I broke down and bought a PACT digital dispenser and scale combo direct from PACT, and I must say I'm tickled pink with it.
I've been looking at getting a electronic dispenser and scale for some time, and looking at the offerings available I ended up deciding on this one. The scale and dispenser cost me US$250 (includes shipping) which was MUCH cheaper than the RCBS version (rebranded PACT model with green plastic) which would have cost me well over CDN$700 from Rusells (there's that RCBS tax again).
As for the product itself, the scale appears to be dead on accurate with test powders I dispensed and verified on mechanical powder scales. With digital scales, temp changes can affect the calibration, however I consider this an extremely minor issue. If the temp in the room has changed quite a bit since the last time you calibrated it, you can recalibrate it which takes about 20-30 seconds (like I said, extremely minor issue). If you've had it in your vehicle and the temp is drastically different, you should give it 30 minutes before recalibrating it. But how often do you move it off your bench? Again, no biggie.
The dispenser 'talks' to the scale (or rather listens to it) via a infrared data stream to figure out how much it's dispensed thus far and when to stop. The dispenser spits out powder by the way of two tricklers, a high volume one, and a low volume one (like your hand trickler).
The first time you fill the hopper with powder, you have to go through a calibration routine, which is as simple as hitting the calibrate button and the dispenser does the rest. The purpose of the calibration is to determine the 'feel' of the powder by way of reading how much powder trickles over a period of seconds. It's all automatic and neat to watch.
After it's calibrated (about a minute) dispensing is easy as punching in the desired load, hitting 'enter' to store it, and then dispense to dispense it. Each time you want to have it spit out another load, just hit the dispense button again. It's smart enough to know if there's already powder on the scale, it will just 'top it up' to the set weight.
The part I like about the dispenser is you don't unnecessarily chop extruded powder since it's trickled out, unlike the mechanical dispensers, and of course, having just the right amount dispensed.
The dispenser learns as it goes as well, and what I mean by that is the first time it dispenses your load, it's usually a little high because it over shot it (seems to be more common on extruded powders). It realizes this and adjusts the way it dispenses the next load (ie: stops a little sooner on the fast trickler and switches to the slow trickler). If it determines that the slow trickler dispenses a little too quick and over shoots again (extruded powder tends to trickle faster because one stick of extruded powder can weigh more than 5 slices of flake but come out just as quickly), it dispenses the last little bit in reduced speed slow trickling mode. Again, it's neat to watch it adapt to different types of powder.
I found that it may need to dispense 4-5 times to really figure out the exact flow characteristics of a given powder (again, mostly extruded) before it will do it right each time. No big deal again, just dump the load back into the hopper and redispense it again.
Final thoughts, while I'm used to doing the antiquated method (dispense, put on the scale, wait for it to stop swinging and bobbing, trickle a bit, wait, trickle some more, dump it out, rinse and repeat meanwhile getting a sore neck from moving from dispenser to level eyeline with the scale's balence beam), this dispenser and scale is definately the cat's arse.. and price is unbeatable to boot! Man, I still can't believe the RCBS TAX.. changing the colour and slapping another name on it does NOT warrant jacking up the price by over $400.
Note, because of the communication necessary between the scale and dispenser, you can only use the PACT powder pro digital scale (or the RCBS rebranded one if you already have it).
I only have one complaint about this setup, both the scale and dispenser come with DC block transformers (those nasty big power adapters that plug into the outlet). I thought, ok, no big deal I'll wire up a Y cord so I can run both off one supply. Bzzt, wrong answer.. the scale uses 12Vdc and the dispenser uses 9Vdc, and to make matters worse, they come with the exact same barrel connector on the cable so if your not paying attention you could plug the wrong one in to the wrong unit and possibly fry something. I ended up labeling the cables and the transformers just to be on the safe side. Personally, if I had designed this thing, I would have put a 9 volt voltage regular in the dispenser and had them both run off one 12v power transformer. As far as complaints go, it doesn't affect what the product is built and designed to do.
More info can be found here: http://www.pact.com/disp.html
If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.. and no, I don't work for PACT or in promotions :lol: I'm just very happy with my purchase.
