I need to buy a scale & need advice. If you were to buy one today, which would you buy & why.

Thanks

TE

I like my RCBS 10-10, wouldn't be caught dead with out it.

Two of my reloading friends use "electric" scales, and swear by them. I've occasionally heard them swear at them too! (batteries, adapters,constant need to be recalibrated) Also, they claim they are more accurate, and I believe them too.

Some day I'll have one, but it isn't high on the priority list.

packrat

I only have experience with the balance beam type, and so far, I see no reason for moving to an electronic one. I do not think the electronic scale is faster, and it does have slightly less resolution. Unless someone can point out a performance advantage for the more expensive alternative, there is no good reason to spend the extra money.

Ditto packrat.
I own both digital and beam scales and unless I`m looking at unknown weights the balance beam is as fast and easier to set up.

Of course, different strokes for different folks.

I've been reloading for over 50 years. I started with balance beam scales and switched to electronic scales some 15 years ago. I would not go back to balance beam scales for anything.

I do not believe it is correct that balance beam scales are more discriminating. Friends who work for one of the largest scale companies in the world, which make both sorts of scales, tell me that electronic scales can be built to far more discriminating and precise levels than balance beam scales, for less money. Electronics, after all, do not have the same degree of tolerance problems that mechanical scales do.

It is true that balance beam scales need warm-up time and to be used in a draft free enviroinment (inside a cardboard box on its side, for instance), or you will get varying readings. The warm up time is a negative. The draft part is not a negative. Drafts also affect the readings of balance beam scales, but they are not generally discriminating enough to show the effects.

Anyway, either sort will do perfectly good work, but if I was going to start out a newcomer, I would direct him to look at the scales offered by Dillon. Their slightly more expensive version, with an AC converter, is good enough for any handloading one will ever do. And, it's as fast as any balance beam, when it comes to accurate weighing.

AC

I used to use a 10-10 rcbs balance beam then switched to a rcbs electronic scale when they first came out.From my experience the electronic is just as accurate but much faster.I only use mine with ac power(no batteries) and I have had no problems with floating zero or otherwise.I will never go back to a beam scale.

I agree with Ol' Joe.

The electronics are faster if you want to, say, throw and weigh 100 unknown charges to assess powder measure variability. The electronic scale is also sensitive to temperature changes and electrical noise, and some days, I can't even use mine.

A beam scale is easier to use if you are weighing and trickling charges. All the monkeying with the little slider weights on a triple beam makes calibrating a powder measure an ordeal.

A real live electronic laboratory analytical balance would be an awesome instrument to have. Unfortunately for you and me, these start at around $1000, and a laboratory will generally not part with a real-live electronic analytical balance that is in working condition. The cheaper ones are the same thing that's sold as powder scales. They do break down eventually, and that's when they show up on the used equipment market. They are generally not repairable.

There are some mechanical balances that read to 1 mg or 0.1 mg, and one of these might or might not be useable. Especially the 0.1 mg ones might be sold or discarded when a laboratory upgrades to digital. I got one whose scale reads to 1 mg (0.015 gr) for free when this was still possible. When I tested it, I found its readings reproducible to only +/- 60 mg (0.9 gr). A buddy of mine who repairs these balances concurred and diagnosed the problem as worn knives. The balance was unrepairable. He laughed when I told him how I'd tried to fix it. The "knives" have a precision-ground radius at their edge, and they are not supposed to be sharp enough to shave with . This balance went in the dumpster.

I am still keeping my eyes peeled for a four-place (0.1 mg) analytical balance. One of these would be easier to use than any electronic or digital powder scale out there.

H. C.

I have used the old type balance beam scales for a long time. The Ohaus 505 that I am using now is easy to use and much faster to set up and weigh powder than the Pact digial that I just got. I bought the Pact for a back up and to weigh brass as it's easier to do that on an electronic scale.

There is no way I would trade a balance beam scale for any electronic scale.

I own the RCBS 10-10 scale that came in the RCBS RC kit I bought. I tried it once then bought a pact Digi scale for $129. It is the best thing I have ever spent my money on for reloading. It is a godsend. I could not imagine loading without it. It is the model that can be used with the electronic powder dispenser. That part is not needed. But the scale is a must have.

I use the RCBS Powder Pro,same as the PACT digital precision but $20 more for the green case. I would'nt go back to a beam scale for anything.I'v never had any of the problems I'v seen others describe.Do get one with an AC adaptor,as weakening batteries can cause problems.
Jeff

There's a fundamental difference between electronic scales and balance beam scales---An electronic scale TELLS weight, while a balance beam scale COMPARES mass.

You can put an object with unknown weight on a electronic one and it will tell you right then how much it weights. A balance scale cannot do that, it requires user to adjust the weight on the other side of the arm, when it perfectly balances, the weight of the object is known.

