Do you trust new electronic powder scales??

[Oreo]

Put it this way, jewelers & pharmacists use digital scales these days almost exclusively. Both are probably less forgiving then your average reloader of inaccurate scales.

The electric scales are simply different, not better or worse as far as accuracy & repeatability are concerned. One must learn the quirks of one's own digital scale and then using it to reload is seamless. Others have mentioned the common issues- fresh batteries, consistent ambient temperature. Mine goes squirly if I'm hovering over it breathing on the tray, or if there's a fan on or some other air-current.

[edsmith]

the scales that jewlers and pharmist use are a differnt breed of cat than the ones used for reloading.

[jcwit]

Mine goes squirly if I'm hovering over it breathing on the tray, or if there's a fan on or some other air-current.

Thats the case whether beam or electronic.

[jcwit]

the scales that jewlers and pharmist use are a differnt breed of cat than the ones used for reloading.

Don't know about pharmacists scales, but jewlers scales aren't that much different.

[32ideal]

Do yourself a favor and by a made in the USA Pact measure!

I had a few problems with mine and once I moved it to a room with no florescence lights in it like Pact recommended it has performed perfectly, I do a re-cal before checking powder, but cast bullets just get weighed.
32ideal

[dragonrider]

My RCBS 505 beam scale has never failed me, my Lyman electronic scale failed me once, never used it again.

[gwpercle]

I prefer balance beam. Had a Redding # 1 and recently upgraded to RCBS 5-0-5 .

Really like the RCBS, it is accurate and so easy to use, wish I had gotten it years ago.

my vote .... GRAVITY

[jcwit]

To those that vote gravity, just what do you think makes the digital scales work? Gravity!

Try sticking one on the ceiling and see just how good it work there, for that matter stick your beam scale on the ceiling and see how well it works.

[jcwit]

My RCBS 505 beam scale has never failed me, my Lyman electronic scale failed me once, never used it again.

I know what you mean, I had a dead battery on my car once and went back to a horse and buggy. lol

[JTknives]

i think its funny how divided people are in this category, its like the battle between 30-06 and magnums or BP vs Smokeless or ford vs chevy. maybe a bit different then that but you get the idea. its like how some think 100 yards is the max you shoot a deer and others say 500 is ok. electronics have come a long way just like rifles and scopes. if you get a good scale that you can calibrate with weights then it will be just as accurate if not more then a beam scale. a beam scale is only as accurate as your eye can judge. a computer is the same each time. also i have noticed my beam scale can be affected by dust in the pivot points. i have a rcbs 10-10 and a rcbs powder dispenser with scale. like i said it all comes down to quality, just like i would not trust a lee scale or a $15 digital scale. if your going to compare a good beam scale to a cheep digital how is that fair. I have never had my digital scale give me a wrong reading, some times it needs to be re zeroed or calibrated just like how a computer has to be restarted some times. i trust my digital as much or more then my beam scale.

[MtGun44]

"Do you trust it?"

OF COURSE NOT! That is why you have check weights for ANY scale.

Bill

[captaint]

I do have an electronic (PACT) scale, but I only use it for weighing boolits. I find it very pleasant to use and it seems very consistent - for that purpose. For powder charges, I throw them all and check with a balance beam. That's just me... enjoy Mike

[jakharath]

I have a second hand Dillon digital that is great. Have a RCBS beam as a backup. Use the digital more because it's faster.

[Dave C.]

I have the first Dillon they sold. It's at least 20+ years old
and still works great!

Dave C.

[HollowPoint]

I bought one back when they were first becoming popular. It sure cut down on my reloading time.

I think I had it about a year before it started dropping powder charges to inconsistently to be trusted any more

It was still under warranty when it started to this so I was able to send it back for warranty repairs. When I got it back it work perfectly again for a couple of months, then it started dropping inconsistent charges again.

It mostly collects dust on my storage room shelf now. I'll use it on rare occasions when I'm reloading shells with higher case capacities. I just set it to drop a charge large enough to where the remaining amount can be reached with my manual powder trickler.

Some folk seem to have gotten great reliability out of them. I might be the only one who hasn't.
It was great while it was working properly though.

I have since, made me up a bunch of different powder dippers that will scoop up just a grain or two less than the right amount of powder for each of the different cartridges I load for. Then I use my manual powder scale and powder trickler to bring it to the exact powder charge.

For me, this method is just as fast and reliable as my electronic powder dispenser ever was.

HollowPoint

[Chicken Thief]

Yes..

[Pigslayer]

I don't trust electronics . . . at least not for handling explosives. I work with electronics and they do fail . . . & often. When I work with my "Mechanical" beam scales I don't have to worry about a sticky relay or corrupted software . . . or fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lights wreak havoc with electronics! The beam scales simply work & work well. I have them in Lyman, Hornaday & Ohaus. Never an issue with any of them. Each to their own.

[runnin lead]

My Pact works great , only problem is it don't work if there is a power outage.
Only other problem is if there is a power outage I can't see to reload so scale not working realy does not matter.

[bbqncigars]

"a computer is the same each time"
I wish I lived in your world. My job is industrial controls, and not only do very robust processors sometimes fail, so do various input devices. Transducers of assorted types drift over time. Usually the drift is within tolerable limits, but not always. [/rant]

[MtGun44]

"Trust, but verify" - Ronald Reagan.

Have check weights and use them every once in a while.

bbqncigars -

Yes - the sensor in a digital scale is a strain gage, basically a metal foil zigzag on
a thin plastic film, glued to a metal bar. As the bar bends, the foil is stretched,
very slightly changing the resistance. This is converted to weight. So the sensor
is completely analog, and subject to temp changes and some aging effects on the
plastic. They will definitely drift with temp, altho some systems use a tempature
compensation system, most do not on less expensive scales.

I use a very expensive lab digital scale, not a reloading scale, and used to wonder
if I wasted money. But 15 yrs or more into it, I am sure I did the right thing, but I
wondered for a while.

Bill