Digital powder scale

Snakehunter

Snakehunter

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Kenora, Ontario
Noobie question again.
I set up my Lee Perfect Powder measure tonight and tried several times to get accurate readings with the Safety Scale. Every time I threw a charge and re-weighed it I got different readings. This scares me:eek:
So - can anybody reccomend a reasonably priced digital scale. I'd feel a whole lot more comfortable with a foolproof readout.
Thanks,
Glen
 
most powder measures will not throw a perfect charge everytime ,usually if it sticks on some grain it will be off.

how far off was it ?
 
What I do with mine is get the charge weighed then tap the beam, let it settle then repeat. If I get the same weight twice I throw it in the brass. Since I started doing it this way my loads have been consistent (proven by Chronograph).

Like you I was going to get a digital but it seems you have to recalibrate them so often I didn't see the point. Try my method with your safety scale before you go dumping cash on a digital.
 
Good evening - a few months back I purchased a Hornady Electronic Scale, model CS-1500. I have checked it with my RCBS balance scale and found the electronic one to be extremely accurate, same as my RCBS scale. The price of this electronic one is $42.00. I personally recommend this scale. I will be shooting at my club shortly and will see if this unit is still available at that price. Let me know if you want any more info. The scale includes a 100 gr check weight.
jaydeee
 
Thanks for the feedback folks. I did make sure to tap the powder thrower while filling the micrometer and the pan. Utilized youtube beforehand and everyone advised to tap the thing.

I did not weigh the charges, I calibrated the scale to zero and then experimented with the micrometer until I got it to throw 70 grains of Reloder 22. Then I threw another charge into the pan and the beam showed underweight. I dumped it back into the reservoir and threw it again and it was out again. Resettled beam and it stayed until I threw another and it was out again. Cheap POS scale!!!

I think I will get a digital, even with recalibrating I feel the safety factor is worth the little extra time.
 
Snakehunter said:
Thanks for the feedback folks. I did make sure to tap the powder thrower while filling the micrometer and the pan. Utilized youtube beforehand and everyone advised to tap the thing.

I did not weigh the charges, I calibrated the scale to zero and then experimented with the micrometer until I got it to throw 70 grains of Reloder 22. Then I threw another charge into the pan and the beam showed underweight. I dumped it back into the reservoir and threw it again and it was out again. Resettled beam and it stayed until I threw another and it was out again. Cheap POS scale!!!

I think I will get a digital, even with recalibrating I feel the safety factor is worth the little extra time.
Click to expand...

It's not the scale it's the powder measure. The Lee safety scale is surprisingly accurate. The Lee perfect powder measure is anything but "Perfect." I set mine for 1/2 grain less than my desired charge and trickle the rest. Far more accurate.
 
No volumetric powder measure is terribly accurate between throws if you don't throw each charge consistently (read same hand motion, same slam, powder level pretty much the same). Not even the thousand dollar ones.
Your scale was right.
 
Unless you move the scale, it will be consistent between measures. It is a "balance scale" and gravity is gravity. It is cheap because it is made of cheaper materials and isn't damped all that great. It definately is consistent.

Weigh a charge - dump the pan in a dish and then weigh that same charge from the dish again - without moving the scale. It will be the same.

The powder measure measure on the other hand is a volume thing. No physics to keep it precise between loads (settling, inconsistent nesting of granules, yada yada yada). Like the previous poster says, get it to throw a charge a little light and trickle in the last little bit into the pan on the balance scale if you are going for perfect consistency.
 
Once you think you have it set up properly, throw 5 or even 10 and dump ALL that powder into the scale and divide to get an real average. I have the Hornady digital as well and find it very accurate but you are shooting for say 5.1 (just for a number), you measure out 5 and it will sometimes be 25.6 or .7 as the scale only has .1 increments so you are slightly over. Also, when you change the adjustment dump the first two charges back as they may not be quite as correct until the unit settles in, if that makes sense lol. Also, a small scale like this is more accurate the more you add to it, which is why I say to use the averaging method.

In short, the Honady scale is great and less than $50, buy that one :)
 
Today I received my Hornady CS1500 digital scale. Went down to my reloading table and compared the values between the Lee balance scale and the new digital one. The balance scale was set for 70 grains but actually registered only 65 on the Hornady. When I rejigged the powder thrower to 70 grains as measured on the digital scale it threw the balance beam completely off and the pan hit the table. I put the powder thrower through multiple cycles and it was pretty close every time according to the Hornady scale - 70.05 to 70.10 grains every time. Now I don't know what scale to trust.
When I put the Hornady weighed Reloder22 powder into an empty 300 winmag case it filled it up to the neck above the taper. Not scientific I know but it looks like the case is absolutely full.
Any help appreciated from this noob.
Regards,
Glen
 
Not familiar with that powder but if its a "fluffy" powder, like unique, then it could be fluffed up when you poured it in. Try rattling the case against the table to get the air out to see if it settles.

Did your digital come with a calibration weight? If not, get one any make sure its calibrated properly. Failing that, you can get small weights from school supply places for science class that will give you the ability to check it against a known weight
 
I calibrated the digital scale with the weight that came with it. Unfortunatley it is a big piece of metal at 100 grams, not grains.
I am going to have to find a calibration weight suitable to both I guess.
Thanks for the help people. I really appreciate it.
Glen
 
Ok - here's what I did. I found a .40 caliber casing that weighed 72.5 grains and I calibrated my beam scale with it. Then I adjusted it down to 70 grains and put a digitally measured charge of 70 grains on it. Holy smokes it worked:eek:
So I made a small batch of cartridges up and I will shoot them in the next day or two and see what happens.
Next investment will be a chrono I think.
Thanks again for the help folks.
Glen
 
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