Author Topic: Electronic reloading scales (Read 968 times)

Maplicito · « **on:** August 19, 2008, 07:10:43 AM »

My Lee Safety Scale suffered a broken balance beam recently, so I am in the market for a new scale - however, I'm cheap. Anyhow, on E-Bay, I'm seeing digital scales, some of them claiming to be sensitive to changes up to 0.01 grains, and these scales are all under $30.

Now, as much as I'm cheap, safety is more important to me than a cheap deal. Is there any reason I shouldn't be looking at one of these scales? I'm not looking to spend much more than that, so if I don't go with one of these, I'm probably looking at another balance scale - if so, any recommendations other than the Lee Safety Scale? Or would you go that route again?

quickdtoo · « **Reply #1 on:** August 19, 2008, 08:01:54 AM »

For that price line you'd be happier sticking with a balance beam scale, you can get some real good buys on used reloading equipment on ebay, I started with a Lyman scale that I got there for $20 shipped, just watch out for shipping charges and be aware of the new selling price.

Tim

Maplicito · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2008, 08:21:34 AM »

Thanks for the response Tim. I was hoping the cheap digital scales would be fine... but something just didn't feel right about the price, so I have to wonder if I'd be ending up with a blown up barrel sometime down the road.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2008, 08:31:16 AM »

A few of the guys here have tried the cheap digital scales with mixed results , the biggest complaints have them not holding zero and the battries that they come with are poor , also being too close to florescent lights tend to affect the readout .

If it were me I'd look for a good used beam like the RCBS 5-0-5 , 5-10 or as Tim said a Lyman would be a good choice too .

My first scale was the Lee and after about an hour of it Pi--ing me off it took a trip across the reloading room and met the far wall .

Got a 5-0-5 the next day and have been using it for over 25 years now .

stimpy

wncchester · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2008, 12:44:50 PM »

".. on E-Bay, I'm seeing digital scales, some of them claiming to be sensitive to changes up to 0.01 grains, and these scales are all under $30"

Forget that one! ANY scale reading to a hundredth of a grain would cost several hundred dollars!

dw06 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2008, 02:18:06 PM »

I just picked up a redding model 2 on E-Bay in last couple weeks for $26 shipped. Compared it side by side over the weekend with my pact scale,and they weigh items exactly the same.Grabbed random bullets from my 50gr box and the redding said 49.8 and so did the pact. So I'm a happy camper,as I got the redding for a backup,liked it so much I may just use it!!

dpe.ahoy · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2008, 04:21:47 PM »

Guess I get impatient, I don't use the balance beams anymore. Spend the $ and get a good electronic scale and save alot of time at the bench. I got a Lyman DPS 1200 and wouldn't give it up now. It drops the powder charge as I seat the previous bullet and is done when I am. Don't have to worry about over/under charges at all. If too much trickles out, just dump it back in and hit the enter button again. Doesn't happen often, but some times with large stick powder. stimpy is right about the florescent lights. (Of course, stimpy is always right!)

DP

nodlenor · « **Reply #7 on:** August 20, 2008, 02:53:44 AM »

Scales are not the place to scrimp. Buy as good ones as you can afford and look to save some money on something else. I've tried some of the electronic scales with no luck. I tried some cheap ones and some that were supposed to be good ones ( at least they were brands that were well known ). The ones that I tried all would creep. To me that isn't acceptable. I'll put my money on a good balance beam scale any day. I now use my RCBS 10-10 scales. They may be slower buy if you are in a hurry you have no buisness reloading anyway.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 20, 2008, 05:02:50 AM »

Quote from: dpe.ahoy on August 19, 2008, 04:21:47 PM

Guess I get impatient, I don't use the balance beams anymore. Spend the $ and get a good electronic scale and save alot of time at the bench. I got a Lyman DPS 1200 and wouldn't give it up now. It drops the powder charge as I seat the previous bullet and is done when I am. Don't have to worry about over/under charges at all. If too much trickles out, just dump it back in and hit the enter button again. Doesn't happen often, but some times with large stick powder. stimpy is right about the florescent lights. (Of course, stimpy is always right!) DP

