are there any preference for digital powder scales? from what I've seen they are all across the board

I've used Lyman for 25 years and they always work for me.

thank you sage

i like my hornady scale

have you had any problems with it?

The digital reloading scale is a solution looking for a problem. A good balance beam with magnetic dampening is as fast and typically much more accurate without the variances caused by static electricity, stay voltage, and drafts of air. And a balance beam never needs new batteries or a plug converter.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
The digital reloading scale is a solution looking for a problem. A good balance beam with magnetic dampening is as fast and typically much more accurate without the variances caused by static electricity, stay voltage, and drafts of air. And a balance beam never needs new batteries or a plug converter.

Agreed. Completely. Go with a balance beam. I know the technology of digital is seductive, but a good balance beam scale cannot be surpassed in accuracy or sensitivity.

(I have what seems to be a collector's item: An RCBS THREE BEAM 304 balance built by Ohaus. It's scary sensitive and I totally love it. But in all honesty, it's no more accurate or sensitive than my ancient Pacific oil-dampened balance beam.)

quote:

Originally posted by Sagebrush Burns:
I've used Lyman for 25 years and they always work for me.

Amazing!

I used one Lyman for a few weeks and it gave up the ghost!!

I have been using several RCBS for years and they are great.

My RCBS electronic scale is MUCH faster to use than my Redding balance beam scale and is just as accurate (as cross checked on my Redding scale). So take the naysayers advice with a grain of salt.

I bought a basic one on the web for about $25 & I am very happy with it for 8 years

An electronic scale can weigh anything faster than a balance beam. Especially an unknown weight(culling/weight sorting boolits). An electronic scale can also use anything for a pan, you simply TARE the scale with whatever pan you want to use. Or, want to weigh a letter to see if it needs more postage? Try that with a beam scale.

I bought a RCBS powder pro scale back in '98 (made by pact for RCBS). It's worked flawlessly since then. In 2006 I paired it up with a pact dispenser that reads off the infrared port on it's side. There just isn't any way a beam scale can pair up with a dispenser. With The pact/RCBS combo you have to let the dispenser calibrate to each powder density each time you use it. The newer units have a memory that stores each powder density the first time you use it. Then you simply recall that for the next use.

The cheap battery powered scales you see on ebay are a real challenge to get to work. That's IF you get one to work at all.

My RCBS can be used to trickle up a single charge or series of charges rather than set-up the dispenser. Some E-scales will not react to small increases in weight like trickling generates. I heard the Dillon D-terminator was just such a scale, you could not trickle with it.

I've had RCBS, and Lyman electronic dispensers and scales. They were fast but I found myself checking the throws on a beam scale. There seemed to be a lot of variation in thrown weights.

Now I use an Omega 2 Trickler
I first use a Lee Powder Measure Kitto scope up a charge close to the one I want. Drop that in the beam scale pan and press the start button on the Omega 2 trickler. It works every time and I have visual conformation of the final charge. It is quick and simple! Works for me!

thank you guys. I appreciate your feedback.

I have been using a Lyman electronic scale for a few years now. Checking it against a balance beam scale, it is very accurate. If you follow the directions they work great, the main point is the warmup period. If you do not let it go thru the warmup cycle, it does not work properly.

thank you impala

RCBS Chargemaster for me...works great.

I've been using the Lyman for at least 10 years now, was a died in the wool precision balance beam believer until I bought the Lyman.
Absolutely impossible for a balance beam to throw charges even half as fast and accuracy is same as checked on RCBS and Lyman balance beams.
I've thought that if ever the Lyman gives up the ghost I'll get an RCBS but mostly because I'd like to try one.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
RCBS Chargemaster for me...works great.

I've been using the RCBS Chargemaster myself for a few years now. It is a fantastic piece of equipment, producing very accurate and consistent charges.

I've been using a Lyman with the dispenser for the past 5 years or so. Give it the 30 minute warm-up period it asks for and it's great.

