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Eyesa Horg

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I believe I have read posts here recommending grounding your reloading presses. It was stated that this should be to an isolated ground rod, not the house/power ground. I did this to my equipment quite some time ago.

I was just reading an older article by Abilene ( David Harper ) that said you should ground to the power ground -third hole in an outlet.

My background has always said that all grounds should be bonded together to eliminate different potentials.

 

What say some of you electronic/electrically knowledgeable Pards? Bond or Not to Bond? That is the question.

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I started reloading around 1960,  havent grounded anything yet!  Now if I were in need of grounding some of my equipment I would make it separate from any other household grounding.

Blackfoot

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Well, I load on a Dillon 650, RCBS Ammomaster and single stage Jr. All on the same table,(6x2 1/2). The only time I use grounding is when I use B/P in my 650. Black Dawg used to make a conversion kit for the powder measure. It had an aluminum hopper and a couple of brass internal parts. A small screw and terminal was in the side of the hopper and you were supposed to run a wire from it to the grounding part in a wall socket. I got a 8' x1/2" copper grounding rod from the hardware store, pounded it down to about a foot high by the window . Cleaned a portion off, put a clamp and grounding "cable" (not wire) that we used on the aircraft on it. Covered the connection in silicon , ran it through the window with enough to connect to the hopper whenever I use B/P. Don't use it on the other presses because I scoop B/P. The ground probably doesn't make any difference ,,,,,,,,,, but I feel better. :rolleyes:  YMMV

Isom 

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Never ground non electrical equipment to the ground plug of an electrical circuit. Mistakes have been made more than once with electrical grounds in home wiring. If you want to supply an earth ground to non-electrical equipment then connect it to earth ground with its own grounding rod.

 

Now for my two dollars worth. Grounding your press to earth ground without also connecting yourself and every other piece of equipment to the same earth ground is a waste of time and effort. If your press is at earth potential and you have a large enough static charge built up on your body then when you touch your press you WILL get a spark. I guarantee it. Don't believe me than build yourself a static generator and test it out

 

If you are really worried about the possibility of a spark due to electrical discharge then the only way to minimize that possibility is to conform to the same EDS procedures that industry uses for electronic circuits. ANYTHING less is a waste of time and effort. 

 

This means eliminating all static generators including not wearing certain types of clothing, connecting all equipment to a common point. Wearing a wrist strap or using a heal strap with an approved mat. Using ion generators and humidifiers and all the other industry practices that an approved ESD station would require. 

 

I'll post a couple of videos to give you an idea.

 

I have been working in the avionics industry for 35 plus years and ESD awareness and training has been a reoccuring part of my career for as long as I can remember. 

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Note. ESD approved grounding cables have a safety resistor built into them allowing them to be connected to the ground lug of a properly installed three wire household outlet. DO NOT use anything other than ESD approved connectors and cabling work to connect yourself or your equipment to your homes circuitry. Have a certified electrician verify that the outlet you are going to use is properly installed and connected to earth ground. Have seen more incorrectly installed outlets than I can count. I have also see more than one building where the circuit breaker box was not properly connected to earth ground as well.

Posting the first part of the video here you can find the other three parts on youtube.

 

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Thanks SD, I've seen some video's and had some training on ESD in the past. My concern was with not bonding to other grounds. I do have less static in the powder measures with the ground attached, but have not bothered to use a wrist strap. I've witnessed the black holes blown in a circuit board due to not wearing a wrist strap. I don't have any need to touch power stuff while reloading, just always thought everything should be at the same potential.

I ran a #6 stranded THHN wire to a 10' ground rod outside the foundation from my room in the basement.

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I GND'd my press to remove static build up(I live in the Mojave).

Ran a wire from the press, to a dedicated GND rod with the correct clamp.

Doing this has really increased the consistency of the power throw.

Did the same for my MVA, BP measure.

OLG

 

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I have a bit of ESD experience as well (30 yrs Air Force calibration) and you have to take many steps, as SD has said and shown to really have a true static free environment. Wonder how many static incidents folks have had igniting powder or primers. I have never heard of any, BP or not.

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Strictly a personal opinion.  I PERSONALLY see no reason to ground a reloading press.  I load BP and Subs on a pair of Dillon 650s.  I PERSONALLY have had absolutely NO problems with Static Discharge.  Your Milage May Vary.  Besides, if you aren't grounding to a dedicated earth'd grounding rod, your wasting your time and materials.  In the context of which we speak, in my PERSONAL opinion, you're wasting your time and materials anyway.  Money and time better spent in pursuit of a good Red Ale.