And because an electronic scale tells you a number, one do learn from the numbers : I know 2 average granules of IMR 4350 equals to 0.1 grain. If I want to, I can figure out how many granules of H335 will be 0.1 grain...I never needed a trickler though I have bought one.

If I were to measure a batch of bullets or cartridges or cases for weight uniformity check, then I would use an electronic one. If the job is to measure one constant weight charge, then balance beam type works fine.

I personally have been using an electronic scale from the kick start. I did have a balance beam type, but I never used it. It is best to have both...never know when my electronic scale will decide to give up, unless gravity disappears, balance beam scale will work anytime, any place.

One small addition...If gravity changes(say, on Mars or in a spaceship) to an unknown value, an electronic scale will not read the true mass, but a blance scale will work, provided it is setup correctly.

As several folks have said, I like my balance beam for weighing out constant charges but the electronic scale is nice for measuring unknown weights. My electronic scale seems to wander some at times, maybe the cardboard box idea would help.
Jeff

My over 40 eyes vote for the Dillon digital scale with those BIG NUMBERS that are easy to read. The RCBS balance beam scales are nice but those numbers keep getting harder to read.

I have used a Denver Accurate Load IV for several years with not one problem. A little pricey up front, but it is an excellent machine.

I have been using a 505 Scale from RCBS that came in the kit. Got use to it, and developed a pattern. I think whatever one gets will probably follow the same pattern., Much like if we get use to driving with a manual shift or automatic.

A friend loaned me his electronic scale when mine had to be returned to the factory to be recalibrated. It was fun to play with, but he also had one of these electronic powder measurers that was also compatible with the electronic scale. Never could get it to work right.

I think the best thing I have gotten for measuring powder is the Lee Powder Dippers. I think it was $5.00 to $6.00 more or less via Cabelas. However it makes weighing charges so much quicker and easier. Did not want to get into all the Dillon stuff tho.

Personally I don't think you can go wrong on either route, but you will develope an affinity to what you get use to using.

Good luck.

Over the years I aquired a set of Lee Dippers also, but never felt a need to use them. How accurate can they throw charges?I suppose you use a powder trickler to finish up an accurate charge?

As to scales, I started with a balance beam 40 years ago, but switched to a Dillon digital when they first came out . . . Best thing since sliced bread. Hopefully it will stay accurate for a long time as I don't check the calibration every time I load. Maybe I best rethink that practice.

RCBS 505 for me. Been using it for years, it works very well, and I see no reason to change.

Either way you want to have a beam scale for a backup or primary. So if you don't have either, I would go with the beam scale first.

Got a Pact digital and Redding beam scale. I prefer the beam for weighing powder charges. I can rely on it to be accurate whether it's the first charge or the 100th. The digital requires recalibration too often.

You do not require a beam scale for backup.My electronic scale came with test weights to verify calibration.

Herbie;

Yeah I use the dippers for loading up the pan on the scale and then fine tune it with the trickler.

One can get awfully good with the dippers, but I learned not to rush the loading process. I like doing it that way. Little extra work that some guys don't think is necessary, but I think it is time well invested for me personally.

Sure both of us do an accurate job and have our patterns down pat!

I've been useing the smaller RCBS but got fedup with problems from weak batteries, switched to the Pro model with the adapter and have never had any trouble at all. With the battery operated model I had alot of problems in cold temp, say 45f or below.

I also keep my RCBS 505 around incase the world comes to an end and there is not any electric.

I don't trust the digital scale's I have a RCBS and a RCBS beam scale.
I use the dig. scale to set up the powder measure and to weigh cast bullets (nothing is faster)for power charges I use the beam and dubbel check with the dig.
If there is a diff the beam ALWAYS wins and after recalibrating the dig. agrees.
Calibrating 4 times per hour is not unusual.

Regards Martin

I always look to see if my digital is on zero before putting the powder in the tray and after the tray is placed back on the scale after pouring the powder into the case.If it isn't it takes a total of about two seconds to re-zero which is no big deal.

Ballance beam. It's a matter of preferance. I grew up with the ballance beam, I'll try the electronic scale some day.

I think either type of scale will be fine. I am use to a balance so that is what I use. I think the big key is to check your scale often enough that you are not having doubts. I have several balance and once in a while I double check. When reloading being careful is the first rule.

I have and use both a Pact Digtal and RCBS 505 beam.I prefer the Digtal to the Beam.I find the Pact Digtal, Faster and Easier to set up and use.Both are Accurate,and have thier place.
Besides I don't have to wait on the Beam marks to line up,just look at the numbers on the Digtal.For quick weights or small # of rounds to load BEAM,high vol. Digtal.
Besides you can't use the Electirc Powder Dispenser with the Beam.

