Digital Scale

[wylie won]

My RCBS digital scale has become untrustworthy. I was thinking about purchasing a Lyman 1500 Micro

Lyman 1500 Micro Touch Scale : Cabela's

Does anyone have experience with this scale?

Recommendations???

 

[2tall79]

I own both the Lyman 1500 and the RCBS 750. The 750 is my most consistent and the scale I reach for every time. I use the 1500 only to double check.
Contact RCBS customer service. They are world class and will definitely take care of you.

 

[muddocktor]

Every time I read one of these threads about digital scales going out makes me glad I've stuck with my old RCBS 10-10 and 5-10 scales. All I have to do is is make sure the knife edges stay clean and sharp on them and the pivots are clean.

As for a reliable digital scale, I have no clue as I don't do all that new-fangled technology. Seriously, get you a decent mechanical scale as a backup.

 

[Rule3]

Look into:

American Weigh Scales GEMINI-20



Amazon has them. Better scale, better warranty. Most of the "reloading" scales by the big names are the same all made in China anyway.

 

[stavey]

Rcbs m-500
For checking the loads or thr chargemaster .
Can't beat it

 

[bigedp51]

I have a RCBS-OHAUS 5-10 Powder Scale I bought in 1973 and it still works fine. The problem with a beam scale is they are slow so I bought a RCBS ChargeMaster that really speeds up reloading.

The biggest problem with cheaper battery powered digital scales is the battery voltage varies. And this causes accuracy problems and variations in the powder charge. And the AC powered RCBS 750 is a much better choice than battery powered scales.

The RCBS ChargeMaster is more accurate than my RCBS Uniflow Powder Measure and much faster. And when loading 100 or more rounds you can't beat the ChargeMaster.

 

[SA1911]

Digital scares are far ore accurate than beam scales. Scientific scales are digital. Pharmaceutical companies (read: immense liability) use digital scales.

I have an RCBS 5-0-5 scale. I trust my RCBS ChargeMaster Combo 1500 a whole lot more.

Google, "Precise scientific scales" and see what pops up.

 

[kbm6893]

Digital scares are far ore accurate than beam scales. Scientific scales are digital. Pharmaceutical companies (read: immense liability) use digital scales.

I have an RCBS 5-0-5 scale. I trust my RCBS ChargeMaster Combo 1500 a whole lot more.

Google, "Precise scientific scales" and see what pops up.

Say what? maybe a super high priced pharmaceutical scale is as accurate, but how many of those are on a reloader's bench?

I used the Hornady digital scale that came with my kit for a short time. It was never consistent. I switched to beam scale and have had no issues.

 

[Rule3]

Digital scares are far ore accurate than beam scales. Scientific scales are digital. Pharmaceutical companies (read: immense liability) use digital scales.

I have an RCBS 5-0-5 scale. I trust my RCBS ChargeMaster Combo 1500 a whole lot more.

Google, "Precise scientific scales" and see what pops up.

HUH?

Comparing a $25 scale to a scientific electronic scale?

Your charge-master WILL shut down at some time. A beam Balance will not.

I prefer beam scales but to each their own.

A really good electronic is the Gem Pro 250
My Weigh GemPro-250 Compact Precision Scale

 

[stavey]

Beam scales have been used for centuries. I have never heard a serious reloader deny the usefulness of a good beam scale. The rcbs measures to the tenth of a grain . With No calibrating. Anyone whos has used a chargemaster knows how some powders clump at the end and fall in -varget - 4064- etc..or with some fine powders accurate 2 the powder will sometimes go over slightly as its stopping. I have a reducing insert and it helps with varget and 4064 etc. However if I'm shooting for groups at distance testing loads etc.... I need them to be consistent each one exactly the same-Here is where the beam scale shines. More as a load checker before a bullet goes on top.
Either way enjoy

 

[SA1911]

HUH?

Comparing a $25 scale to a scientific electronic scale?

Your charge-master WILL shut down at some time. A beam Balance will not.

I prefer beam scales but to each their own.

A really good electronic is the Gem Pro 250
My Weigh GemPro-250 Compact Precision Scale

No. YOU compared scientific scales to beam scales. I wrote that scientific scales are digital. There's a reason that precise scientific weighing is done on digital scales. A scientific digital scale will weigh a pencil mark on paper.

A $25 digital scale will be far more accurate that any beam scale.

Beam scales are old school. Go with modern technology.

 

[SA1911]

Beam scales have been used for centuries. I have never heard a serious reloader deny the usefulness of a good beam scale. The rcbs measures to the tenth of a grain . With No calibrating. Anyone whos has used a chargemaster knows how some powders clump at the end and fall in -varget - 4064- etc..or with some fine powders accurate 2 the powder will sometimes go over slightly as its stopping. I have a reducing insert and it helps with varget and 4064 etc. However if I'm shooting for groups at distance testing loads etc.... I need them to be consistent each one exactly the same-Here is where the beam scale shines. More as a load checker before a bullet goes on top.
Either way enjoy

Beam scales were used for centuries, and smoke signals were used for centuries. Alexander Graham Bell put the hang up on smoke signals. And when digital scales were perfected, beam scales went up in smoke.

 

[Arm]

I've been using a Pact dispenser with the IR scale for many years, very accurate but, not real fast. Key to those electronic scales is allowing about 1 hour of warm up time. When loading with it, I double check it on a Dillon beam scale....always right on. I rarely use the powder drop on my Dillon 650 press, never seems to drop the same load twice. I do use a Redding mechanical powder drop for high volume loading of .38 specials. Also have a RCBS with both drums for backup.

