RangerTrace Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 I haven't used my RF100 in the last several months because it consistently give me 1-2 upside down primers per 100 rounds. I could live with that in the .03 primer days, but not at .07+. Not to mention it started having issues getting all 100 in the primer tube without me having to dick with it. I tried all the tricks I've read on here and just gave up and went back to pick-up tubes. I dug the box out of the attic to get it off my bench. Should I send it to Dillon for a refurbish or just toss it back in the attic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrayfk05 Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 Do you have the reostat upgrade on it? If not that would be the first thing I would do. It made mine from being unusable to 1 or 2 upside down primers per 1000, both SP en LP. (With Ginex, S&B, FIoccho, Magtech and Murom) You can still decap and re-use upside down primers, so nothing lost there but some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 1 hour ago, xrayfk05 said: Do you have the reostat upgrade on it? If not that would be the first thing I would do. It made mine from being unusable to 1 or 2 upside down primers per 1000, both SP en LP. (With Ginex, S&B, FIoccho, Magtech and Murom) You can still decap and re-use upside down primers, so nothing lost there but some time. Thats the first time I ever heard you could decap an upside down primer. And yes my RF100 has the adjustable reostat. It's only about 6 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 If there is one trick I have to getting mine to run flawless is making sure it is perfectly level. That and clean. I had Stan at Radio Dust Covers make me a cover for it and that has made a huge difference too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrayfk05 Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 It's a stab in the dark than, 2 most important things (IMO) get it level and make sure the stabilizer plate is correct and tight. Tight horizontally, the space between the tip of the plate and the wall of the RF100. A primer should just be able to pass, no more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 The first time I ever saw an RF100 in the wild, it was at a fellow IDPA’ers house. He was a mechanic and owned his own shop/garage. He had mounted the RF100 to a metal plate. The plate was threaded at the corners for leveling feet. Then there was a bullseye type bubble level attached to the plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Mine is un-level sitting in a tray and so old it never had a rheostat, but runs in the 1-2/K upside down rate which I've got no problem with. I did put it on a dimmer switch to sub for the rheostat and tweak the rejector-arm. Best advice I've got is play with it-- load a tube, dump the tube back in, while watching the primers drop. Fool with the rejector-plate and try again. You'll probably see the upside down ones get in when they're stuck in a line with a bunch of others. This is where tweaking the rheostat and plate can break up the line. (make sure the problem really is them being put in upside down rather than flipping at some other time like being dropped into the press. ) Decapping upside-down primers is a thing, but not a thing you want to do a lot of if you can help it. A Dillon guy once told me the problem is usually not decapping one, it's when you decap a bunch into a jar and then one goes off. I used to gently decap them down a drop tube into a bottle of water because .38 SC brass was worth way more than a primer back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teros135 Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Also, clean the primer pathway (tracks) regularly with alcohol and a q-tip. And here's the big tip that made a massive difference for my RF-100 (small primers). Clean the small blue plastic piece into which the primers drop, just above the drop tube, with alcohol, AND then lube it with silicone spray on a Q-tip. (Some say Pledge also works.) The primers are far less likely to flip over when that part is slippery. Don't get lube on the primer tracks, though - the primers won't move at all. The tracks have to be clean and dry. (Ask me how I know!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 Okay, damn it, y'all are gonna make me try again. Keep in mine, it's been in the exact same spot ever since I got it. The primers just quit moving on me, which caused me to up the juice, which in turn cause more upside down primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furrly Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Sell it if you can get your hands on one of these. Worth every penny!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimase Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 On 7/22/2023 at 9:44 AM, RangerTrace said: I haven't used my RF100 in the last several months because it consistently give me 1-2 upside down primers per 100 rounds. I could live with that in the .03 primer days, but not at .07+. Not to mention it started having issues getting all 100 in the primer tube without me having to dick with it. I tried all the tricks I've read on here and just gave up and went back to pick-up tubes. I dug the box out of the attic to get it off my bench. Should I send it to Dillon for a refurbish or just toss it back in the attic? Sometimes one of the bolts can back out a little, causing it to not work as well. I took mine back to Dillon, and could hardly recognize it when I got back it. It was pretty much brand new at that point given all the parts they replaced. It's been back to being a pleasure to use after that refurbishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99mpower Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 absolutely love my RF100s. I have one in Small and one in large as well.. going through them on occassion and cleaning them completely, and making sure they are put together well, (all bolts tight) makes a massive difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 On 7/23/2023 at 8:11 AM, Furrly said: Sell it if you can get your hands on one of these. Worth every penny!! PAL filler for the win. Works 100% and does it in about half the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 6 hours ago, ltdmstr said: PAL filler for the win. Works 100% and does it in about half