I'm in need of finally getting out of the dark ages of the beam scale. What are you fellows' experiences and recommendations on the different brands electronic scales??

Hi Strut

I bought the RCBS unit this past year. It has worked well for me. Price was not bad either. Definitely better than the old beam scales.

I've had an RCBS Digital scale for about 10 years now and it hasn't given me any problems at all. I have heard several people say they have had problems out of the small digi scales from Midway. RCBS gets a thumbs up from me.

Steve E......

I had a Lyman electronic a few years back. In addition to being somewhat erratic, I just didn't like using it compared to the balance beam, so it got the heave-ho. I recently purchased an entire pristine set of reloading gear from a guy who was quitting, and one of the items was an RCBS Partner electronic scale. So I thought I would give it another try. While the scale works just fine, it seems to me neither as fast nor as handy as my old Ohaus balance beam, which may reflect my growing Luddite tendancies. I used both of them side-by-side for a few weeks, then decided that the electronic was just taking up space on my bench, so into the closet it went.

The electronic reloading scale is an solution that is still looking for a problem top solve. I am simply resigned to live out my life in the "Dark Ages".

BTW: If you want to economically try the RCBS Partner scale, drop me a PM and we can do some business.

I have a digital (pact) going on 3-4 years now it worked great for maybe 1 year now every time I turn it on I have to re-calibrate it, plus it losses it's calibraton after 25+ loads only a 1/2 to 1 gr then I have to reset it.

Now I'm back to my old 10-10 RCBS that never fails and is always accurate with a life time warrenty.

I still use the Digital for spot checking shotshells and sorting bullets.

When there working right there GREAT, would I buy another most likely but only if it had a min. 3 year warrenty but most only have like 90 days to 1 year.

I got out of the darkages a few years ago and went electronic; RCBS to be exact. Groups on my main rifle went to hell. After much dinking around, I went back the the 1010 extrapulating that since the scale was the only thing different, that had to be the problem. My old 1010 settled my groups back to where they always were. Then I tried the Lyman scale that's a balance beam with an electic motor that fills the pan and an electric eye that that shuts the auger off when the scale balances. Another disaster. I took the Lyman apart and am in the process of making it a manual scale where I turn the augers on and off by hand. I've had it with electronic scales. I'm going to rely on good old gravity.

I'm still using a balanced beam scale and can't find any reason at all to change.

I think about changing to electronic scales every few years until I see a post like this, then I just go back to using the old 5-0-5 that I've been using since 1983

Electronic scales are NOT for me. I'll stick with my 10-10.

RCBS 1500 Combo unit.

"Opinions on Electronic scales?"

Well, let's see.... You know those Corona commercials where the fella sticks his cell phone under the wobbly table....My thoughts exactly

I don't see anything wrong w/ a fella using the electronic scales, they just aren't my cup of tea. They can be a real PITA when trying to trickle those last few grains of powder where a good beam scale can't be beat IMO.

OTOH, a digital is darn handy for seperating brass and bullets.

Good Luck

Reloader

Being an electronic engineer in the measurement business, I will never use an electronic scale for reloading.

I have given thought to the probability of failure versus the consequence of failure and I won't use one.

I am an analytical chemist by training. I bought a Lyman electronic scale a decade or so ago. I use the transformer power supply and let it warm up for a half hour or so while I set up the shop, and use check weights regularly.

Has been a genuine blessing all these many years. I would not reload without it.

I'm with Steve, RCBS 1500 combo is sweet. I really like electronic scales, I have several, including a laboratory grade digital that I use to confirm other scales etc., I don't have any issues with accuracy at all. They are faster in my experience, and I can trickle my loads to .10 without issues.

I run enough checks and balances when I reload, that I am not concerned about a misload due to a scale error, but I don't reload pistol ammo, just rifle cases where a double charge, or even significant overcharge is easily noticeable when I perform the 'flashlight' check before seating bullets.

Good Luck--Don

Stonecreek:

Pm me about that closet filler, ok??

Back about 1960 I bought a new Ohaus for $20 that I still use. Almost all these yrs it's weighed 90% or more of my rifle loads and every 5 or 10th of the thousands of pistol loads I burn.
It's the very same scale as the RCBS 10-10, only much older.

I'd like very much to "TRY" an electronic scale just to see how they work and whether they'd be any true help to me or not.

So far, this fairly well shows most of us agree on balance beams don't it? Surprizing to me as I expected just the opposite.

Wish you well with getting safe loads,

George

I started out with the Lee balance beam enough said on that.

I bought a Dillion D-Terminator, this was a great unit but I upgraded to a Lyman DPS1200 combined dispencer / weight, the D-termintor and Lyman were reading the same were comparing a load.
I used the DPS until a few weeks ago until it started doing very strange things (over dispencing powder).

I have gone now with a RCBS Chargemaster Combo, I like the unit very much. I use this all the time.

