Digital Reloading Scales DON'T change when you trickle

Im with Gravedigger here. Mine I use in the Kitchen most times. When the wife walks past me it changes a grain or so. Never had a issue with it. I drop a few grains and it changes weight.
Very consistant also. Loaded 100 cases one night and after all 100 loaded I re-dumped them In the scale and all came out right on.
 
Sometimes I just laugh out loud. Resolving with a digital scale is dealing with rounding error. If the scale is single digit after the decimal, you will resolve to +/-.05 grains. So the minimum assumed spread in charge weight will be about a tenth of a grain.

Bart is giving great advice as usual.

And to answer the OP's original whine, my scale is an RCBS model something. It changes readings when I trickle past the rounding algorithm in the electronics. If I trickle too fast it can overshoot.

If it's really important to have that last gnat's ass in weight, use the beam.
 
Greg Mercuro said:
Sometimes I just laugh out loud. Resolving with a digital scale is dealing with rounding error. If the scale is single digit after the decimal, you will resolve to +/-.05 grains. So the minimum assumed spread in charge weight will be about a tenth of a grain.
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That's a different issue than the usual complaint about digital scale and tricklers.

Many folks have reported that they can often trickle on some additional several grains without the scale picking it up - even scales that don't "lock on" to a reading.
Whether it's due to friction or an electronic inability to sense tiny increases, who knows, but it happens.

And, though a given digital scale may read to the nearest tenth grain, it doesn't mean it is accurate to +/-0.05 grains.

Both of those are separate again from a discussion on how consistent powder charges need to be to result in an accurate/precise batch of rounds.
 
Finally... People coming out of the woodwork to support what I've said so often.


I have been warning people about this phenomena for over 4 years. No one ever believes me.

...But, most of the time, I'm warning people that are actively looking for a "cheap" digital scale. They're already set on digital, and already set on "cheap". So, they don't want to face reality and listen to people actually have experience in the matter. :rolleyes:

I'm going to save this thread for future referrals.
 
I learned the hard way about cheap digital scales. I bought this scale
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/43...cale-1500-grain-capacity?cm_vc=ProductFinding
And it was not consistant at all. Using the same check weight, I could weigh it, remove it and weigh it again and get a different reading each time the check weight was weighed and it would drift. Hornady replaced it and the replacement does the same thing.

I then bought this scale http://www.berrysmfg.com/product-i14859-c107-g8-b0-p0-ACC_2000_Digital_Scale.aspx
I have not had one bit of trouble with it. It does not drift. It reads the check weight the same each time it's weighed, and I can trickle powder and it reads the change within a second. I am satisfied with it and I have a RCBS 505 scale to back it up.
 
I got flamed for asking about a similar thing on another thread. I know my progressive will spread 3/10th's with certain powders,
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I've been flamed so much over the years about reloading stuff it's getting hard to laugh very long about it any more. I've often mentally thanked my Mom and Dad for giving me enough asbestos genes and DNA to form a mental barrier from such remarks from people with the adult form of SIDS, not the baby one. What thread was that on?

Two Dillon 1050's were used to uniform new .308 Win case mouths, prime cases then meter IMR4895 in for a new 30 caliber Sierra match bullet that was seated. Charge weight average was 45.3 grains with a 3/10ths grain spread and bullet runout about 3/1000ths. 20 rounds at random were tested in a rifle for accuracy at 600 yards; all went into 2.7 inches. That load shot about 1/2 MOA at 600 and about 3/4 MOA at 1000 across a couple dozen rifles from around the world in a big match that bullet was first used in.

I'm glad I don't have to worry about such a small variance as long as I'm above min, and below max. I guess for workups, it doesn't hurt to get the charge on the nose, but on my progressive, it's almost impossible to get less than a 3/10's variance with some powders.
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If one checks several published load data for a given cartridge, bullet and powder, there's often a 2 to 3 grain spread in both minimum and maximum charge weights listed. Which one will you use as your maximum and minimum charge weights?

Some years ago, two Dillon 1050's were used to meter IMR4895 into new cases for one of Sierra's new 30 caliber match bullets. Charge weight averaged 45.3 grains but had a 3/10ths grain spread. Yet 20 rounds picked at random were tested at 600 yards for accuracy and put all the bullets into 2.7 inches. That load shot about 1/2 MOA at 600 yards across several rifles with different bore, groove and chamber dimensions.
 
