Digital Scales Accuracy

R

Roland Thunder

New member
A few months ago, I bought a Hornaday locl and load digital scale. I also have a RCBS 505 beam scale. The digital scale continually drifts. I can dump some powder the on the pan and it will fluctuate by starting at 4.0 then go to 4.1 then back to 4.0, then 3.9 an so on. It does this even with the clear plastic cover over it. I have turned off the fluorescent light and fan to no avail.

Are all digital scales like this or just the cheaper ones (If you call $80 cheap). The 505 RCBS is much more reliable (gravity doesn't lie). I would spend the money on a better scale if getting a top of the line one would make a difference.
 
Roland, I have both an RCBS Rangemaster 2000 and a 505 beam scale. As you pointed out the beam scale is reliable. I bought the cal weights for it several years ago, and it is always spot on. The digital scale was also, once I solved a problem with drift. It had to do with static electricity build up, per the RCBS tech. Once he fixed the drift over the phone he had me place the unit on a dryer sheet to dissipate the charge. It was thereafter quite reliable. Last week it started drifting again so I am guessing the dryer sheet quit working (very dry right now in AZ, waiting for monsoon to kick in). I am awaiting a call back from RCBS to walk me thru the procedure (didn't write it down last time). Either way, I'd suggest calling Hornady for help. As I recall the tech did tell me that in general digital scales (even expensive ones) are static sensitive.
 
Just to add, digital scales do not like vibration. I'd move the scale off your reloading bench. Let your scale warm up for at least 20 minutes or more. I leave my digital scales plugged in 24-7 and just turn off the display. Stays warmed up and ready to go. I highly recommend buying a scale check weight set to verify the accuracy and give you confidence. Plus the scale should be as level as possible. No experience with your scale. Good luck. I personally would not load without a quality digital scale. My RCBS 5-10 beam scale has been in a drawer since 1994. Keep it in case of power outages.
 
You can buy digital scales as accurate as you want if money is no object. Lab grade scales start around $300-500 depending on the range.

Look up gem scales. My Dad deals gold and silver and has one....not the cheap ones but one like this. But that may be impractical for reloading.

So this scale may be more in your wheelhouse.....and what I use. I have used Check weights, and my 5-0-5 scale repeatedly to verify the results of this scale and it is always spot on. One thing to remember is to rezero it every time you weigh something, and to always place it in the same spot on the tray....but I get very low extreme spreads on my loads so it works for me
 
I use the RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 good scale , double check with the GemPro 250 if your looking for accurate .
 
I have a Frankford Arsenal DS-750, I bought from Cabela's for $20. Given that it's at the extreme low end of price for scales, I can accept a +/- .1 grain drift, but I find that it's quite accurate.

I have a Hornady beam scale as a backup and I find the Frankford digital to be more accurate. The beam scale just doesn't seem to hold a zero for some reason and I have it on a flat surface.

But, if you're thinking that spending $300 on a reloading scale is going to change the drift issue, I'll tell you that even the scale on a RCBS Chargemaster has an accuracy rating of +/- .1 grains.
 
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I use a Gempro 250 which seems to be accurate. For fast weighing when using my single stage press, I use a RCBS 1500 Chargemaster. It also appears to be accurate. I had a iBalance 201 for many years and like it to. But My Weight replaced it with a newer model after it became defective and it wasn't as good as the original so I upgraded to the Gempro 250.
 
I've tested at least a dozen digital scales, now.

Speaking of sub-$100(+):
Very few are accurate to the advertised +/-0.1 gr (or even 0.2 gr for some), most drift substantially, and few can be used to trickle powder safely.


Use the 5-0-5 (verified when needed with check weights), and send the Hornady scale back.
(I have one as well. I only kept it because it's nice for sorting bullets and cases.)
 
any other thoughts on the DS-750?
Walmart has them for around 16+tax with pickup discount.
I don't reload now but who all is using them for reloading?
eventually I want to get into that and price seems better then usual.. or should I wait?
 
I have had the following:

MTM - gone and glad of it, it drifted terribly
Lee balance beam - gone - poorly made
Hornady GS-1500 - OK but it drifts a bit, only use it for general weighing
RCBS 505 - nice but the 1010 would be better
Gempro 250 - the best that I have owned, very accurate and dead on, my go to scale
($120)

As others have said, let a digital scale warm up and keep them away from fluorescent lights etc.
 
any other thoughts on the DS-750?
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I use it to spot check pistol ammo loaded on a turret press. I try to check at least 1 in every 10 rounds to ensure my powder throw doesn't act up. I also use it exclusively for .223 ammo for the sake of speed, and I use it along with a beam scale for .308 and .270. I make .270 ammo that shoots right at 1/2moa, and all other rifle caliber ammo is 1moa or better.

It does drift some during extreme temperatures, but I just re-tare the pan every few minutes. If it gets too bad I will calibrate it and it lessens the issue. Between about 50-80 degrees it's not an issue.

