Digital Scale?
- Thread starter Overkill777
- Start date
I use a Lee beam scale that came with a kit. I also have a cheap Frankford arsenal like ericuda. The Lee is used exclusively for precision rifle loads. The digital scale serves its purpose checking charges dropped from a powder measure when bulk loading. FWIW, that cheap little scale is pretty darn accurate. It is a little fickle. Sometimes it beginsmto drift slightly over 30 to 50 measures. I just restart and re-tare and its fine again. Seems to be more at hotter temps. I have a check weight. And an alternate scale. It has been worth its purchase price.
Carriertxv
New member
Like rg1 I to have a florescent light above my bench and it is also plugged into the same outlet. I have not had any issues with the battery or 110 volt scales.
Overkill777 there are many who have and use digital scales and have no issue and some that do. Just like there are beam scales that are crap as well. Hornady LNL beam scale is one that wouldn't work for me but does for others. I went through several of them.
The 505 scale that you have is a decent beam scale. Why not keep it and take a chance and get a digital. It's the only way that YOU will know for sure if it will work for you or not.
The $40 Hornady GS-1500 that I have had for the last year or so has been used a lot. The only bad thing about it is you can't trickle with it and shuts off after a few minutes. But for the money I spent I like it better than the LNL digital bench scale Hornady sent me. The new G2-1500 does so they say. I can't speak for the other similar priced ones out there but they are probably the same.
I would never be without either as they both have their place on my bench.
Also a set of check weights is a must no matter what scale you use.
Overkill777 there are many who have and use digital scales and have no issue and some that do. Just like there are beam scales that are crap as well. Hornady LNL beam scale is one that wouldn't work for me but does for others. I went through several of them.
The 505 scale that you have is a decent beam scale. Why not keep it and take a chance and get a digital. It's the only way that YOU will know for sure if it will work for you or not.
The $40 Hornady GS-1500 that I have had for the last year or so has been used a lot. The only bad thing about it is you can't trickle with it and shuts off after a few minutes. But for the money I spent I like it better than the LNL digital bench scale Hornady sent me. The new G2-1500 does so they say. I can't speak for the other similar priced ones out there but they are probably the same.
I would never be without either as they both have their place on my bench.
Also a set of check weights is a must no matter what scale you use.
Last edited:
Sky Master
New member
I've been using a RCBS 5-10 for over 40yrs. I also use a Hornady Auto Charge, but I verify the charge weight on the 5-10. No batteries or power cords needed.
I have a Dial –O-grain that I have been using for years and an old RCBS digital I picked up at a garage sale.
For Christmas the wife bought me an RCBS chargemaster scale and dispenser. It is pricy at 300$ but very easy to use and when loading rifle it is so mindless to get very accurate loads its amazing.
Once set up put the little scope on the scales it automatically dumps. Dump the load into the case and set it back on the scale and long before you have a bullet seated the next charge is ready. Set up takes a minute at most.
When I first got it I used my dial o gram to check the accuracy with 3 different powders and several charge weights for each. Repeatable accuracy was amazing.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/77...500-powder-scale-and-dispenser-combo-110-volt
For Christmas the wife bought me an RCBS chargemaster scale and dispenser. It is pricy at 300$ but very easy to use and when loading rifle it is so mindless to get very accurate loads its amazing.
Once set up put the little scope on the scales it automatically dumps. Dump the load into the case and set it back on the scale and long before you have a bullet seated the next charge is ready. Set up takes a minute at most.
When I first got it I used my dial o gram to check the accuracy with 3 different powders and several charge weights for each. Repeatable accuracy was amazing.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/77...500-powder-scale-and-dispenser-combo-110-volt
First I no longer use my beam scales. They are slow.
Also, I have a lot of bullets driving around and sometimes I need to see what one actually is, a beam scale is only good for a narrow reading, a real pain to slide back and forth, a digital reads out direct and immediately.
Same for bullets, I had some brain dead days and back check loads, fast and easy with a digital and you can find the case that was not right fast (beam, good luck)
You want to sort cases by weight, fast and easy.
Ditto for bullets.
Digital scales are easy, you put your pan on, tare it (zero).
