I've got a Lee beam powder scale, and I find that every time I as much as breath on it I have to rezero it. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong? When loading rounds I worry that after measuring my first load it goes off zero. Should I upgrade my scale or go digital, or am I doing something wrong?
Powder scales
- Thread starter lorne19
- Start date
I don't think so!? Same here. I breath on my RBCS scale and it goes way off too! Terrible. I check with my ultra cheap digital scale and that thing goes out of wack too. Takes me 5-10mins to check if I have a trust worthy reading. I need a new digital scale too. I guess it won't be so bad when I'm measuring 20+ grains but with 9mm, i could turn a mild load into a hot one. I want suggestions too. I want something that I can trust without using a backup scale all the time.
I should have known... Every time I go buy something cheap, I end up buying something expensive to replace the cheap except for the Norc M4. lol
EDIT: Mine loses zero and it happens if I ever so slightly and accidentally when adding the tray or take it off, it bounces off min/max every so slightly. As careful as I am, it just happens and when that happens. i'm like (#*(* I need to set weights back to zero to make sure it is zero'd in.
I would like a good digital scale. Or maybe I'll bug my cousin again to look for a used lab grade scale in Cali. They go way beyond 1/10 grain. hehe... So even if it needs calibration it won't affect my uses I suppose.
I should have known... Every time I go buy something cheap, I end up buying something expensive to replace the cheap except for the Norc M4. lol
EDIT: Mine loses zero and it happens if I ever so slightly and accidentally when adding the tray or take it off, it bounces off min/max every so slightly. As careful as I am, it just happens and when that happens. i'm like (#*(* I need to set weights back to zero to make sure it is zero'd in.
I would like a good digital scale. Or maybe I'll bug my cousin again to look for a used lab grade scale in Cali. They go way beyond 1/10 grain. hehe... So even if it needs calibration it won't affect my uses I suppose.
Last edited:
I've had an Ohaus 505 scale for 30+ years and every time I check it with weights its on the money. Any scale sensitive to .1gr will move if you breathe on it but should not lose its 0. I'd clean the fulcrum carefully as a little grit can pooch the scale's reading and repeatability. I've never owned a digital scale but used them at work, they are faster but no more accurate than a beam balance and are sensitive to electromagnetic interference.
redddogg69
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Burlington/ON
i just bought the hornady 1500gr electronic scale works awesome and the price was great. I ordered it right from hornady no problems.
BattleRife
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- of No Fixed Address
The only way my beam scales change zero is if they physically move on the bench. If my bench top was perfectly flat and level, it wouldn't be a problem then, either.
One thing I have noticed with my most recent Ohaus scale is that the fulcrum arms are long enough to reach across the bearings and rub the frame, on one side or the other. This can cause the beam to become sluggish and not quite return to zero. Pushing the arm gently away from the frame so the beam is floating freely in the centre of the bearings again causes it to go smoothly back to zero.
One thing I have noticed with my most recent Ohaus scale is that the fulcrum arms are long enough to reach across the bearings and rub the frame, on one side or the other. This can cause the beam to become sluggish and not quite return to zero. Pushing the arm gently away from the frame so the beam is floating freely in the centre of the bearings again causes it to go smoothly back to zero.
Thats the great thing about beam scales. Their "one moving part" technology makes em a hands down winner in the accuracy + reliability vs $ race. If they're a near decent make and as long as you're not eatin ribs while you're using em, accuracy is good as you'll ever need to make cartridges with. If you need speed, just toss the loads and check occasionally. No need to $pend half a grand to weigh powder.
I know my scale moves if I breathe on it...of course, its sensitive as it should be (RCBS 510). However, it will go back to zero quickly. If yours goes out of zero just because you breathe on it, something's wrong. Perhaps take a fine brush and clean the pivot points. There's precious little in a balance beam scale that can go wrong and grit on the pivot points will be one of them.
So, that's my problem!