I've been looking at getting a electronic dispenser and scale for some time, and looking at the offerings available I ended up deciding on this one. The scale and dispenser cost me US$250 (includes shipping) which was MUCH cheaper than the RCBS version (rebranded PACT model with green plastic) which would have cost me well over CDN$700 from Rusells (there's that RCBS tax again).
As for the product itself, the scale appears to be dead on accurate with test powders I dispensed and verified on mechanical powder scales. With digital scales, temp changes can affect the calibration, however I consider this an extremely minor issue. If the temp in the room has changed quite a bit since the last time you calibrated it, you can recalibrate it which takes about 20-30 seconds (like I said, extremely minor issue). If you've had it in your vehicle and the temp is drastically different, you should give it 30 minutes before recalibrating it. But how often do you move it off your bench? Again, no biggie.
The dispenser 'talks' to the scale (or rather listens to it) via a infrared data stream to figure out how much it's dispensed thus far and when to stop. The dispenser spits out powder by the way of two tricklers, a high volume one, and a low volume one (like your hand trickler).
The first time you fill the hopper with powder, you have to go through a calibration routine, which is as simple as hitting the calibrate button and the dispenser does the rest. The purpose of the calibration is to determine the 'feel' of the powder by way of reading how much powder trickles over a period of seconds. It's all automatic and neat to watch.
After it's calibrated (about a minute) dispensing is easy as punching in the desired load, hitting 'enter' to store it, and then dispense to dispense it. Each time you want to have it spit out another load, just hit the dispense button again. It's smart enough to know if there's already powder on the scale, it will just 'top it up' to the set weight.
The part I like about the dispenser is you don't unnecessarily chop extruded powder since it's trickled out, unlike the mechanical dispensers, and of course, having just the right amount dispensed.
The dispenser learns as it goes as well, and what I mean by that is the first time it dispenses your load, it's usually a little high because it over shot it (seems to be more common on extruded powders). It realizes this and adjusts the way it dispenses the next load (ie: stops a little sooner on the fast trickler and switches to the slow trickler). If it determines that the slow trickler dispenses a little too quick and over shoots again (extruded powder tends to trickle faster because one stick of extruded powder can weigh more than 5 slices of flake but come out just as quickly), it dispenses the last little bit in reduced speed slow trickling mode. Again, it's neat to watch it adapt to different types of powder.
I found that it may need to dispense 4-5 times to really figure out the exact flow characteristics of a given powder (again, mostly extruded) before it will do it right each time. No big deal again, just dump the load back into the hopper and redispense it again.
Final thoughts, while I'm used to doing the antiquated method (dispense, put on the scale, wait for it to stop swinging and bobbing, trickle a bit, wait, trickle some more, dump it out, rinse and repeat meanwhile getting a sore neck from moving from dispenser to level eyeline with the scale's balence beam), this dispenser and scale is definately the cat's arse.. and price is unbeatable to boot! Man, I still can't believe the RCBS TAX.. changing the colour and slapping another name on it does NOT warrant jacking up the price by over $400.
Note, because of the communication necessary between the scale and dispenser, you can only use the PACT powder pro digital scale (or the RCBS rebranded one if you already have it).
I only have one complaint about this setup, both the scale and dispenser come with DC block transformers (those nasty big power adapters that plug into the outlet). I thought, ok, no big deal I'll wire up a Y cord so I can run both off one supply. Bzzt, wrong answer.. the scale uses 12Vdc and the dispenser uses 9Vdc, and to make matters worse, they come with the exact same barrel connector on the cable so if your not paying attention you could plug the wrong one in to the wrong unit and possibly fry something. I ended up labeling the cables and the transformers just to be on the safe side. Personally, if I had designed this thing, I would have put a 9 volt voltage regular in the dispenser and had them both run off one 12v power transformer. As far as complaints go, it doesn't affect what the product is built and designed to do.
More info can be found here: http://www.pact.com/disp.html
If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.. and no, I don't work for PACT or in promotions :lol: I'm just very happy with my purchase.
