I have owned a Pact scale for about 10 years and in the last couple it has started to drift. Sometimes by as much as 1-2 grains each time I try to weigh something. Takes a good deal of rezeroing to finish some reloading. It went back to Pact twice but the problem keeps on coming back so I guess it is time to replace it.
Looking for advice on scales on the market now. I do not reload a lot so it does not have to be built into the powder measure.

I still use a balance beam scale.....I've not found a electronic scale I like.

Be your own judge.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I still use a balance beam scale.....I've not found a electronic scale I like.

Be your own judge.

Ditto.............

I have a dillon scale and it does the same thing. electronics have a teeter or drift due to outside interference. florscent lighting is one of the culprits.
vibration along with temp change and air movement are some others..
10year old electronics could be another.
I use mine mostly for weighing bullets cases and bulk where a grain or two doesnt matter.

Interesting, there is a big 4 bulb florscent light in the room (only light source).
Maybe I'll just kep the Pact for sorting brass and bullets and such and go back to a balance scale.
What are some of the better ones on the market at the present?

Most of the electronic reloading scales at the consumer level boast accuracy down .01grains...

Big deal! thats the same as most beam balance scales...

I tried a couple of the electronic ones and was not impressed...I like to set my powder dispenser to throw just under the desired weight and then top off on the scales using a trickler..

I found that with the electronic scales, I could trickle in some powder and the reading wouldnt change...I' trickle in some more and all of a sudden, the reading would jump .5 to .75 of a grain...

I made some enquiries, and it seems that most electronic scales have built in circuitry/software to stop the zero drifting due to vibrations or drafts ect...basically the scale tried to "compensate" for me adding powder by keeping the reading at zero until a certain threshold was reached and then it recognized the change as genuine and gave a new read out...

If I could find an electronic scale that didn't do this this I would certainly look at them again, but in the mean time, I am sticking to my RCBS 505...

Regards,

Pete

I've had an RCBS for several years and no problems.

quote:

Originally posted by Snowwolfe:
Maybe I'll just kep the Pact for sorting brass and bullets and such and go back to a balance scale.
What are some of the better ones on the market at the present?

Almost all of the good ones are made by O'Haus so they mostly the same.....One exception is Hornady's scale which isn't from O'Haus....it's a fine scale as well.

RCBS is a fine scale!....by O'Haus!...so is Dillon!

I have an RCBS ChargeMaster and think that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread for loading centerfire rifle cartridges and hunting pistol loads. It's too slow for pistol plinking ammo, but that's the only flaw; it takes about 15-20 seconds to measure a load, I'd say.

I have to quote Tony the Tiger on this one: "it's GREAT!"

DITTO on the Chargemaster

I'm one of the Luddites. Having tried an electronic, I quickly dumped it for my old balance beam.

I use a balance beam because I use a Harrells powder meter and work in "clicks".

However, I would take a look at Sinclair International's electronic scale and see what you think.

I will stay with the Ohaus/RCBS balance beam and never needs batteries.

My Ohaus/Lyman M5 was bought in '65. It was dead accurate them and is still so. I was working as an electronic measuments equipment technicial at Cape Canaveral at the time.

I do not trust ANY consumer grade electonic scale and only trust the labratory models if they are recalibrated by a professional lab tech every six months or so.

The electronic powder dispensiing systems are more than just a scale so that may be useful for some. But, the scale itself remains the weak link, and they just don't give me a warm fuzzy feeling at all. (I made a pretty good living for a long time fixing that sort of stuff!)

Does anyone have any experience with the Redding No.2 beam scale? It doesn't resemble an O'Haus. We never hear about anyone using one, but someone has to buy one occasionally. Any caveats?

+4 on the RCBS Chargemaster. Have had no problems at all and when I add a couple of grains the readout changes by .1 gr everytime. Small flourescent light above the scale, no problem.

Won't go back to the balance beam.

I bought the first electronic scale offered by RCBS many years ago,and I have no plans to buy another.It is extremely consistent and much quicker than my RCBS 10-10 ever was.

quote:

Originally posted by Ol` Joe:

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I still use a balance beam scale.....I've not found a electronic scale I like.

Be your own judge.

Ditto.............

Double Ditto roger

quote:

Originally posted by Winchester 69:
Does anyone have any experience with the Redding No.2 beam scale?

I have 2 Reddings that I've been using for 50 plus years. I've succeeded in destroying 2 electronic scales and seldom use my Lyman 1200. roger

Count me among the "old farts" (or the traditional crowd). I use a Harrels measure and set and check thrown powder weights with both a 10-10 and 5-0-5 scale. Yes I check the level of both scales before every session and have my reference weights handy

This set up works for me and I'm comfortable and confident in its use.

Use whatever system YOU are comfortable with that delivers repeatable, accurate results!

John