seeking a in-expensive electronic scale

[rojo]

howdy , seeking a in-expensive electronic scale to check bullet weights and powder charges , any ideas ??
and a basic price would be of great assitance, many thanks, rojo

[fcvan]

I bought an electronic scale from MidwayUSA, a frankford arsenal which works ok. They are normally 29.99 but are frequently on sale for 19.99 so watch for them to go on special. I have bought several and given them to friends

[dverna]

I have a PACT and an RCBS Chargemaster. Both work well. Neither are cheap.

If you get a cheap one, you need to be aware of "drift" and I would calibrate them every time you use them. Frankly, I would not go cheap on a scale. A buggered up reading can lead to bad things. If money is tight, get a good balance scale and live with it. You will always use it to check your electronic scale anyway. Save up for a better quality electronic scale.

My PACT is 10 years old and still going strong. I use it to check powder drops from progressive reloaders. It has cost me $10/year. Look at it as a long term investment.

The RCBS Chargemaster is very highly rated and I really like it. It gets used for dispensing accurate charges for rifle loads. it is a joy to use.

[jmort]

I like this one for $27.99 with 10 year warranty
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/BPI-BallistiScale-1500-Digital-Scale/productinfo/6880300/
I also like the fact it comes with a check weight.

[David2011]

Rojo,

The advice about cheap scales is dead on. After purchasing one in the $30-40 range (I don't really remember the exact price) it was apparent that it was not stable or sensitive enough to weigh powder. It's OK for weighing bullets but not great. I use it to quickly weigh a random sample of a batch of cast boolits to check variation but that's about all. Mine doesn't respond to individual graules of powder being added to what's already on the scale.

The RCBS 5-0-5 is a triple poise scale which means it has separate adjustments for tens, ones and tenths of grains. It's easy to use and will last a lifetime.

David

[FLINTNFIRE]

I also like the old 5-0-5 scale but it is not electronic , maybe one of the reasons I like it , have several electronics , and they get checked each time i use them , like to stay away from all the battery and plug in reloading gear , my rcbs seemed to be just as touchy as the corner stores 20-30 dollar digital scales , all in all I will stay with the balance or poise beam scales , the higher end electronics are not cheap couple hundred dollars and up .

[altheating]

Stay away from the Smart Loader scale. Ok for weighing boolits not accurate enough for powder. Breathing in the same room causes it to change the weight. RCBS or PACT is the way to go. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Its a long term investment.

[alamogunr]

I bought a cheap digital scale and only use it for counting brass and weighing lube and alloy components. Works fine for that.

[Sasquatch-1]

Don't get the one from Harbor Freight. I bought the cheapest one they had and it is only accurate to within 2 grains. Really not even good enough for weighing bullets. I do use it to check the approximate weight before using the bullets but initially weigh them on an old Redding beam scale.

[DougGuy]

I got an MTM from Titan Reloading, it's in the $30-$40 range, so far I haven't detected any issues with it. For what it cost, it seems to be delivering.

In loading 10rd strings for load development, obviously you want to be pretty accurate with the charges so I zero/tare it with each piece of Starline brass, then weigh each charge, using the staticky little plastic scoop that comes with it and a small screwdriver to drop small amounts of individual powder granules, it seems sensitive and very accurate with .1 gr increments. If a case goes .1 over, I can reach into it with a pair of tweezers and snatch out as few as 10 granules of powder, and it responds. By now the scoop isn't as staticky as it was when it was new. I could use a trickler for this but until I find the one I am looking for, this method works and isn't too tedious.

[captaint]

I would stay away from anything that had the name Smart Loader on it. Have seen some real live junk they made. Mike

[Chilmonty]

With "precision" equipment you generally get what you pay for. FeeBay is actually a pretty good source for this type of equipment.
I got a Starrett micrometer new in the box, that retails for $140 shipped for $55.
You might want to look at jewelers scales. Make sure it comes with a check weight, or even better multiple check weights.
You don't want to load 10gr of 231 when your looking for 5gr! Yikes!

[jmort]

I would still consider an inexpensive scale with check weights. Sure if you have the $$$ get the best of the best. Not everyone can afford the best of the best. I have a couple of balance beams as back ups. The one I linked is very accurate and I think the MTM from Titan is a good choice as well. I love threads like this where someone may be on a budget and wants an economic alternative and the answer is "get the best" or "spend a bundle" other wise you will regret it. Recent thread on micrometers was interesting. In the end, very experienced persons, who would know, opined that even the cheap import micrometers were right-on spec. I did as someone suggested here and got a very nice used micrometer for less than a new China special on E-Bay. I got my wife an inexpensive electronic scale on E-Bay for her Jewelry business and some check weights and it is spot on. It cost around $15.00 but for reloading I would get the ones suggested above for around $30.00.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I agree with imortimer. I have a Smart scale with check weight and have never had a problem with it. I've had it almost three years. It was $19.99 + shipping from Midway at the time. I also have a PACT high speed powder dispenser and scale system. The Smart scale is always right on with the PACT scale.
I think the Smart scale is made in Italy. Some very fine Rifles come out of Italy.