When you take your pan off, it should read (example only) 145.0
That is your cross check.
Most if not all drift, when it reads 145.2 or more Tare it again.
Ditto if it reads 144.8 (some drift is so close that .1 does not make a difference and 3/10 is not a load issue form most calibers)
Best scales in the world need to have eye kept on zero, its easy and fast.
I keep two around, one died, I got 3 years out of it, battery never quit.
So far I have the small ones (Frankforth and a Hornady 1500)
I put the trickle charger next to it and I under load the case, then trickle up to the desired. Almost as fast as an auto dispenser with a bit of practice.
Also, I have a lot of bullets driving around and sometimes I need to see what one actually is, a beam scale is only good for a narrow reading, a real pain to slide back and forth, a digital reads out direct and immediately.
Same for bullets, I had some brain dead days and back check loads, fast and easy with a digital and you can find the case that was not right fast (beam, good luck)
You want to sort cases by weight, fast and easy.
Ditto for bullets.
Digital scales are easy, you put your pan on, tare it (zero).
When you take your pan off, it should read (example only) 145.0
That is your cross check.
Most if not all drift, when it reads 145.2 or more Tare it again.
Ditto if it reads 144.8 (some drift is so close that .1 does not make a difference and 3/10 is not a load issue form most calibers)
Best scales in the world need to have eye kept on zero, its easy and fast.
I keep two around, one died, I got 3 years out of it, battery never quit.
So far I have the small ones (Frankforth and a Hornady 1500)
I put the trickle charger next to it and I under load the case, then trickle up to the desired. Almost as fast as an auto dispenser with a bit of practice.
Tactical Lever
New member
I have both an old RCBS beam and a little red MGN(?) digital, but now mainly just the digital. And mostly just to set my volumetric measure. After that, there is no need.
Started with the RCBS 505 and used it happily for at least a decade. Then Dillon had a sale on one of their digitals and I decided to join the 20th century and got one. It too seemed to work fine for about 10 years. And I will say that if you're going to do a lot of over/under checking of bullet weights, either to decide which of your own castings to re-melt or because you're feeling particlarly anal about matching all those boat tail hollow points for your match rifle loads, then a digital will keep you sane a lot longer than a balance beam.
But my Dillon slowly stopped holding its zero for very long, and when it got to the point where I had to reset it every load or two, I finally went back to my balance beam. Sold the Dillon (with full disclosure) and bought a Lyman #5, just because of what I'd read about 'em. (The 505 is still there as a backup, just in case.) Both scales will move in response to a single granule of Varget as long as I've kept the knife edges and v-notches clean and dust free. With either of 'em, I no longer give much thought to scale accuracy during a loading session - check for zero to begin with, and start weighing.
Now I do have access to laboratory grade gravity, so that probably improves my confidence in the weights I get from the beam.
And almost all of my loads are done on a progressive press, so I mostly use the scale to calibrate the powder measure. The rifle loads that I throw low with a powder measure and then trickle up on the scale are so few that the time a digital scale might save is insignificant.
But my Dillon slowly stopped holding its zero for very long, and when it got to the point where I had to reset it every load or two, I finally went back to my balance beam. Sold the Dillon (with full disclosure) and bought a Lyman #5, just because of what I'd read about 'em. (The 505 is still there as a backup, just in case.) Both scales will move in response to a single granule of Varget as long as I've kept the knife edges and v-notches clean and dust free. With either of 'em, I no longer give much thought to scale accuracy during a loading session - check for zero to begin with, and start weighing.
Now I do have access to laboratory grade gravity, so that probably improves my confidence in the weights I get from the beam.
And almost all of my loads are done on a progressive press, so I mostly use the scale to calibrate the powder measure. The rifle loads that I throw low with a powder measure and then trickle up on the scale are so few that the time a digital scale might save is insignificant.My first scale bought in 1971 was a Lyman/Ohaus with cover and an extra weight (10-10). I would still be using it if the Scale on the beam had not delaminated and fell off. I replaced it with an RCBS 5-10 beam scale.
I mainly use my beam scale to set my Dillon powder measures, and my RCBS Uniflow powder measures.
I have no plans to add a digital scale any time soon.