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If you are worried about static electricity one way to get around this is to keep humidity higher, >50%,  in your loading area.

 

 

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17 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

If you are worried about static electricity one way to get around this is to keep humidity higher, >50%,  in your loading area.

 

 

Ah hahahaha, I live in Georgia, my humidity is ALWAYS high!

If powder companies thought the static issue was so great, they wouldn't use plastic bottles. Just a thought.

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7 minutes ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said:

Ah hahahaha, I live in Georgia, my humidity is ALWAYS high!

If powder companies thought the static issue was so great, they wouldn't use plastic bottles. Just a thought.

 

Those aren't ordinary plastic bottles, they're a specific plastic that prevents any static electricity.

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21 minutes ago, Yusta B. said:

Carpet in your reloading area is not desirable.

I am standing on what appears to be rubber matting.

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48 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

If you are worried about static electricity one way to get around this is to keep humidity higher, >50%,  in your loading area.

 

 

That don't happen here, unless it's rain'n.  :lol:

My loading area is my garage.

Low teens to single digit RH is the norm in the Mojave.

My concern was static 'cling' to the PM hopper and the inconsistent PM 'throws' I was see'n.

No issue since I ran the GND wire.

The 'plastic' bottles are made specially for gunpowder/explosives, and does not 'hold' static at all. -_-

OLG

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1 hour ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Strictly a personal opinion.  I PERSONALLY see no reason to ground a reloading press.  I load BP and Subs on a pair of Dillon 650s.  I PERSONALLY have had absolutely NO problems with Static Discharge.  Your Milage May Vary.  Besides, if you aren't grounding to a dedicated earth'd grounding rod, your wasting your time and materials.  In the context of which we speak, in my PERSONAL opinion, you're wasting your time and materials anyway.  Money and time better spent in pursuit of a good Red Ale.

That's because you don't live in a desert. -_-

OLG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Tyrel Cody said:

 

Those aren't ordinary plastic bottles, they're a specific plastic that prevents any static electricity.

I can tell ya this, that plastic (plexi) hopper on my 550C sure does hold some static.

I'm guessin' Dillon knows what's up.

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37 minutes ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said:

I can tell ya this, that plastic (plexi) hopper on my 550C sure does hold some static.

I'm guessin' Dillon knows what's up.

I'm run'n a D/550 also.

That's the press I made the GND for.

OLG

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Any good anti-static spray will eliminate the static charge on your powder hopper.

 

This one is used by picture framers Brillianize

 

If you live where the humidity is very low you should use an balanced ion generator. These are different than the typical air ionizer that people buy for their perceived health benefits.

 

 

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No practical need for grounding a reloading press.  Static does not set off either smokeless or black powder or primers, by experience, and by manufacturer's lack of warnings about it.   Use static-reducing spray or dryer sheets to reduce the powder sticking to plastic hopper problem, if that is a problem for you (it's not to me).

 

Now, steel parts in measures that handle Black Powder - that may be able to find a quartz granule or sand particle in the powder and create a HOT spark that will ignite powder.  So, use BP measures, and don't put dirt or floor sweepings in your powder.

 

A gentle suggestion - Spend your time worrying about something that is a real problem.

 

Good luck, GJ

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13 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Any good anti-static spray will eliminate the static charge on your powder hopper.

 

This one is used by picture framers Brillianize

 

If you live where the humidity is very low you should use an balanced ion generator. These are different than the typical air ionizer that people buy for their perceived health benefits.

 

 

No where in that link, did I see any mention of static reduction. :huh:

The hard-wire GND is permanent and forever.

GJ-I have 'hands-on' experience that in low RH areas like where I live. That press and PM grounding does have the benefit of more consistent charges thrown. 

I'm not concerned about an explosion on the reloading bench from static.......

--------------------

BTW-When I transported class 1.1 explosives, trust me when I say static was very much a concern for detonation. 

Any time we stopped, there was a GND chain on the trailer that had to be deployed. If we entered the special built trailer, there was a 'slap-panel' that we had to touch before touch'n any of the cargo. 

OLG

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14 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Any good anti-static spray will eliminate the static charge on your powder hopper.

 

This one is used by picture framers Brillianize

 

If you live where the humidity is very low you should use an balanced ion generator. These are different than the typical air ionizer that people buy for their perceived health benefits.

 

 

 

An even better option would be to wipe it down with some powdered graphite.  The Graphite is conductive and it will not contaminate the powder.

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