Having said that, it used to throw very erratic charges, and I was on the verge of returning it, when I spotted a a separate little gadget that screwed into the dispenser tube and constricted the outlet. This was to allow for powders with large granule sizes (they said), but it works for all granule sizes.

Anyway, since then it dispenses rock steady within 0.1 of a grain. I think it may have thrown 3 loads that were more than 0.2 grains out, in the 1,400 or so rounds I've loaded since then.

I recommend them, with the proviso that others may be as good - I've just never used them, due to being perfectly satisfied.

my old rcbs just keeps cranking along just fine. 2 reasons i really prefer the digital is that i can see the readout easily, and i don't have to keep checking to make sure that the weights on the balance beam are in place

you make two good points. thanks

thank you for all your help guys. I finally settled on a lyman scale. wish me luck

You've made a good choice. I don't know if it's in the instructions or not but every so often, you want to wipe the unit down with a static lint cloth like you put in the dryer.

thanks for the advice was

I've used an RCBS charge master for the last 5 years and initially found repeatability errors.

Looking on the internet I found out that many times it was the house voltage variations that were the issue. I put a voltmeter on my electrical outlet and watched it continuously cycle between 116 V AC and 130 v AC. I talked to our local utility and they said that it was normal.

I took an old home computer uninterruptable power supply (UPS) and plugged it into the outlet and hooked up my voltmeter to the output and it was a steady 122 V AC.

Now with the UPS supplying the Charge Master it is absolutely consistent and I dispense my 1,000 yard match loads on it all the time.

My two balance beam scales just collect dust now.

Good luck with your new scale.
I started out with one Cabala's was selling that was made by another company. I used it once to load up all my empty brass then stored it away for a couple years. When took out of storage it would not work. Worked a deal with Cabala's and got this RCBS unit.



You can not get this accrete with a balance beam as fast as the digital. But I recommend you have a balance beam to spot check every so many charges to verify the digital is spot on.

I made sure I had electronic starters in the over head florcent lights, set up is in a corner in the basement away from windows so no breezes are flowing in the room.

Al

thank you alley.

I'm using the Lyman digital also. AS Bren said, it does have a tendency to throw variances unless you put the flow restrictor in.

One thing I found with mine was that it would always 'settle' at 0.1 grain over what I entered. So I just enter 0.1 grain less and charges will 'settle' on the weight I want.

that sounds kind of weird but I will keep it in mind. thanks

For load development, I use a GemPro 250 with an Omega Powder trickler. Oh, I also use the my Lee Powder dipper measure kit to start the process. After I have dialed in the most accurate load, I use my Lee Classic Powder measure to duplicate the process. I could not be happier with this combination to develop and duplicate my hunting loads.

I had 2 beam scales didn't care for either one. Bought a Cabela's XT 1500 Digital Scale because it has a small footprint to fit on my bench a beam takes up too much room and to me is a PIA. Have never had a problem with it. I am a casual shooter so I don't care about extreme accuracy.

It seems that certain powders meter long. The coarser grained powders seem to be the culprit. If I am using one of those powders, I set the meter .01 short and if it comes up to what I want, well and good, if it comes up short, I just tap the powder "snout" with a pencil and (usually) a couple of grains of powder will spill out bringing the load to what I want.

Pact was the 1st to introduce electronic scales back around 1994. I bought one shortly after they were introduced and wouldn't load without one. I can only recommend the Pact Precision as it's what I have experience with. Pact also makes some scales for RCBS? I recommend one that can weigh 1000-1500 grains and not one of the cheaper mini-compact ones.

I have used the same RCBS and Lyman powder measures for about 60 years, and the same old RCBS powder scale to back them up for about the last 40 years. I have the feel for them, and the consistency of tossing a charge with them, and that consistency relates to accuracy of the charge..

I tried several of the digital scales and also the powder measures, and my old set of scales and measures are more consistant, as accurate or perhaps more accurate, and faster for me.