Is powder volatile or is my scale nfg?

T

tomapleleafss

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So I was about to load up some rounds, got everything set-up and weighed up my first 38.5 gr of Varget. I then realized that I forgot to prime my brass. So I left the powder on the scale and started to prime. After about 10 minutes I noticed a substainational weight loss. I finished up priming (25 min) and looked at the scale. I went from 38.52 gr to 38.00 gr. Is it my scale (Gempro) or is powder volatile (does it evaporate into the air when left exposed)?
 
Make sure the scale is sitting on a firm level surface before you zero it. Also fluorescent lights sometimes make an accurate reading hard to acheive.
 
As the electronics inside warm up/cool down there will be slight drifts. Pretty much every electronics scale has instructions on an amount of time to leave it turned on before use. This is so that the board inside will come up to temp and give more consistent readings.
 
It is a Gempro 250, bought it about a 8 months ago.

I usually let the scale warm-up for a good 20-30 minutes. I also put one of those ferrite core (u-shape) on the cord to help clean up the power (correct me if I am wrong in my electrical terminology). There are no fluorescent lights, but I have a led bulb in a an old school lamp on the table. There is some overhead lights on as well (led as well). I never really noticed the drift before, but never let a sample sit for any amount of time either. I had just calibrated the scale and continued on. If I weigh a few different powders I will re-calibrate between powders. I usually get pretty good es and sd numbers so would think my scale is fairly precise (or not, just balances out the other errors I make).
 
I found I needed to set my electronic scale on a separate stand from the bench my press is mounted on. The bumping, etc. of the press would affect the scale readings - a Lyman 1200 DPS 3. I have a Hornady balance beam scale mounted on a shelf at eye level, and it seems to be dead nuts dependable. And check weights - only way to know what is "correct" is check weights. Put a 50 grain check weight on your scale and watch the numbers as you go through your non-weighing activities.
 
When I reload I keep my cell phone on the other side of the room as well. My RCBS seems much less sensitive to it but my Lyman was extremely sensitive to cell phones and fluorescent lights.
 
tomapleleafss said:
Just noticed something. I dumped my powder and put the tray back on and it was off by 0.50 gr. Is there something wrong with my scale?
Click to expand...

That's roughly 1.3% deviation. Not a big deal, I think. If that bothers you, calibrate your scale using a known standard weight.

FWIW, my 29 year old RCBS 505 beam scale reads consistently, to the tenth of a grain. Any variation in weight I just attribute to my powder measure and powder being inconsistent. For example, I set my measure to throw 7.5 grains LongShot. My scale will read 7.4 to 7.5 grains everytime, 90% of the time, it's 7.5.

In terms of percent, that is 1.3%, exactly like your digital scale, and I can live with that.

I suppose if you're loading for a 1,000 meter Benchrest match, you'd require tighter toleances.

IMO, its a matter of knowing your equipment, as well as understanding its idiosyncracies.

A digital scale will drive me crazy, just like digital automobile speedometers.
 
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I let my Hornady scale warm up a half hour or more. I then calibrate it and set it to trickle 1grain less than what I need. It gets poured into my 10-10 balance and trickled manually up to the balance point. I know that the weight is both accurate and precise. It's an anal thing with me.
 
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