digital scales

[Collo Rosso]

Didn't want to highjack another thread, but a comment was made not many have confidence in a digital scale. I'll say I do! Evidently cheap strain gauges (the heart of a digital scale) have come a long way in the last 5 years or so.
When I started reloading I picked up a MTM pocket digital for all of $20. Seemed to work fine as long as the batteries weren't run down. Bought as set of test weights and found that little MTM spot on. After awhile I came across a new in the box Lyman (Ohaus) M5 beam scale. Very nice scale but missed the ease of use of the digital. 2 or 3 years ago bought a Hornady LNL bench scale and it has been flawless. Calibrate and zero every time I turn it on, then randomly weigh a test weight and it's never off.
I'm not alone on this, am I?

 

[GypsmJim]

I have been successfully using an OHaus beam scale for 45 years of reloading. Two years ago I bought an inexpensive digital scale. It sucks!

It shows inconsistent results from drop to drop, plus even if I weight the SAME charge over and over. It won't even show consistent results with test weights either.

I threw it out.

BTW, I am a laboratory chemist that has been using precise scales and balances for 50+ years, so I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. OTOH, maybe the one I bought was just too cheap.

 

[3five7]

I used mechanical scales for years until RCBS came out with their first eclectronic scale. I bought one and have never looked back. I agree that if you get a cheap electronic scale you are extremely lucky if it works correctly. But I and my friends have now used several RCBS electronic scales over the years and have never had a problem with any of them. I use check weights before and after each reloading session and they are always dead on with the check weight.

 

[iPac]

If the digital scale was of good quality and accurate for the use of weighing powder, I could see myself using one.

However, your average digital scales are not the best quality, and often have a +-.02 accuracy. That is too much room when it comes to precise measure of powder in my opinion.

I have the RCBS 10-10 beam scale and use it exclusively. I just set it for the weight needed then adjust the Uni-Flow to throw that charge. It is as quick as sitting a dish down.

I have a digital scale, and tried it before to see if I could get accurate results. Let's just say I would not trust it.

Hey, if you have a good digital though, and it is consistently accurate, then more power to you. It all comes down to what works for you.

 

[BC38]

I don't know about older ones, but I bought a Hornady 1500 last year for under $40 and it seems very consistent. Haven't run the batteries down yet, but it gives very repeatable results and seems to weigh my test weights spot on every time.

 

[forestswin]

Collo Rosso
Nice of you not hijacking that thread.

I guess you are talking about my comment.

First off I would really like to have a digital scale that I could trust.

I bought a real nice Lyman digital with the trickler for $149 when I first started off years ago.

I really liked it until I found out it was just a random number generator.

I found out that it could be off from +.4 grains to -.4 grains.
I sent it back to Lyman (at 3 months old) - they said it was fine - for me to just wipe it off with a rag and anti-static spray.

So I tested it. I have 3 beam scales that I can get to agree on a test weight. The digital sometimes is dead on sometimes not. I would have no clue when its right or wrong for a powder charge unless I compared it to one of my beam scales.

I searched and traded posts with many on this forum in an attempt to find a good replacement. Some had digital scales 10 years and claimed they were always dead on - but they also noted they didn't make them the same anymore. Most said to just use a balance beam.

If anyone has an accurate one I'd like to know about it - but I'd want at least a 10 year replacement warranty.
Hornady only gives a 1 year warranty on their electronic devices.

I do not have to use a scale for too long during a reloading session much anymore. I purchased a Redding 10x Competition Powder Measure and it has a micrometer metering device that I can record settings for different powders - different charge weights. All it takes is a few throws onto the scale to know the powder measure is set-up correctly. I've learned to trust this powder measure.

 

[Fuddster]

I have a Dillon digital scale, about 4 years old. I can weigh the same charge several times and the result will differ. So for handgun reloading I went back to the RCBS 505. For rifle charges which are near 60 grains, I use the Dillon as it seems consistent enough for the bigger drops.

 

[Rule3]

I use a Dillon Eliminator Balance Beam. It is OHAUS and pretty much the same as the RCBS I bought an expensive electronic from the company below but rarely use it.

If folks want a electronic scale the one I see recommended on another forum by folks who are in the know is the :

Gem Pro 250 it has 0.02 grain resolution

30 year warranty should be long enough

My Weigh GemPro 250... with FREE<br />Electronic Interference Suppressor

 

[Twoboxer]

For ~$710 Canadian (~$530 US) the A&D FX120i is a mag force restoration scale that will make you put away the beam scales.

