I have is much a darker shade of red than the newer one's.

 

[pitted bore]

Pitted... that whole arrangement is simply baffling. .

Groan.

I suppose I asked for that.

--Bob

 

[oldreloader]

I had a PC baffle break and emailed Kevin to see if he had any suggestions on how to prevent it from breaking. I didn't ask for a replacement, just advise on how to get better results with his product. I got no reply.

 

[mgcath]

A guy at my club uses a red baffle for powder and gray baffle for the shot. It doesn't make any sense to me, but he swears it works. My only guess is it would only take 30 seconds of a 15lb shot bottle on the plastic baffle before you'd have a true mess all over your bench...

I personally use the gray baffle b/c it came with my universal charge bar and gives consistent throws without any leaked powder.

 

[Skeet_Man]

There is absolutely NO reason to use a baffle on the shot side.

 

[marshal kane]

I had a PC baffle break and emailed Kevin to see if he had any suggestions on how to prevent it from breaking. I didn't ask for a replacement, just advise on how to get better results with his product. I got no reply.

Might try taking the PC off your reloader when not using it. If yours is as tight as mine, there's compression on one end from the charge bar housing and expansion at the other from the powder bottle. If it's left on the reloader, these forces are constantly on the baffle. Just a suggestion, YMMV.