digital scales

[twhidd]

Does anyone have any experience with the inexpensive digital pocket scales that I see all over Ebay. I was thinking of getting on to go with the Lee hand press i just bought. Or does anyone have any suggestions for a small low profile digital scale that's not too expensive.

[bfox]

Hi
I got a Frankford arsenal scale from
www.midwayusa.com .
Like it and its on sale there now .

Good luck , Bill

[StrikeEagle]

Well... I just got an ad for this one:

http://www.eabco.com/electronicpowderscale.htm

$29, great price if it works... I have NO experience with it, nor do I know anything about the company. It's something to check into, though.

[Heffe]

I have purchased one of those from ebay, do not get one they are not good quality at all. I tested the accuracy and it varyed to much for reloading purposes. I ended up getting a scale from Old Will Knott Scales http://www.oldwillknott.com/ a My Weigh DuraScale. It seems like a good scale from a good company and has the same accuracy as any moderate priced reloading scale and it was cheaper. My research into equipment told me that "reloading" equipment is price inflated just because of the reloading brand name the "better" the name the more expensive it will be. My 2 cents.........

This Website helped me http://digitalscale.com/scalemagazine.htm

[caz223]

I bought one of those that is supposed to be accurate to .1 grain. I tell you what, it's an outright lie. Best case scenario, they're accurate to .4 grain that's just not good enough. If you can't afford an electronic scale made for reloading, then get a balance beam type, my RCBS 502 had been humming along for 15 years and is still more accurate than those cheap POS digital scales meant for weighing crack rocks and stolen jewelry.

[Unclenick]

I've had similar problems with scales, both on linearity and absolute stability and hysteresis in the load cell. Two I find to be of good quality, but not the cheapest:

The Acculab scale (Sinclair International). It is built by Sartorius Group, a laboratory scale company (same one that builds Denver Instruments' scales). It resolves 0.02 grains (you see the last digit change mostly in steps of 0.02, though occasional odd numbers flash by) and 0.001 grams and has an 1800 grain capacity. I spoke with the manufacturer's technical folks. Since I have an electronics instrumentation background, I wanted the low-down on it. Internally it measures 10X finer than is displayed. This is to keep the display stable. Nonetheless, it stays plugged-in 24/7 to keep the load cell energized and temperature stabilized. At MSLP of $380 (Sinclair asks $277), it is considered a low-end scale to these folks, lacking internal faraday shield and auto-calibration (you have to use a cal weight, like most scales). I have an old Ohaus balance beam Dial O-Grain powder scale and an ancient 25mg analytical balance. It agrees with both very well within overlapping ranges.

I also can recommend the CED Pocket Scale I got from RSI. $129. This is a battery-powered portable in a folding case with collapsible wind screen. Like the Acculab, it uses a 4-point metal beam load cell. I don't believe any of the others sold for powder weighing currently do, but could be wrong. The CED scale only resolves the usual 0.1 grain and has a 500 grain upper load limit, but it is repeatable and has good stability. It lives in my range box as a means of setting up powder measures at the range. I then cross-check what the measures throw on the Acculab after the range session. So far it matches quite well. I included the link above because it includes a good description of the original Dillon scale as well as this pocket scale, and a set of criteria to look for in a good, practical scale.

I own one of the Polder $25 pocket scales, by the way. I use it to measure salt and yeast when I bake bread (something my wife considers burdensome). No failures to rise, yet. No food poisoning. Nonetheless, inadequate for powder.

I have also used the Acculab to check my old Lyman LE 1200 and my Pact electronic powder dispenser's scale. Neither does well compared to the two newer scales, especially on stability and hysteresis (load cell memory — ability to recover to zero after a weight is removed; especially a heavier one). I have subsequently stopped using the Lyman, which had lost the ability to zero without a bias weight anyhow. Because I must use the Pact to have a scale that communicates with the powder dispenser, I wound up building it a temperature controlled heater plate that keeps it and the dispenser at 80°F. I turn this on the night before I am going to use the system and allow it to stabilize. I also found I need to use an AC outlet with an EMI filter and to turn off fluorescent lamps and my cell phone to get really certain stablility. I've heard others say their Pacts were very stable. I suspect the difference is in their electromagnetic environment. Mine is not great.

Sorry I don’t have any inexpensive good news, but maybe this will give you a better idea of what you're going to need to spend, at least at a minimum, for believable results.

Nick

[Russ5924]

I bought a digital and wasn't happy with it at all,got to the point I couldn't trust it and as always rechecking with my old scale.Was very happy when it broke and sent it back for credit You get what you pay for and you did say cheap