Just my 2 cents.
Bob
I mainly use my beam scale to set my Dillon powder measures, and my RCBS Uniflow powder measures.
I have no plans to add a digital scale any time soon.
Just my 2 cents.
Bob
Magnetically damped gravity beam scale disadvantages:
1.Susceptible to static electric charges (Keep plastic/styrofoam loading blocks away from the scale) and don't wear nylon shirts or walk on carpet when using the scale.
2.Keep balance beam knife wedges clean and pristine. Gunk can cause the scale to "lock" especially on very low weight measures.
3.Avoid placing the scale in an area prone to even slight drafts. A distant fan in the reloading area is quite sufficient to affect the scale. Heavy breathing near the weigh pan will do the same thing.
Digital scale disadvantages:
1.Uses analog load cells which are mechanical devices that have their own non-linearity based on their construction. How these non-linearities are addressed will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
2.Hysteresis error is seen as the change in load cell output when a known load is reached from a lesser weight as compared to when it is reached from a higher weight. This is caused due to deformation properties of the material used in construction of the load cell.
3.Creep error is the measure of change in measured weight over time. Cheaper materials can result in very large creep values and it may take a long time for the load cell to recover from the deformation.
4.Sampling bias error based upon analog to digital conversion technique. Hopefully moderated by the electronics.
5.Temperature compensation error from the type of load cell used. Probably too expensive to do this right so I would bet most scales use a temperature device (thermistor) to give a quick reference for compensation.
6.Since output signal range is dependent upon the excitation voltage, a gain error will be introduced. Any variation in the excitation voltage can cause a similar percentage of gain error in the measurements. Thus some form of compensation has to be done to account for the change in the battery voltage.
7.A gain error above means an amplifier stage is being used, hopefully a low-noise design. However low-noise does not mean No-Noise so a filter will be needed somewhere. A filter does not eliminate noise. It will try to "average" it out. In most situations this will work out well. Dont use electrical tools near your scale.
8. Did I mention batteries ?
For those curious as to where The Digital scale errors come from, I reference the following:
http://www.cypress.com/file/111801/download
1.Susceptible to static electric charges (Keep plastic/styrofoam loading blocks away from the scale) and don't wear nylon shirts or walk on carpet when using the scale.
2.Keep balance beam knife wedges clean and pristine. Gunk can cause the scale to "lock" especially on very low weight measures.
3.Avoid placing the scale in an area prone to even slight drafts. A distant fan in the reloading area is quite sufficient to affect the scale. Heavy breathing near the weigh pan will do the same thing.
Digital scale disadvantages:
1.Uses analog load cells which are mechanical devices that have their own non-linearity based on their construction. How these non-linearities are addressed will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
2.Hysteresis error is seen as the change in load cell output when a known load is reached from a lesser weight as compared to when it is reached from a higher weight. This is caused due to deformation properties of the material used in construction of the load cell.
3.Creep error is the measure of change in measured weight over time. Cheaper materials can result in very large creep values and it may take a long time for the load cell to recover from the deformation.
4.Sampling bias error based upon analog to digital conversion technique. Hopefully moderated by the electronics.
5.Temperature compensation error from the type of load cell used. Probably too expensive to do this right so I would bet most scales use a temperature device (thermistor) to give a quick reference for compensation.
6.Since output signal range is dependent upon the excitation voltage, a gain error will be introduced. Any variation in the excitation voltage can cause a similar percentage of gain error in the measurements. Thus some form of compensation has to be done to account for the change in the battery voltage.
7.A gain error above means an amplifier stage is being used, hopefully a low-noise design. However low-noise does not mean No-Noise so a filter will be needed somewhere. A filter does not eliminate noise. It will try to "average" it out. In most situations this will work out well. Dont use electrical tools near your scale.
8. Did I mention batteries ?
For those curious as to where The Digital scale errors come from, I reference the following:
http://www.cypress.com/file/111801/download
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
highrolls said:
You did, but a great many digital scales are plugged into the wall. I still recommend using a good, modulated power supply rated well above the scale current rating, which often costs more than some of the scales that are being talked about, but batteries certainly aren't an issue.