I wish , I've screwed up more than my share over the last 45 years , lucky I'm not dead or in jail

but thanks for the vote of confidence .

stimpy

Maplicito · « **Reply #9 on:** August 20, 2008, 06:22:17 AM »

Well... I did a little looking around - I've raised my scale budget somewhat - I realized the price of the Lee Safety Scale gave me unreasonable expectations - but you get what you pay for - and I like accuracy when I'm measuring powder. Also, if I can get a scale less infuriating than Lee's scale, I'm sure it'll be worth the extra!

I had gotten so that I was relatively quick with it, but the darn thing loved to stick from time to time... which isn't as huge a deal when I'm measuring out 60 or 70 grains in a rifle load... but definitely made me nervous measuring out 8 and 9 grain pistol caliber loads.

Anyhow, I'm watching a few on E-bay... if I don't end up biting on one of those (being in Canada, the shipping kills me on most of them) I'll just go to my local sporting goods store, and pick up a scale there. Thanks for the responses guys.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #10 on:** August 20, 2008, 09:19:46 AM »

Even tho I have a DPS, I've posted elsewhere that I would not have an electronic powder scale as my only means of measuring powder.

warrior1 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2008, 02:07:20 AM »

i had the electonic scale midway sold for about 29.00 , after sending 3 back i'm using the 505. imay try a rcbs someday, but using a powder measure and a beam scale is
good enough for me. dan

wncchester · « **Reply #12 on:** August 24, 2008, 02:28:02 AM »

"...definitely made me nervous measuring out 8 and 9 grain pistol caliber loads."

You are weighing - and trickling? - handgun loads?

Maplicito · « **Reply #13 on:** August 24, 2008, 10:52:06 AM »

Well, I'm not actually using them IN a handgun... 45 LC loads in an H&R Survivor. Anyhow, I picked myself up an RCBS 5-0-5. It was a little more expensive than some of the other stuff I was looking at, but it looked more solid, and I liked how RCBS treated me when I had an issue with one of my dies, so I figured it was worth the money. I'll probably give the scale its first try tonight.

Maplicito · « **Reply #14 on:** August 24, 2008, 02:48:54 PM »

Well, it was a rather frustrating reloading session, but the 5-0-5 held up its end of the bargain just fine.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 24, 2008, 03:32:54 PM »

Quote from: wncchester on August 24, 2008, 02:28:02 AM

"...definitely made me nervous measuring out 8 and 9 grain pistol caliber loads."

You are weighing - and trickling? - handgun loads?

I know a lot of guys that weigh every charge , 2 or 3 grains difference in a case like the 30/06 were you may be using 60 + grains of powder may not make much of a difference , don't try making that mistake in a round like the 38 spl were your only using 5 or 6 grains of powder at MAX .

The smaller the charge , the more precise you need to be !

stimpy

jhalcott · « **Reply #16 on:** August 24, 2008, 04:50:03 PM »

SOME pistol powder loads are only 1.5 grains from starting load to MAX load. An OOOPS of a few tenths could mean another "BIG BANG"!

PaulS · « **Reply #17 on:** August 24, 2008, 10:34:56 PM »

For those of you using electronic scales try this to find out how accurate they really are:
turn on the scale and let it warm up and set it to zero as you normally do.
Take one bullet from one of your boxes - the lighter the better but it's weight is not important.
place the bullet on your scale and record the exact weight.
Wait 5 minutes and repeat the process.
repeat the test for ten times and then look at the weights you recorded.
If the scale passes this test with less than .1 grain then you have a great scale.
If it passes this test with less than .2 grains your scale is normal and you should double check your loads.
If you have more than .2 grains variation weighing the sam bullet ten times your scale is ok to weigh letters for postage but you should keep it out of your reloading area.