the time. they seem to be out of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrayfk05 Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 7 hours ago, ltdmstr said: PAL filler for the win. Works 100% and does it in about half the time. Apples and oranges, with the Pal Filler you have to get all primers same side up and hold it while it is filling a tube. With the RF100 you just dump primers into the bowl and I don't care how long it takes a minute. I bought my Pal Filler from http://www.armeriapatria.it/ and IIRC the make them in batches so they might become available again. You could shoot them an e-mail to check. I think Sarge posted a Facebook page or e-mail adres of the maker of the Pal Filler somewhere. You could also take a look at the DAA PRIMER-PRO Collator, same price range as the Pal Filler but hands-free. It does have some quirks like most DAA products but most are solved or have a work-around. I would NOT recommend the DAA Primafill at all though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 That's the huge win for the RF-100. You dump primers in, press the button, go load 100 rounds with the primers that were in the RF-100 tube while it refills the tube for you. It's like reloading during movement shooting a stage. Saves tons of time versus doing one thing then the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 (edited) I'm not ok with 2-3% (or higher) failure rate with the RF100. If I load up 5k practice rounds, that means I scrap 100-150, or more. And the DAA unit is a cheap, plastic piece of junk. And performance-wise even worse than the Dillon. So, I've had both, and spent a lot of time trying to get them to work as advertised. The RF100 I sold, the DAA was returned. As for flipping primers in the PAL, that takes all of about 30 seconds. Probably less time than it takes to remove the cover screws on the RF100 lid. And I can load 10 primer tubes with the PAL filler in less time than it takes to load them with the RF100. If you like the Dillon or DAA, that's great, and I'm happy for you. But, I've used both and found the PAL to be far superior in form and function. And every person I know who's used one will tell you the same thing. Edited July 31, 2023 by ltdmstr typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furrly Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 100% agree with ltdmstr. I've owned all the primer fillers the market has, sold them all, and nothing compares to the PAL filler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 I do find it weird that you cannot find the PAL. I am not doubting its an amazing product but I have not been able to find them. I have both the DAA Primer-Pro Collator and the RF100. I have used both and find I like the DAA Primer-Pro Collator the most. Once you understand you need to tweak the tension of the screws connecting the bottom plate to the bowl for the primer type, and create a cleaning cycle for it, it works great. I will say the DAA Primer-Pro loves CCI primers as they feed the best. I have gotten the RF100 to work, but find the DAA product works better. I would love to get a PAL as a backup, and for when I could pre-load tubes for loading sessions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 The guy who makes the PAL filler is in Italy. When I bought mine, I sent him an email and he wrote me back and I had it in a matter of weeks. About a year later, I decided to buy a couple more, one for backup and one for a friend, and did it the same way with about the same delivery time. That was probably 18 months ago. Not sure what's up right now, but I'd try contacting Sarge or PAL directly (think his name is Umberto). Another thing with the PAL is it runs on a small electric motor that you can get from amazon for a couple bucks. So, works great, very easy to service, and likely to last a very long time if you just replace the little motor if/when it burns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeg1005 Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 I have 0 issues with mine, periodically it will flip a primer but its rare. Maybe a couple per 1k at most. 3 things I always do...make sure the plastic cap/dish is on it and tighten the bolts finger tight/all consistent. Keep the rheostat on the slowest speed that will fill 95-100primers in the full 2minute run time. Make sure its on a rigid surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TONY BARONE Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 My RF-100 is a book end my Pal Filler loads a tube correctly in 10-15 seconds. Its the Cadillac of Primer Fillers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOGRIDER Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 3 hours ago, Boomstick303 said: I do find it weird that you cannot find the PAL. I am not doubting its an amazing product but I have not been able to find them. I have both the DAA Primer-Pro Collator and the RF100. I have used both and find I like the DAA Primer-Pro Collator the most. Once you understand you need to tweak the tension of the screws connecting the bottom plate to the bowl for the primer type, and create a cleaning cycle for it, it works great. I will say the DAA Primer-Pro loves CCI primers as they feed the best. I have gotten the RF100 to work, but find the DAA product works better. I would love to get a PAL as a backup, and for when I could pre-load tubes for loading sessions. I got in on a group buy here 3 years ago, and have to say the PAL filler has performed flawlessly! Only maintenance was to replace the batteries; and have to say it will fill a tube with Federal Match primers in about 30 seconds. Would recommend contacting @Sarge to see if they are still available; or contact Umberto Pallavicino on FB if you use that form of Social Media............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 41 minutes ago, HOGRIDER said: Would recommend contacting @Sarge to see if they are still available; or contact Umberto Pallavicino on FB if you use that form of Social Media............ Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 I bought one of those Frankford Arsenal Vibraprime things. Hand held. It works great. Can't load primers while doing something else, obviously, but it loads pretty fast and I never get flipped primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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