I'm of the opinion that other factors play a much greater role in accuracy than a 1% charge weight variable. This is not just my opinion, my semi-scientific approach to testing this theory has supported it. Even a .4 grain variance (+/- .2) is less than 2% in almost all standard .223 loads. It's around 1% or less in most 308 loads, and definitely less than 1% in .270, 30-06, or other heavy calibers. Of course, a .4 grain variance in many pistol calibers could potentially put you over max load if you are already loading near max anyway. I keep this in mind when developing pistol loads, as I am not under the allusion that my cheap scale is the most accurate out there. But it does work and I can make accurate ammo. YMMV, but this is my experience.
 
As I recall the tech did tell me that in general digital scales (even expensive ones) are static sensitive.
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Interesting bit of info. A few years back I made a small box with a clear plexiglas top to shield my RCBS 750 from the wind when doing range loading. It was impossible to zero because when I would close the top the readings would change. Now I know why.
 
I've heard a bunch of different neg things about digital but I finally got one to weigh cast bullet's on. I've used a beam scale for close to 50 years now and haven't a clue how one could read wrong, unless. Use it with a bit of breeze blowing in and hitting it! Think the weirdest scale I ever used was a friend's olf Lyman oil dampened beam scale!
 
Just another "I us a ___" post. I had no liking for digital scales but 4 years ago I bought a Jennings, well recommended on one of the forums I frequent. It worked well for about a month, then the grain,gram,ounce setting started to vary, bounce around. Soon after that I would have to "re-tare" every time I lifted the pan. I tried to re calibrate it, and I followed the instructions to the letter, but no help (no fluorescent lighting, no static, good power supply). The factory service center I found had closed so the $120.00 Jennings went in the round file. I continued to use my Lyman D5, Lee SS, and RCBS 5-10. about 2 years ago I bought a Frankfort Arsenal DS-750 for less then $20.00, for weighing bullets, and it is consistent and accurate. I compare FA against my beam scales quite often and just recently started using it for powder charges. It is well withing (much less than) .1 gr difference from the beam scales. While I still don't completely trust a digital scale, I'm sold on my cheap FA....:D
 
Ok, there are some techcnail clear ups needed.

If there are no outside factors (solid bench, reasonably steady room temps, no vibriaont ) then what you are calling drift is a damping issue and should not be there. It may take a scone to settle between 30.1 and 30.2 but it should do so.

You have a defective scaled.

Drift is they wander off from setpoint.

The way to counter drift is to note what your scale weight is when you zero it out.

Then you watch it.

What will happen over time (mostly) it will go from 144.7 to 144.8, then 144.9.

When it hits 144.9 (you see that when you take the scale of with a powder change in i9t)
you zero it.

It should then read 144.7 again.

If your scale goes on and weight 144.9 to start with when zeroed (tare) then you need to run the calibration .

They are great things, but they do need some basic understanding and how to keep them working accuracy.

Once you stop the power charge going on, it should steady in on a single number 44.1 say.

Contact Hornady and get it sent back.

I have a three. One is for taking to the range, one is a backup to the auto powder charger and the auto powder charger itself.

The auto powder dispense is not as neat as the auto powder dispenser, but it has a built on trickler and I can load quite fast with it.

No regrets going to digital. Vastly more versatile for a lot of things than a beam and vastly quicker and easier to do odd readings or multiples without fiddling with those scaler parts.

As they are low cost they simply have aspect you need to know about and work with to maintain their accuracy.
 
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any other thoughts on the DS-750?
Walmart has them for around 16+tax with pickup discount.
I don't reload now but who all is using them for reloading?
eventually I want to get into that and price seems better then usual.. or should I wait?
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I had two. First one was good, eventually it went bad. Powder grains got in around the edge.

The second one was flaky from the start, lost receipt, its round filed but not that much money.

I have a Hornady 1500 for the range now, its ok, but I liked the Lyman with the built in Trickler , then got the Lyman auto. None are wasted.

The backup is my go to for weight all sorts of things (is that stray bullet a 168 or a 175?)

As noted, its good to have a backup. The lower 1500 works with the standard trickler .
would be despondent if I had to go back to a beam.
 
RC20, so since Im probably not gonna get into reloading for another year (I need to do some rehab on the garage before setting up a reload area) do you think I should just wait before picking up a scale?, I know they normally sell for like 20-25 off sale.
 
Just had a thought about how to check consistency. Use the check weights to calibrate the scale. Then pick up 10 small objects (empty cases, bullets, shell holders etc) off your reloading bench of various weights and weigh them and record the weight of each object. Leave scale on or off then come back a few hours or a day later and see if you get the same results on those objects. Double check the weight against a balance beam or a second electronic or both if possible
 
I just fixed my RCBS Rangemaster 200 problem with it no longer holding the cal. I wiped it down (all parts: scale, pan, platen, cover and weights) with a fresh dryer sheet. That is supposed to remove any static build up. That fixed the problem. After recaling I used my RCBS cal weights to verify 5 gr and 10 gr cal (10X each). Problem solved. BTW, I always cal and check cal with the ceiling fan off.
 
In about a year or so, I am going to get a good balance beam scale.

As to the electrics, Outside of that Canadian company (for $550 or so) they are all =/-.1 gr. That means there is a .3 gr "acceptable" variation on any given load- what you want, .1 less and .1 more.

I have heard (and heard in person) bad things about the GemPro 250 and use for throwing powder.
 
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