For ~$125, the GemPro 250 is likely the best (known/reported) performing strain gauge scale. You'll need to eliminate fluorescent lights and all other RF noise (and almost anything that transmits), but it can perform fairly consistently. It does not trickle well, however.

Other than that, there are the beam scales. Just my experience, obviously don't know all the scales (other than the above) firsthand.

 

[Bkreutz]

Collo Rosso

First off I would really like to have a digital scale that I could trust.



If anyone has an accurate one I'd like to know about it - but I'd want at least a 10 year replacement warranty.

This is what I use, it has a lifetime warranty. I've had mine for a couple of years and every time I check it, it's accurate. It has provision for battery or outlet power. I've never installed batteries. I also don't use it if my 6hp compressor is running.
My previous scales were the typical (fill in the brand) cheap digital that only used batteries and they were ok if the batteries were brand new. I also have an old Ohaus scale that I've had since the '60s as backup. BrianEnos.com Pro-digital Powder Scale

Edit: looks like this is the same as the Gem Pro previously mentioned. Except this has a lifetime warranty, but 30 years is pretty much past my lifetime anyway.

 

[jkhouw1]

I have the RCBS charge master 1500.. Love it. Fast and accurate and holds zero perfectly.

I also have a cheap battery powered hornady digital scale that came with a kit... Piece of junk, not accurate, doesn't hold zero, doesn't weigh the same charge 2x in a row the same.

Basically with digital scales I think you get what you pay for and if you go sub $100 in the digital scales that isnt much.

 

[AveragEd]

I also have found that inexpensive digital scales can fail to be trustworthy. But I have the RCBS ChargeMaster scale/dispenser combo that I check occasionally with my RCBS/Ohaus triple-beam scale and it is spot-on each time.

However, the small digital scale in the foreground of that photo proved unreliable and went to a landfill years ago. On the other hand, another similar scale that was sent to me as a gift from a company has proven very reliable so you never know.

All you can do is try one and return it if it doesn't perform to to your satisfaction.

Ed

 

[scooter123]

I have a 30 Dollar Frankfort Arsenal digital scale and it is accurate when first turned on and zeroed. However, after a period of about 45 seconds the Zero setting starts to drift. While I haven't spent any time plotting the drift on a graph my general impression is that this drift is in a Sinusoidal pattern, a type of behavior that is VERY typical for electronic circuits. The reason I don't trust my cheap digital scale is not that the zero drifts, it is that I have seen the zero drift by as much as 1/2 grain. That is IMO an amount that might be acceptable in a heavier Rifle charge of 40 grains or more but a bit hazardous in a Handgun charge only weighing in at 4 grains. So, I rely on an old fashioned mechanical beam scale to give me repeatable results and only use that cheap digital to confirm bullet weights or that I've set my beam scale correctly.

 

[Snoopz]

Dillon digital, but have Scott Parker "tuned" 10-10 scales, work great and no complaints/

-Snoopz

 

[caduceus]

Lyman for me, no problem other than rarely utilize because it is slow. I tend to only use when testing new powder and loads, easy enough to cancel and click in new load data, away you go.
I purchased a Hornady progressive press with their powder drop setup and find it to be very accurate, I really like this setup for cranking out rounds.

 

[bluetopper]

I use a digital jewelers scale I bought on ebay several years ago. It has worked wonderfully...measures to .01gr.

 

[fredj338]

I tried a couple cheaper elec scales under $100, pure krap. They Drift, don't hold zero, pretty useless imo. I have been using a Dillon for about 10yrs,always spot on, never drifts. The rcbs is also good as is the upper end Hornady. Suspect anything under $100, see scooter's post.

 

[M1A]

For pistol a beam scale is fine check once and dump away. Small batches of rifle, ok too. Large quantities of rifle it's too time consuming. Dillon digital and a powder trickler was a big improvement. But, the Chargemaster Combo was the answer. Warm it up and it checks out every time. I've had it a couple of years now.
BTW, the fluorescent lights don't bother the scale. Perhaps due to the fact that I changed the ballasts from magnetic to electronic.

 

[Nick B]

Digital Scales, Weight Scales, & Balances. Shopping Made Easy. . Lots of scales .Just search the ones that measure in grains . Gempro seems to be popular .

 

[Huskerguy]

I have a AWS Gemini 20. I double check loads between this and RCBS Beam. I have found the Gemini to be so accurate a tiny dribble of powder shows up. If even a speck gets hung up somewhere it will find it.