[Vindicated]

I originally bought a Lee Safety Scale but didn't like it and bought an MTM Digital Scale at Bass Pro. Overall it works great, but I learned you can't or shouldn't use a powder trickler with it. Something about the way it rounds off half grains. You can keep adding half grains and it will keep reading zero. An easy fix is to remove the powder pan and put it back.

Not long after getting the digital scale I came across a used RCBS scale. This is now my favorite of the three.

[popper]

The FA works for me, pistol & rifle, but I'm not shooting for money.

[Ohio Rusty]

I'm all for saving money, but let me say that your scale is the heart of your reloading arsenal. This is definitely the place you don't want to scrimp on excellence because your scale is what you depend on to throw absolute accurate loads so you don't blow yourself up. I used a cheaper scale for a while, adn I experienced the drift mentioned earlier in the thread. That is when I quickly bought my Chargemaster 1500. I have absolute conficence that the scale is giving be perfect results as I occasionally check the loads with a balance beam scale.

Put good money into a really good scale, and you can be confident your hand loads are safe and will shoot like you want them to, not detonate !! This is the best advice I can give ......
Ohio Rusty ><>

[jmort]

I use dippers which are safer than any scale. You do need a scale to check your dippers charges for the first couple dipper loads. After that you never need the scale again until you get new powder. The Charge Master 1500 is very well reviewed but my dippers have no moving parts, and again, are the safest way to reload. If I were anal or needed charges to the grain I would use a trickler. If my $30.00 scale is dead nuts with any and all check weights, and I rarely need to use it, then why I would waste hundreds of dollars on a contraption.

[dverna]

One other thing. Check weights are not needed unless they are the way the scale self calibrates and then you need the correct ones.

You can use jacketed bullets, dimes, quarters etc to check a scale. Once you weigh them on a balance scale, put them in a baggie with their weight - voilà - check weights. I will stress again, you should have a balance scale before investing in a digital scale.

[Coonazz]

I use a digital that Dillon Precision makes. Correct if I'm wrong, but I think that Pact makes it. Also have a RCBS 10-10 that I have had for many years.

[303Guy]

I bought an expensive one from the gunshop then another cheap one on the internet and found the cheap one just as good - or bad. I did get suspicious when the weight variances were all in even numbers! I bought one cheap one which works OK except that it does not actually display grains even though it's supposed to. I just bought a scale with 0.001g/0.02gr sensitivity but in reality it only measures to 0.01g/0.2gr with any kind of reasonableness. All these reset the zero on powering up. That one cost me NZ$35 which comes to near US$30. It even has a 3.6v - 6v power jack input and comes with a 20g test weight. Mine reads 20.020g - hardly innacurate but not a lab instrument. It does not respond to a single kernel change like a beam balance does but then again one cannot actually weigh a single kernel on a beam balance either. This one matches my Ohaus 10-10-10 exactly but is a heap easier and quicker to use

[fredj338]

IMO, it does not yet exist. The cheap ones are cheap for a reason. Most will NOT hold a solid zero & many will drift form one object weighed to the nxt. So uness you are willing to drop $100+ retail, the cheap dig aren't worth the money, especially for measuring powders. That is my exp w/ 4 diff cheaper scales. I'll stick to my Dilloon, but the RCBS is also good as is the larger Hornady.
FWIW, weighing jewelry to the gram is not the same as powder to the 1/10grain. The lack of precision in the cheaper dig scales can be easily +/- 0.2gr or worse. That isn't even useful for weighing bullets IMO. Cheap on the dies or press, but spend good money on your scale.

[fredj338]

One other thing. Check weights are not needed unless they are the way the scale self calibrates and then you need the correct ones.

You can use jacketed bullets, dimes, quarters etc to check a scale. Once you weigh them on a balance scale, put them in a baggie with their weight - voilà - check weights. I will stress again, you should have a balance scale before investing in a digital scale.


Sorry, pure BS. Bullets, dimes, etc all vary by quite a lot. So unless said weight was weighed on a verified scale, you are guessing. Cert check weights tell you the accuracy or lack of in any scale. Very nice to have to verify when moving a scale from one location to another. The weight they give you with the scale is for zeroing, not checking the scale's accuracy, it's often far to heavy. Measuring uberfast pwoders where the dif fbetwene safe & over pressure can be 2/10gr, you need repeatable precision.