When I used that process on two electronic "reloading" scales, I got as much as 2.0 grains difference from high to low.
I threw one away and gave the other to my wife for a postal scale.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #18 on:** August 25, 2008, 03:22:52 AM »

i couldnt live without a electronic scale anymore. Ive got a pact dispensor and scale that i use for rifles and stick powders and another pact scale i use for everthing else. that way i also have two scales to compare loads with and if one kicks the bucket im not without. i just also picked up one of those cheap ebay scales. i figured it was small and i could use it in the house or use it again as a back up. It does work but its a pain in the but. It has to be calibrated every time you start it and if you let it set for more then a minute it shuts off and you have to start it and recalibrate it again. its ok for an occasional weighting of a bullet but i sure couldnt deal with it for a main reloading scale.

ihuntbucks · « **Reply #19 on:** August 25, 2008, 04:43:55 AM »

I use a Lyman 1000x and a RCBS Range Master 750.As PaulS said,I also weight my bullets and both scales have the same reading.With the Lyman I can't run the ceiling fan cause the scale jumps all around...........Rick

beemanbeme · « **Reply #20 on:** August 25, 2008, 05:02:20 AM »

IMO you folks are being just a little toooooooo anal about your powder weighing considering that not too many years ago Bench Rest Shooters were setting records with scoop measures that were being struck off even acrost the top with a stright edge. Throwing a scale away because it was two tenths of a grain of weight off?? ROFLMAO!!

Sometimes for fun, take a cartridge about the size of a 30-06 or even a .308 and load up 5 rounds as exact as you can with your favorite load. Then load up 5 more that is + .5grs and 5 that is -.5grs. And shoot them all into one group and see what you get relative to the real world of hunting. Perhaps if you're shooting Bench Rest, it might make a difference but...........

PaulS · « **Reply #21 on:** August 28, 2008, 07:47:02 PM »

When working up loads I can see the difference in group size in as little as .2 grains and sometimes the groups open up to twice the size. (loading a 3006)
If you don't see a change in group size when you load a half grain in either direction then you aren't getting good groups to start with. My hunting loads will shoot .5 to .75 inch groups every time and these are 5 shot groups. I am sometimes real good (or lucky) and shoot groups that are sub caliber.
I have the targets to prove that there is (or can be) big differences in group sizes over a one grain spread of powder loads with a 3006.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #22 on:** August 29, 2008, 01:19:25 AM »

you may get away with .5 variations in a case as big as the 06 but try that in a 22 hornet or another small case and your asking for trouble.

Quote from: beemanbeme on August 25, 2008, 05:02:20 AM

IMO you folks are being just a little toooooooo anal about your powder weighing considering that not too many years ago Bench Rest Shooters were setting records with scoop measures that were being struck off even acrost the top with a stright edge. Throwing a scale away because it was two tenths of a grain of weight off?? ROFLMAO!!

Sometimes for fun, take a cartridge about the size of a 30-06 or even a .308 and load up 5 rounds as exact as you can with your favorite load. Then load up 5 more that is + .5grs and 5 that is -.5grs. And shoot them all into one group and see what you get relative to the real world of hunting. Perhaps if you're shooting Bench Rest, it might make a difference but...........

beemanbeme · « **Reply #23 on:** August 29, 2008, 07:44:05 AM »

Lloyd, I didn't say anything about a Hornet.
And Paul, not that I'd ever doubt you, but your findings are wildly different than anything I have found in my reloading experiences. How about posting some pixs of some of those .3 5 shot groups from a hunting rifle using hunting ammo. What kinda rifle is it? What bullet? According to my figures, .2grs of powder is .0033% of a load of 60grs of powder. That must be a pretty touchy load you've got there.
Where are you at? Maybe we could get together and do a little shooting. Bet a few bucks. Or a BBQ dinner or something?