Reloaders are a crazy bunch though. Most of the "problems" with digital scales would be valid if we were measuring weight reduction from atomic decay in a piece of uranium. When you're loading ammunition, they're moot.
Carriertxv
New member
Ha ha ha ha Atomic decay best line yet.
michaeldarnold
New member
Wait, you don't hunt with depleted uranium like me?
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
I started out with an ancient Pacific that had served my ancestors well. It would go from light to heavy with a single kernel of stick powder and it found error with different check weights, but I was spending my life with my neck all twisted around trying to get it perfect - of course that's not necessary but when you're young you just got to try. Then i got an RCBS digital which served for many years, but then it had an accident. Won't say any more. Now I'm using an MTM, which I recall being pretty cheap. Uses a pair of AAAs. I worried about it at first, checked it against the Pacific all the time, but not so much anymore, because it's good. I keep it in its box, always take the batteries out and generally treat it like nitro on a hot day. With this, and probably others too, you put in batteries with it upside down, so you want to leave the plastic cover on, so you're not smashing the load cell down too hard.
I bought myself a little Frankford Arsenal scale to speed things up over the scale I got with my RCBS Partner Press kit. I found, as several others have with these small, inexpensive scales, that it can be difficult getting it to settle on some exact weights (0.5gn and 1.0gn intervals) when working one's way up a charge ladder.
0.2gn makes no real difference to me when loading .303 British or .223 Remington plinking ammo at lowish or midscale powder charges, but now that I've started loading 9mm Parabellum (Luger), 0.2gn is a VERY significant fraction of the difference between minimum and maximum. I actually went and bought a better RCBS scale (it was the best my gun shop had that didn't cost a mint) when I started doing serious long-range (600yd) target shooting with the .303 and wanted repeatable accuracy near maximum. Not long after that I moved from Australia to Canada, which meant any whizbang plug-in dump-the-powder-and-weigh-it-for-you contraption of the sort I'd briefly been considering would have been wasted (plug and voltage change, to say nothing of possibly becoming beaten about or deranged in shipping).
If I find myself down at the range or at the cabin and need something portable to double check established loads when using a Lee Loader... well, then the little Frankford might see the light of day again. Otherwise I'm sticking with a beam balance.
0.2gn makes no real difference to me when loading .303 British or .223 Remington plinking ammo at lowish or midscale powder charges, but now that I've started loading 9mm Parabellum (Luger), 0.2gn is a VERY significant fraction of the difference between minimum and maximum. I actually went and bought a better RCBS scale (it was the best my gun shop had that didn't cost a mint) when I started doing serious long-range (600yd) target shooting with the .303 and wanted repeatable accuracy near maximum. Not long after that I moved from Australia to Canada, which meant any whizbang plug-in dump-the-powder-and-weigh-it-for-you contraption of the sort I'd briefly been considering would have been wasted (plug and voltage change, to say nothing of possibly becoming beaten about or deranged in shipping).
If I find myself down at the range or at the cabin and need something portable to double check established loads when using a Lee Loader... well, then the little Frankford might see the light of day again. Otherwise I'm sticking with a beam balance.
Been using an old Lyman M5 for well over 30 years and it has been a great scale. Also have an old RCBS digital actually made by PACT. Matter of fact companies like RCBS never made a scale in their lives much like Sears Roebuck never made a gun. The stuff is all OEM and the guys making them put any name you wish on the scales. My experience with digital is the better ones cost a little more but seem to work better. A few years ago I started using the RCBS 1500 and love the thing.
Regardless of your choice in brand name and features something I see as indefensible is a good quality set of check weights. RCBS markets a good set or look to a distributor like McMaster Carr Supply but get a good set. Before I retired I dragged my set into the plant and had my lab guys run them. You want a good "known" and nothing beats good quality check weights to check your digital scale or balance beam for that matter.
Just My Take
Ron
judgecrater
New member
Electronic or beam is just fine. I have both but use my Pact scale and love it. If you do go electronic just make sure it is a name brand and designed for reloading. Do not get one of the $9.99 Chinese scales that are unreliable junk. If the model you are considering is sold by Cabelas, Brownells or Midway it should be just fine. Make sure it has weights included for calibration.