[303Guy]

My scale drifts from 308.96 gr to 309.02 gr. Considering that we don't measure to two decimal places it can be said to be accurate to 0.1 gr. Will it read the same in a week or month? I don't know but it hasn't changed in the week I've had it. I'll keep checking it. My $20 scale differs by 0.01 g on the 20 g test weight. So I don't trust either all that much but enough to load using them. I use them for setting up the powder measure and checking thrown weight as well as boolit weight.

[FThera]

I have a Gem Pro 250 and it's dead on the nuts. Not a $35 dollar scale though.

[turmech]

I have the Frankford Arsenal that is mentioned in post #2. Like said it sells on sale at midway for $20. I am sure it is not the best but I find it adaquate. I would recommend a balance beam as other said to verifiy it. It has held zero for a few years. The only bad thing is it does not do well when attemping to trickle charge as it is slow to change weight. If you do trickle charge up to the load you have to do it slowly and wait for the scale to read the small increases in weight.

[HATCH]

I have 2 beam scales and 2 electronic scales.
Basically I set my dillon powder measure up with the beam scale first.
Once I verify the exact load a few times with the beam scale I check it out on the digital.
It doesn't matter if the digital doesn't read the same. It just matters the amount it reads.
When i am loading I I just check the digital

[danm0]

I think buying a cheap scale is like buying a cheap parachute. It only needs to fail once to not be worth it, I buy Dillon, and have test weights to verify.

[Spud]

Against my better judgement I bought an MTM 750 cheapie and have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. When checked against my RCBS beam scale it's usually +/- 1/10th gr. That said I'll in no way trust it for accurate, critical powder charging, esp. loads approaching max. It is relegated to rough boolit weighing duty esp when culling my cast projectiles and works fine for that. What I'm saying is they do have a use. I always check against my beam scale for critical apps.

[armedmoose]

I have a Gem Pro 250 and it's dead on the nuts. Not a $35 dollar scale though.
+1 here.. Love mine as well.

[jonp]

I bought an electronic scale from MidwayUSA, a frankford arsenal which works ok. They are normally 29.99 but are frequently on sale for 19.99 so watch for them to go on special. I have bought several and given them to friends
I also got the Frankford from Midway and it seems to work pretty good.

[easymoney]

I'm with the majority on this one. I bought a name brand, cheap electronic scale from Cabela's a few years ago and was very disappointed. It wouldn't hold zero, gave inaccurate weights and was constantly shutting off. I'd throw a charge, weight it, take it off the scale, put it back on and have a different weight. Ended up sending it back and sticking to my old RCBS balance scale. I'm a penny pincher by nature but somethings require the extra money or they'll do more harm than good. Spend the extra and buy quality.

[303Guy]

All I can say is the ones I've tried work pretty well but are a little slow in settling down. That's a software thing, they raw reading going in from the load cell is noisy and needs to be smoothed out and that's what takes time. A high resolution scale is needed for what we do.Two of mine have a 0.01g resolution and one a 0.001g resolution. The last digits are not reliable! Less so with the high resolution one which is fine because that's way more than we can use anyway. I had a fourth one which was just as reliable (my son took ownership of it which was fine as it only had a 0.1g resolution). Just testing one of them, the 20g weight reading changes from 20.02g and 0.01g. That's not unreliability, it's the averaging. The 0.001g resolution scale reads 20.028 and seems to be the more accurate reading. Knowing there is an small accuracy issue and the fact that the actual weight down to the nearest 0.02gr is insignificant and more than a beam scale can measure.

Where electronic scales are a pain (cheap ones anyway) is weighing out that last .1 of a grain - it takes too long to respond to just a few kernels of powder.

So, one of mine I won't recommend because it doesn't have grains (even though it has grains in the specs) and the other because it cost too much for what it is (it's a cheap one with a high price tag). I would recommend my 0.001g/0.02gr NZ$35 one. My nicest one to use is the none grains one but the other is OK. It has a silly little pan thing instead of a flat scale top.

[HATCH]

Here is some thing to look at

Dillon terminator scale
Using 50g check weight (calibration done twice just prior to test.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/28/te4uju6u.jpg

Using 8.9 load
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/28/ave4a4e4.jpg

using Brian enos scale (calibration done 3 months ago)

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/28/jyzajeve.jpg

Using 8.9 load
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/28/gu5adypu.jpg

Both scales were zeroed using same powder cup then power was added and the same cup was used on both scales ao it should of read the same and it did.

The Brian Enos scale is like $35 i think.

[jmort]

This cannot be true. Who are you going to believe, the posts saying this can't be true, or your lying eyes?

[Bigslug]

Been using a Dillon D-terminator for the better part of 20 years. Runs on house current or battery so you can do load development at the range if desired. Good, reliable, fairly priced piece of gear. About $140 these days I think.

[303Guy]

A beam scale can give inaccurate readings if one is not careful. I keep mine oiled and have a vibrator to make it work properly. They're mechanical and do have some friction in the pivots. Dust can collet on the pivots and on the beam, rendering then inaccurate. Then again, they can be maintained and tapped to get good results.

