What do you use and why?

I've been using my RCBS balance beam scale but find that sometimes it won't move the pointer when trickling. And when if finally does, I take the pan off and put it back only to find it reads much higher.

So I got the on sale Frankfort Arsenal electronic scale but the reviews say it too does not allow for trickling.

I weight each load, I have the time and am not in a rush or doing volume reloads.

Is my balance beam scale off or dirty?

Is there an electronic scale that allows for trickling powder and does not wander after a few seconds.

I believe the really expensive electronic scales use something other than a load cell and don't wander, are they really worth it.

Please chime in.

Good question. I do not know the answer to your question. I started reloading in the mid 70s with an Ohaus 10-10 scale. About 1995 I went to electronic and am on my second e scale.
I much prefer the electronic and they seem to be very accurate, or accurate enough for what I do.
I am not one to try to get the last 50 fps by adding another .1 grain till primers crater.

No idea why you are having the problem with the balance beam scale. I too used to use an RCBS 10-10 scale. I switched years ago to a PACT digital scale and a few years back I bought an RCBS Chargemaster. The digital scales will drift but if you are paying attention it should be obvious when they do.

A couple weeks ago I loaded up 100 rounds of 338 WM loads for a friend. The first batch of 50 I set the Chargemaster to dispense 67.5 grains of IMR 4350. After dispensing 50 rounds, I grabbed 10% of them and reweighed the powder charges. Every one was at 67.5 grains. One week later, I did the same thing with the other 50 rounds. I checked 10% of them and most were off by up to 2/10ths of a grain. I reweighed every charge and over half were off by up to 2/10ths of a grain with one round being off by 4/10ths of a grain. I now trickle every charge by hand rather than rely on the Chargemaster to dispense the charge for me. For pistol rounds with powder which meters well, I use a Redding powder measure. Last night I loaded up 50 rounds of 10mm using Blue Dot and the Chargemaster. I hand trickled every round to make sure I kept the scale drift down to the minimum.

I had the same issue with my Lyman balance beam scale. It is probably dirty where the beam sits on the unit. The fulcrum. I just took a toothbrush to it lightly after removing the beam. Works better now.

That being said, I went with an electronic scale and I trickle every load for hunting. I set my power dispenser to throw a charge about half a grain low and trickle from there. Just be sure to let the scale warm up as the directions say.

I had an electronic scale some 15 years ago. There was a powder weight near the max 25-06, 100 gr bullet, 4831 that it would not weigh. Jumped from one tenth to three tenths. It is relegated to the "Why did the Old Man keep this?" pile. Went back and stayed with a RCBS beam balance.

What ever scale you use, air movement can play hell with getting consistent measurements. The increments we are measuring are so small that any movement at all (wind through an open window, a/c or heat running, etc) can cause unwanted variations. I have also found that consistency is improved by letting the scale re-zero each time. Having said that, I prefer an electronic scale because they are so much simpler and quicker to use. I have two Lyman scales, an old and a new one, and both are excellent. I cannot imagine needing more precision than they supply.

I use both. I found my old lyman D700 scale was off on the small poise. If you took a 50 gr weight for example, it would be fine with the large poise on 50. But, if you put the large poise on 45 and the small poise on 5, it would be off by 2 or 3 tenths.

I ordered a 'new' scale from a guy that tunes balance beam scales. He sent me an overhauled Lyman D5 balance beam scale. It's amazing how small a change will register. This scale has .1 marks on the 'o' indicator so even small changes are readily apparent. I ran it through a series of tests with check weights - tested perfect. I use this scale mostly for loading bottleneck rifle where I drop and trickle charges to weight. I also repeated my tests using weights on 5 grain increments - 45 + 5 or 50 for ex. resulted in no noticeable differences.

I use the electronic scale when I'm setting up the progressive loader and to check loads periodically during the loading session. Its easy to tare a primed case and then check the drop weight.

When I use my Ohaus 10-10, I am in the habit of tapping the table as I trickle powder. Not hard, just a light tap with my knuckles. You might want to take a good look at the blades on the beam and the little gizzies they rest in.

A ChargeMaster is on my short list.

There is an upgrade available that speeds up the weighing process by a bunch, timewise.

I would love to have one of the new Ohaus triple balance beam scales, but information is hard to find.

fwiw,
When you get tired of dealing with loading company chinese strain gauge scales take a look at what is currently viewed as the best.* It is a German Made Analytical Force Restoration Balance. Be sure to scroll down the page and listen to the guy explaining it and watch the display with the Dandy Trickler. He can be a bit overbearing, however, he knows his product...

http://scaleman.com/sartorius-...-1s-lab-balance.html

fwiw & imho, Matt.

*I know that someone who works in a lab is going to say this is a mid to low level Satorius Analytical Balance and hardly the "best". That is likely true. Sartorius is the company listed in The Guinness Book of World Records for making the most accurate scale ever made. It was NOT this model Their Microgram balances that go in laboratories and weigh within a very tight and light parameters can EASILY run up a tab in excess of $30,000 without being that much larger than the Entris 64. "best" being both relative and use specific in our context. I don't believe that would be an arguable point... imho.