Thus Endeth the Lesson

I'm loading 200 rounds for an upcoming match, so they need to be spot-on. I timed myself....RCBS charge thrower and RCBS Beam Scale. 50 primed cases...to...50 completed rounds....throw, weigh EACH and trickle if needed, fill 50, then seat and box. Thirty five minutes. Beam wins.
 
I've been flamed so much over the years about reloading stuff it's getting hard to laugh very long about it any more. I've often mentally thanked my Mom and Dad for giving me enough asbestos genes and DNA to form a mental barrier from such remarks from people with the adult form of SIDS, not the baby one. What thread was that on?
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There are individuals that will read a post and try to help, constructively and with kindness. Then there are those that have nothing to do all day but read through posts to find a flaw just to prove their superiority.
It's very interesting human behavior, heck I'm guilty of it myself sometimes.
But for the most part, I try to help people no matter what it is. Forums, work, life. It's the price of learning and sometimes a kick in the butt is called for.

I load to "go bang". I like to dump mags, with as much control as my skills allow, that's what I really enjoy doing. Does that mean I'll be scaling every round? Apparently for some, I SHOULD be, let the flaming begin. It will be interesting to see who is offended by this statement lol!

If one checks several published load data for a given cartridge, bullet and powder, there's often a 2 to 3 grain spread in both minimum and maximum charge weights listed. Which one will you use as your maximum and minimum charge weights?
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I'm using a powder (700x) that seems to meter poorly at times. I bought 2 kegs of this hedging the shortage. My Hornady does not even list it, Lyman calls for a 4.5 max charge. Hodgon site lists ONE loadout for 115gn fmj which is the same as Lyman. I handloaded 10 cartridges from min to max according to Lyman chart.
Turns out, I really love this powder LOL! Min loads cycle just fine and it burns clean. I set my meter at the upper end, .2 gns below max. Once I figured out how my machine likes to be "stroked", I really started getting consistent throws. With the .3 variance, that would put my minimum at 4gns, still well above published min of 3.1 gns. I can live with that.
This powder check system really works great. Even if the buzzer does not go off, the notch is a good indicator of how high or low the charge is. They claim it's only for "no charge or double charges" but it is way more useful than that.

Apologies to the OP< do not mean to hijack. I'll be sticking with my GemPro, using my beam for backup. Hope that helps
 
Most digitals have a feature that locks in a settled reading. It's not instant, though. The scale has to see the same reading long enough to decide that it has settled. Some scales, like the small battery powered one Enos used to sell, are programmable and you can lock out the auto-shutoff and, maybe, the settled reading lock-in. I don't know. You can often just lightly tap the edge of a weighing pan to unlock it and trickle. Lifting and returning the dispensing pan will obviously do it.

Watch out for metric conversions. Many scales have native metric resolution of 0.01 grams, which convert to just over 0.15 grains, so these scales can skip some digits in the tenths of a grain and need to be perturbed a little further to lose their lock.
 
garyjackso- With my Digital and a scoop I can do better than 2 a minute. I have a assortment of scoops and match them to what I am loading. One scoop a few spins on the trickler and on to the next. I just finished loading 100 rounds for a shoot tomorrow and my Daughter timed me. Right around 20 to 25 seconds per load. Now there are the oops and sun a gun ones I have too that throw it off, but when I get the system going it's over 2 a minute with ease. Although as you know-precision out weights speed always.
 
The cheap scale that I got with my hornady lock and load starter kit does not exhibit this disturbing behaviour you report. I do all my charges by hand.
 
I like working with my 5.0.5., its faster for me and plenty accurate enough for my needs than a digital whether I spend ten bucks or the 5000.00 on the one Bart B. posted the link to....Im a simple man, keepin it simple.;)
 
Sounds like Hornady was smart enough to have the lock-in feature not programmed into their scale. It's purpose is just so people don't see the scale jump back and forth between digits, which isn't useful for handloading.
 
My rcbs chargemaster scale is very sensitive and reacts quickly. You have to watch to not exhale towards it. It'll also tell you when it's stable. I've even pulled old loads and unplugged the machine without re-zeroing and it'll stay the same as what I put in it. Pan is always 154.3 or 154.4 grains no matter what.
 
I treated my self about a dozen years ago to a Pact scale and infarred powder drop, and its been a very reliable combination. Didn't go for the battery model but the A/C job with the transformers. The accuracy of the drop is as claimed, the only thing I do extra is let both machines warm up for about 10 minutes before I begin dropping powder. Takes about 15 seconds to drop each charge.

With a decent magnetically damped scale and dribbler, I could probably load a bit faster but if I am in a hurry, I choose not to reload at all. That chore is my relaxing time.
 
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