[jonp]

I don't know. For everyday target shooting I think that the Franford I got for $20 works well for me and it did come with a check weight. I zero it every use and my loads do not seem to vary at all. I'll weight them once in a while then turn off the scale, turn it back on and zero it and put the weight back on and its always within .1gr and since i am not a bullseye or benchrest competitor and don't bump maximum charge that is close enough for me.

[9.3X62AL]

Kind of an aside to this discussion......I bought a slightly-used PACT BBK digital scale from a friend to speed up the boolit-scaling process. At this tasking it excelled.......until it fell to the concrete floor of my garage. ^%$# cluttered/crowded loading bench! I sent it back to PACT in mid-January for rebuild/repair, with CC # to pay for same. I broke it, so I should pay to have it fixed--no issue with that.

A month goes by, and I call the firm to see what the status is. They say "Your scale is in queue, we'll get to it eventually." It seems they got hammered with demand like the rest of the firearms hobby supply chain did. OK, I'll buy that.

This past week made 3 months' time since mailing, so I tried again. I got 3 "no answer"/no voice mail pickup non-responses early in the week during office hours/Central Time. Not good. On Thurs/4-25 about 4 P.M. Central I did get an actual live voice answer, and the man stated that repairs and production were delayed due to lack of an upgraded circuit board assembly's arrival. The forecast is for another 2-3 month delay.

Today's lesson.......don't be ham-handed (like me) with your digital scale. Corollary note--if it's a PACT, you'll need patience with their glacier-like speed in repairing their products in the field. I see a second digiscale in my future, near-term.

ETA......I appreciate the "heads up" on that Gem Pro 250 digiscale. It looks like a very fine unit at a fair price. I ESPECIALLY like the maker's warrantee with 2-day repair or replacement turn-around guarantee.

[30CalTy]

...
The Brian Enos scale is like $35 i think.

I've got one of those but I think I got it at Harbor Freight some years back. It came with a check weight. It does pretty good. Give it a minute or two to warm up. It needs to be rezero'd every half hour or so. I have it for the rare occasion when I am sorting/culling by weight. Within 0.1gr of my beam scale.

For general handloading purposes, I much prefer my beam scale. Just like all things good an analog, you glance at the needle and see where you're at--don't even have to wait for it to stop moving.

[snaketail]

Sorry to come in late, but I bought an awful scale on eBay. It is Chinese (first hint of trouble). The brand is "SmartReloader" (2nd hint), and it doesn't like light weights. It will weigh the heavy test weights just fine, but when I try to weigh 6.8 gr of powder it is all over the place. I'll throw a charge and place if on the scale - the readout goes up and down, and up and down, and up and down...6.0 to 9.0. At first I thought the problem was the air conditioner , or me breathing on it, so I put it in a plastic box - still up and down. If I let it set long enough it will turn it self off, but it never settles on a weight.

They should rename this thing "DumbReloader" or "OneOfMyEarlyMistakes"

[jonp]

Sorry to come in late, but I bought an awful scale on eBay. It is Chinese (first hint of trouble). The brand is "SmartReloader" (2nd hint), and it doesn't like light weights. It will weigh the heavy test weights just fine, but when I try to weigh 6.8 gr of powder it is all over the place. I'll throw a charge and place if on the scale - the readout goes up and down, and up and down, and up and down...6.0 to 9.0. At first I thought the problem was the air conditioner , or me breathing on it, so I put it in a plastic box - still up and down. If I let it set long enough it will turn it self off, but it never settles on a weight.

They should rename this thing "DumbReloader" or "OneOfMyEarlyMistakes"

Or Roulette Reloading

[Marlin Junky]

There's no substitute for the best electric scales on the market; however, if you can't manage the purchase of a high end electric scale, you're better off with a balance beam. Electric scales are not only susceptible to drafts, like the beam type, but also electrical interference from current surging through the walls to service running appliances. Static electricity is also your electric scale's nemesis.

MJ

[257]

sometimes the cheapest one turns out to be the most expensive one in the end just my op.

[Cosmiceyes]

howdy , seeking a in-expensive electronic scale to check bullet weights and powder charges , any ideas ??
and a basic price would be of great assitance, many thanks, rojo

How about a real old one still in the box?Vintage Redding Powder and Bullet Reloading Scale w/ Box .
http://www.ebay.com/sch/lock-stock-and-barrel/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3692

[303Guy]

My relatively cheap electronic scale is still working fine and it does measure small charges but it does not register single granule changes. It is a little slow to stabilize with small changes but is still quicker than the beam balance. But the beam balance has been good for over thirty years! I still use it to check the electronic scale. But one cannot have the beam balance next to the computer keyboard like the little electronic scale (one of them - I have three. They are that cheap. And all still accurate).