I have a Pact Digital Precision Powder Scale (same as the RCBS Powder Pro), and I can't imagine using any other scale. It is fast and accurate. I also use the RCBS Electronic Trickler. Not the electronic powder dispenser, but the trickler. You throw a charge close to what you desire and the trickler tops it off for you automatically. It's a super setup and I wouldn't want to go back to doing it the old way. My electronic scale weighs laboratory check weights exactly on the money, so I can't complain about it at all.
Go digital.

As you can tell there are lots of differing opinions. Mine is I like both for certain uses. Weighing brass=digital. Weighing charges=beam. I've had electronic scales costing from $150 up thru $1000 and I only TRUST the expensive one. For powder charges: www.askfirst.com/prometheus
This machine is being used by some of the best.

Digital or Beam scale that is the question?

How many of you have purchased a set of check weights and verified your beam scales ? If your scale came with an accessory weight have you used it to verify your scale. For years I just assumed that the weight settings on the beam scale were accurate, an RCBS 10-10 that I purchased new. I did check the weight of the accessory weight but they are far from normal powder charge weights. Over time I have purchased a couple of other used beams, RCBS 5-10 and Lyman M5, as backups. I finally opted to buy a set of check weights to verify everything was working properly and they all checked O.K. and now I finally had piece of mind and knew they were correct.

I eventually purchased the Pact Digital scale and Electronic Powder Dispensor. Might as well go to the source instead of buy one that you have to pay extra because some company whats their name on it. As previously stated digital beats the hell out of beams for weighting unknown weight items like cases. The digital scale doesn't require an elevated platform like the beam scales so you don't have to bend over to check the alignment of the lines each time and is also easier to read, aging eyes or not. After doing the initial calibration and weighing of various objects to see how it worked I set up to actually load some ammo. To verify the electronics I weighted each load on the 10-10 after it was dispensed. They all went straight to the balance line . Now I just calibrate, which takes about as much time as leveling the beam, before each use and don't bother to verify with the beam. You can get an occasional load that requires you to manually cause the last grain to be dispensed or one that goes over by 1/10 but either case is easy to deal with. Calibration of the dispensor for the powder being used takes a couple of minutes while it dispenses about 150 - 180 gr. or powder. The speed of the dispensor is slower than a mechanical dispensor or dippers and trickler but not disturbingly so. It is faster to setup then a mechanical dispensor that requires setting changes. Once it finishes the dispensor calibration you simply enter the desired weight, save the setting, and press dispense. Besides, it gives you time to seat the bullet while dispensing the next load. The instructions do indicate that the scale should probably be on a seperate table to avoid vibration from the reloading press. I have found that I can seat the bullet while it's still dispensing powder and any vibration is over before the final few grains are trickled. If I desired more speed I would figure a way for my Redding measure to drop powder into the tray (without splashing it all over the bench) and use the dispensor as a trickler.

Both types of scales have their strong and weak points and some are the same. My personal opinion is that the electronic scale offers more pluses as long as electricity is available. Don't let the wife plug the vacuum cleaner into the same circut while you are trying to use it. Realize that both types need to be handled with kid gloves or risk damage. If you're on a budget then balance beam is the your best bet and don't overlook the used market either. Once you start to get into the $100 price range for a beam seriously consider spending a little extra for the digital. There is nothing wrong with having both types either.

[ 07-05-2003, 04:56: Message edited by: Byron ]

If I were just starting out I might be inclined to go with the electronic scale. However, I've been at it for 30 years now. I started with a Redding beam scale and ten years ago picked up an RCBS 10-10 at a gun show. Both the Redding and the RCBS show the same readings so I can use one to check the other. I'm quite happy with both and feel certain that they will outlive me. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

i have the pact scale, i found that using a surge protector with 20 db of noise supression eliminated problems i was having. when weighing powder i use the same weight of check weights and weigh them occasionaly. also cross check with a redding #1 balance beam that doesn't have the oil damper.

I like the Lee scale. It goes to just 110 grains with 0.1 grain accuracy. The divisions are large and the micrometer is easy to set and lock. The calibration is quick and doesn't change. I set the scale in exactly the same place on my bench every time I set up and throw three or four charges, then weigh the total and divide by the number of charges to see how accurate I got. If I need to adjust my powder measure, I do so at that time. A damped beam scale doesn't float like an electronic and can be slowed to weighing speed with a fingertip. They are also much less expensive and the Lee is virtually indestructible if used with proper care and intelligence. I've used the dippers too, but found them too limiting for getting really nice loads-- but if you just want to blast, go for it!!

[ 07-04-2003, 22:35: Message edited by: rootbeer ]

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