Glen

quote:

Originally posted by Strut10:
I'm in need of finally getting out of the dark ages of the beam scale. What are you fellows' experiences and recommendations on the different brands electronic scales??

Had a PACT for over 10-years... can't imagine life without it.

I bought the first electronic scale sold by RCBS many years ago.It is just as accurate as my 10-10 beam and much quicker.I now use only the electronic scale for all of my weighing.

I use beam scales (10-10) to insure my powder charge is the proper wgt and a digital (pact) for finding the unknown wgt of an object.

I`ve had problems a time or two with the digital but never with the beam...........

This place just gets curiouser and curiouser.

Maybe it's a good illustration of the fact that responses are determined by the way one phrases the question, but... if you go back about five pages, you'll see a thread asking for brand preferences of digital dispensers.

Seems like that thread, an overwhelming number of owners admitted how ga-ga they are over the RCBS Chargemaster 1500.

Oh well.

flaco

quote:

Originally posted by Ol` Joe:
I use beam scales (10-10) to insure my powder charge is the proper wgt and a digital (pact) for finding the unknown wgt of an object.

I`ve had problems a time or two with the digital but never with the beam...........

I use my PACT like Joe. I find it is susceptible to drafts if my shops ambient temperature is not near the outside temperature. For 99% of my loading I'm still using my RCBS 5-10.

My first digital scale was an RCBS micro pro. I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. It always went on the blink and needed reset. However in the last year I bought the Lyman powder dispenser the 1200DPS and absolutly love it. I always give it the half hour warm it is recomends and my rifles shoot as good as they ever did when useing a beam scale only I can load much faster.
I hear the RCBS unit is faster but Grafs had such a good deal on the Lyman I went with it and have no complaints.

I have the New RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Combo… I love it. I had the old RCBS combo for 2 -3 years and it was ok.. but the scale drifted and needed to be recalibrated often.
The new ChargeMaster is VERY stable, I use check weights often (every 5 rounds) and rarely need to recalibrate. It is also faster than the old model, but I never found the old model to be too slow…

I bought the RCBS powder pro,(made by pact), about 9 years ago. At first I confirmed weights on my old standby Ohaus beam scale, but after it agreed with the electronic every time, I gave it away!

Since then, I got the pact dispensor, I'm very satisfied with both! It's so much faster than fiddeling with sliding weights, or turning a drum to find an unknown weight. Then the craneing the neck to determine if the pointer IS actually lined up with the zero mark!

A beam scale HAS to be kept clean too. It should be covered to keep dust out of the ballance/ knife edge point.

A quick wipe of the platform on the electronic scale and a run through with the check weights takes less time than finding something to clean the knife edge pivot point on a ballance beam.

I have a Lyman1200 , RCBS 1500, and the New Pact unit. I rate the RCBS #1 by far, The Lyman #2 and the PACT #3.

Issues: RCBS= not as easy to clean as the Lyman
Lyman= air currents and stray electrical signals(cell phones) tend to make it drift a lot.
PACT= wind drift and powder bridging in the tube.

RCBS and PACT have the best gurantee in the business, a fact that Lyman could learn from. I have compared all three at the same time and even pulled out my RCBS 10-10 scale and the results are always the same. The RCBS is the fastest by far, the Lyman next followed by the new Pact unit.

Two of the best gifts I have been given by friends were a set of check weights made and a trigger pull gauge by RCBS. With any electronic scale, I calibrate prior to first use of the day and I check various check weights throughout the loading session which can lastt 5-10 hours at a time. If you are loading and you plop a 100 gr. test weight in the scale pan and it weighs 100 gr. then stuff is OK. I do this every 10 rounds as it takes a fraction of a second. I use a different weight on each check. This is the fastest, smartest, easisy technique I can think of . By the way, I have kept the PACT for Nostalgia, and the Lyman for backup.

I use the RCBS combo also and like the way it performs.
bigbull

I never weigh charges except to set the measure when working up loads. I can't see where an electronic scale would be any help to me as I'm still using the Redding scale I started with over 30 years ago. I never leave it set up so the knife edges get dirty or rounded, it will will be within .1 grains with a 1 oz. check weight.

I have the Rangemaster 750 for a few months now and have developed confidence in using it. I first started using both the old 505 and the 750 side by side and eventually dropped the 505 scale.

I like it so far.

Danny

I have used two of the old Lyman Autoscales (electronic dispensor-beam scale) for years. They are the oldest and fastest of the auto dispensors and I keep each loaded all the time with two of my most used powders. I also have the Lyman 1200 that I use for special large loading tasks, have not had that first problem in three years. I hear good things about the RCBS 1500, and at present I am casting my eyes in that direction. What the duece, just another club if I were a golfer. My wife stopped gripping about me spending money on the new stuff years ago, after she discovered I hibernate into my reloading hole and leave her alone. Good shooting.