 

[torizus]

Just a thought but...ain't seen many digitals in doctors offices

 

[DWalt]

Even though I have a Lyman digital powder scale, I typically use my Redding beam scale more for handgun loads. I set my Lyman powder measure using it. I typically weigh either five or ten charges (five or ten throws of the powder measure at the same time into the powder cup), then take the average, then adjust the powder measure accordingly. For example, if I want five grains, I set the balance for 50 grains, and then throw ten charges into the cup to see if I am over or under 50 grains, and reset the powder measure accordingly until I am dialed in. Used that way, you can set an average charge weight consistently to a precision of less than 0.1 grains. And I do have check weights I use every so often to see that nothing is wrong with the scale.

For rifle loads, I normally use the Lyman digital scale, weighing individually as the charges are larger. No problems yet with my Lyman scale, which I have used for over 10 years.

For weighing bullets, I use an Ohaus 4-beam lab balance.

 

[Rule3]

No. YOU compared scientific scales to beam scales. I wrote that scientific scales are digital. There's a reason that precise scientific weighing is done on digital scales. A scientific digital scale will weigh a pencil mark on paper.

A $25 digital scale will be far more accurate that any beam scale.

Beam scales are old school. Go with modern technology.

What? You said digital scales which have to be ELECTRONIC

I disagree that cheap arse electronic scales like the China junk from Hornady, Lyman and RCBS are more accurate than a simple beam scale.

A $25 digital scale suffers from static, electronic interference , repeatably, power fluctuation air current, solar flares and EMPS

Yes, they work and can be pretty accurate but they WILL and do die! The cheap digital/electronic are not modern, they have been around for a long rime.

The two I posted are better than the average junk out there.

 

[dave201]

What? You said digital scales which have to be ELECTRONIC

I disagree that cheap arse electronic scales like the China junk from Hornady, Lyman and RCBS are more accurate than a simple beam scale.

A $25 digital scale suffers from static, electronic interference , repeatably, power fluctuation air current, solar flares and EMPS

Yes, they work and can be pretty accurate but they WILL and do die! The cheap digital/electronic are not modern, they have been around for a long rime.

The two I posted are better than the average junk out there.

Amen. Its mostly a relative thing between the two
Mostly relative to the end user
Good digital scales need a power conditioner
Need to be checked for accuracy like a beam
Left on to tune for an hour or so
Kept in a conditioned room
Both have their good and bad
My ole hand crank Ohaus can keep up with the best of em

 

[Kodiakco]

One way to "speed up" a beam scale is to replace the damping magnets with neodymium magnets. It makes a big difference.

Sent from my SM-T377V using Tapatalk

 

[Regaj]

Like a lot of the guys here, I'm pretty old school (I mean, heck, we're here on a website glorifying revolvers!).

That said, I think digital scales are the most important handloading advancement in the nearly forty years I've been doing it. I'm really glad I've got that old RCBS 10-10 scale. It certainly gave yeoman service. But if I never used it to ever again weigh a charge that'd be just fine with me. I can hardly describe how much better the RCBS ChargeMaster is... it's a vast improvement.

The thing is... digital scales don't necessarily respond to reloaders in the way their old beam scales did. And that frequently leads to misunderstandings about their quality and how they work.

One complaint you'll frequently hear, for instance, is that such and such digital scale "drifts," with its calibration going off.

Well, that's true. But what the reloader probably doesn't realize is that the amazing sensitivity of these devices imposes a demand that he never had to deal with before... temperature stability. So having a stable temperature environment and turning on the scale (potentially) many hours in advance of when the scale gets used (or leaving it on all the time) becomes important.

Another complaint is that these scales aren't accurate when trickling charges. Well, that's also true. Sometimes. It's true because the extraordinary sensitivity of the load cell requires that the microprocessor apply an algorithm... basically establishing when the weight has stabilized sufficiently (typically a couple to several seconds) so that the value presented to the user isn't flying all over the place. And that's the same reason that once the scale has "settled" it won't then change the displayed value until it has moved - either up or down - beyond a pre-determined threshold. So trickling can be sketchy unless one trickles at a pace faster than that "how-many-seconds-until-it-settles" value. It requires a slightly different approach.

And, finally, voltage matters. A lot. One could design a circuit that allows a battery-operated digital scale to be accurate. But I'm not aware of any maker that has yet done that. The really cheap battery-only scales are, IMO, junk. They're junk for other reasons than their poor voltage control - but that's at the top of the list.

So if you have a digital scale, give it every chance to do for you what it can do. Plug it into the wall. Put a ferrite choke at each end - where it plugs into the wall and also at the other end where it plugs into the scale. You need the chokes because that little wall wort cable is also an antenna... it picks up RF from your RF-congested bench and sends that along the wire to go with the voltage you're getting from the wall.

As for the OP's question about the Lyman... sorry, I dunno. I can wholeheartedly recommend the RCBS Charge Master Combo (and if your current RCBS digital scale has become untrustworthy I'd be contacting RCBS post haste).

The other two scales I can recommend without hesitation are the My Weigh GemPro 250 and 300. Yeah, they're both made in China. But they're built to German specs. And they have a 30-year/lifetime warranty. They're nice scales.

 

[kbm6893]

No. YOU compared scientific scales to beam scales. I wrote that scientific scales are digital. There's a reason that precise scientific weighing is done on digital scales. A scientific digital scale will weigh a pencil mark on paper.

A $25 digital scale will be far more accurate that any beam scale.

Beam scales are old school. Go with modern technology.

My Hornady digital and another one that I don’t even remember would fluctuate like .3 grains either way each time I used it. I would put the charged pan down on the scale, weigh it, take it off and put it back on and it would move every time.

My beam scale has never moved a hair.

Keep your digits scale if you like. But calling beam scales trash is just ignorant.