The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading Re: digital scale suggestion ?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| one of us |
I have both, and only use the digital now. I have a Pact and I think it is the way to go. If I upgrade, I would get the Lyman 1200, which trickles the powder for you. | ||
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| one of us |
I have had a Lyman LE-1000 for a little over 2 years--no problems at all. But like most, I use it for weighing cases and bullets. I use an RCBS 10-10 for powder (and shot, when I'm reloading shotshells). | |||
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| one of us |
I've heard nothing but good things about the Lyman 1200 w/ -built in dispenser. Most places advertise for about $270-$300 but midsouth shooters supply sells for about $225. But if you want a truly great scale, look at a RCBS 10-10 balance scale | |||
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STICK WITH GRAVITY! I've tried two digitals; and RCBS and a Lyman. You just don't get the consitancy. I retired the digitals from powder measuring and use them to weigh bullets and casings, when I have the need. They work fine and fast for that, but not powder where you have to trickle the last few grains. It seems to screw them up. Best bet, find a buddy that has a digital. Weigh out powder charges on it, then check them against a balance beam. I have done that. You'll see a difference in consitancey. | |||
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| one of us |
I use the RCBS powdermaster system now. Checked many times for accuracy against beam scales, no problem whatsoever. Very accurate +/- .1 grain. Only issues is when changing powder it takes a few minutes to recalibrate dispenser and scale. Returned lyman 1200 within two weeks as it just quit. Good luck with your decision. | |||
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| one of us |
I have the RCBS version. It works quite well. Several pointers for electronic scale useage. 1. Let the scale warm up for ten minutes or longer. I leave mine pluged in. 2.Static electricity is a real "bug" for sensitive electronics. I wipe mine with an antistatic sheet that I borrow from the wifes laundry supplies. 3.Moving air, even the slighest draft, can play the devil with a scale that can weight the difference of your signature on a piece of paper. 4. vibrations are to be avoided also. Your tumbler, a loud radio on the same shelf, someone walking by on a wooden floor (it's amazing how much vibration this can cause)etc. . 5.Dirty power can be a difficult to diagnose problem with an electronic scale. Varations in line voltage are quite common and can cause problems with your electronics. muck | |||
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| new member |
Quote: I think all of Muck's points are accurate. I've only had my new PACT for a few days so my experience is limited in that regard. After using an old Redding for 40 years,I'm a little shakier in my old age so decided to upgrade. I worked in a spectrographic laboratory for 15 years early in my career and had to do a lot of hand-weighing on balance-beams down into the micro-gram levels,so I have experience with best scales available at the time. All labs,now,have gone to electronic scales for the bulk of their work and may keep a balance beam for reference only I've been weighing several hundred bullets and cases since I got it and have kept 3 250 grain bullets and 3 190 grain cases seperate to check repeatability. There have been three sessions of weighing on successive days.Even though the sessions are about 16 hours apart and the scale has been shut off,stored,repowered,and recalibrated each time,the weights on these six "standards" have stayed the same,except on one bullet which has weighed 251.2 grains eight times and 251.1 grains twice.I'll guarantee that is better repeatabilty than a $20 -$50 balance beam scale will show! I've also read that if there is a fluorescent light on the same circuit as the scale,it may cause problems. I have that situation but haven't noticed any problems so far. This Pact scale is the one that that can be used with the powder dispenser and is currently on sale at Midway and Pact for $129 plus they give you the case,free.Pact will also pay the freight,I'm told. The RCBS scale is made by Pact and is an exact copy with green paint and a higher price. One point needs emphasized - never touch a reference weight with your bare hands.Use a clean tweezer or forceps! The salt/acid/etc. on your hands will cause some oxidation and a weight change of the reference weight. Also,treat and protect your scale as if it were more fragile than an egg.Avoid jarring it,avoid dust,keep magnetic fields and magnets away from it,etc.Always use a pan to contain the item you're weighing because it can be replaced cheaply ! | |||
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| one of us |
>I have been using a Denver Accurate Load IV for several years. It is excellent< Mine is too, can't complain. It just is not $500 better than my old Ohaus. | |||
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| one of us |
I wouldn't bet on any digital item being a life time investment. The state of the arts in electronics is constantly changing. Get a good digital scale today. In 5 years they will be less expensive and more accurate. The first digital scale that I used was given to me about 8 years ago and it stunk. I finally returned it for replacement about a year ago. The replacement scale is excellent and does everything I expect it to. | |||
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| one of us |
i have an older pact scale, it sits on a heavy wood chopping block on a counter top plugged into a surge protector with a line conditioner. i drop a thin glass bowl over the scale when weighing. frequently i place the weighed powder charge on a mechanical scale, also place the same weight of check weights on the pact occasionally and use the tare button every ten weighings, so feel comfortable with the pact scale. | |||
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| one of us |
I owned a Pact in which I lost confidence. It may have been fine but I prefer to have more resolution. I patiently searched for about a month on Ebay and finally got a used digital lab scale accurate to .0001 gm for just over $200. Even if it's only actually accurate to .001 gm, it's still overkill. It's nice to know for sure. | |||
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| new member |
Quote: You got a good deal on the scale! Does it have adjustable dampening to cut cycle time when you don't need that much sensitivity? Grains- A unit of weight based on the weight of a grain of wheat. (0.065 of a pound or 0.0648 gram.)Roughly 7000 grains in a lb. 0.0001 grams = 0.0015432 grains | |||
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I have an RCBS electronic scale and the only thing I will use it for is weighing brass. For that it is great. I just don't trust if for weighing powder charges. My RCBS balance beam scale has never failed me and I trust gravity. May I be half the man my grandson thinks I am...RiverRat | |||
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| one of us |
many, no but it's really not needed. It only takes about 3 seconds to get a reading. My Redding balance beam scale takes more like 10 seconds. | |||
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| new member |
For powders measures I would use a mechanical scale ... just more consistent and perdurable, as many said | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading Re: digital scale suggestion ?
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