Beam vs electronic scales

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Seabeeken

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Has anyone compared beam scales to electronic scales for accuracy? Is one more accurate than the other?

Ken
 
Well, it's not so much of an accuracy issue, but more of a reliability issue.

As far as incremental accuracy potential, electronic scales can produce weights in smaller increments. In other words, beam scales, unless digital read out, can only weigh to the tenth of a grain, electronic scales can deliver it in a hundredth of a grain weight.

But when one considers that electronic scales are reliant upon batteries and electronic components, they are more prone to unreliable weights, with low batteries being one of the most common of possible issues.

GS
 
I have both but I use the beam scale mostly. Faster results on charge weights.
 
I have both. Haven't used the beam in nearly 20 years. My digital is much faster for me to use. I have only had one digital. If my memory serves me correctly, I got it in 1995. Never had a problem.
 
.1 or .2 in a .380 or .32 is 100-200 fps in my testing. Not near close enough and I weigh each and every charge. For .357 or even .38 Special loads .1 is no big deal.

It is in the little stuff.

VooDoo
 
I currently use electronic but am keeping my eye out for a good, used beam set.

When I first used my electronics, another family member's RCBS beam was nearby so I could A/B them and they were pretty darn accurate.

I am, however, a little obsessive and worry that a slowly dying battery will bring me unstuck one day.

TL;DR: Using electronic but would prefer a beam.
 
I find both adequate but prefer my digital. I will add that I don't use batteries but an external supply and I always verify with a check weight set to make sure nothing has shifted or is off.

It never has been anything other than spot on but how would I know if I didn't verify with a check weight set?

VooDoo
 
I have a digital scale in a cabinet and use nothing but a Lyman beam scale. The digital has never been reliable enough for me. I sent it back to the factory once and it worked for all of about 15 minutes. No more.
 
I got a Dillon electronic scale in '03 and have used nothing else. It is accurate and dependable - as long as you don't trickle powder. That drives it nuts! I called Dillon about it and they referred me to the maker of the scale and a guy there gave me a very technical answer which seemed to mean that when trickling you are "fooling" the scale into a false reading. Anyway, I don't do any tricking anymore and it works great.
 
Personally, I prefer the balance beam over electronic. I have three different digital scales, different brands, and all of them seem to be very erratic. What I mean is that I can drop a charge into a pan, then place it on a digital scale. It might come up as 38 grains. If I take it off, then place it back on a few seconds later, I'll get 38.3. If I weigh it a third time, I'm just as likely to get a third totally different weight.

I have two different balance beam scales - one is a Lee Safety Scale and the other is the RCBS 505, and both weigh to .01 of a grain. Even though they are slower than digital, they seem to be much more precise. I prefer the RCBS.....it is much easier to set up than the Lee. After around 3,000 loads with the RCBS, it has been extremely consistent.
 
If you can find a Texan at a gunshow/garage sale/ebay....

sxn9yg.jpg

GET it.
Bomb-proof simplicity for a lifetime
 
I've used quite a few digitals and find the Dillon to be reliable. I use a Chargemaster for rifle loading as it works well. I do check them against either the RCBS 304 or an older Ohaus 314. Both are great scales. I also have an older RCBS 510 and it is pretty darn good. I use the 314 or 304 because they have big pans and are easier to use.
 
Never had anything but the Hornady Beam. Looks much like the Texan. But then I'm not
into precision shooting either.
 
I bought my first digital scale in the mid 1990s. After a brief comparison period with my beam scale, the beam scale was put in storage and saved for back up.

One of the main reasons I prefer using a digital scale is I do not have to do anything to see the weight of the charge. With a beam scale, I can set it for the desired weight and see if it is over or under. Or, I can spend time fiddling with the weights on the scale to see what the actual weight of the charge is.

I use the TARE button extensively. I calibrate the scale at the start of every reloading session. I do not turn the scale off during the session.

I'm a tool-a-holic and have purchased a few scales over the years to try different features.

I have found the the inexpensive battery powdered digital scales are inconvenient to use as it would turn off at a short interval to save the battery power.

So, I prefer scales that run off house power.

I recently bought a GemPro 250 and having the read out to 1/100th of a grain instead of 1/10th has been nice.

But, beam scales work so if it rings your bell...
 
utvolsfan77 said:
I have two different balance beam scales - one is a Lee Safety Scale and the other is the RCBS 505, and both weigh to .01 of a grain.
Click to expand...
Well, actually 5-0-5 is accurate to 1/10th grain and Lee scale 1/20th grain.

In the digital scale myth busting thread, we verified most reloading beam scales like Ohaus/RCBS 5-0-5/10-10 were accurate to .1 grain while some digital scales (even cheaper ones like Gemini-20) were more accurate to .02 gr BUT some digital scales with resolution of .1/.2 grain were not repeatable to .1 grain when OIML M2 and ASTM class 6 check weights down to 1 mg (.015 grain) were used - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=759750

For years, I used 1/4"x1/4" pieces of 20 lb copy paper to check the sensitivity of scales and in the myth busting thread, we determined 1/4"x1/4" piece of 20 lb paper should weigh around .05 grain. Lee Safety/RCBS 5-0-5/Ohaus 10-10 beam scales all would detect one piece of paper and two pieces of paper would read around .1 grain while Gemini-20 digital scale read one piece of paper at .06 grain (due to .02 resolution rounding up). Frankford Arsenal DS-750 digital scale would not detect one piece of paper and would read .1 grain with two to three pieces of paper. All the beam and digital scales were verified consistent with check weights from 10 grains down to .1 grain with FA DS-750 being within .1 grain to couple of check weights.

So, depending on the digital scale, it could be more accurate and repeatable than beam scale. With that said, beam scales IMO are less affected by temperature variations (some digital scales act erratic when used outside of typical operating range of 60F-95F), bench vibration/impact and of course battery/electricity.

I have three different digital scales, different brands, and all of them seem to be very erratic. What I mean is that I can drop a charge into a pan, then place it on a digital scale. It might come up as 38 grains. If I take it off, then place it back on a few seconds later, I'll get 38.3. If I weigh it a third time, I'm just as likely to get a third totally different weight.
Click to expand...
I would make sure they were calibrated according to manufacturer's directions and verified against check weights. Since many reloading check weights only go down to .5 grain, you could use 2 pieces of 1/4"x1/4" 20 lb copy paper to see if they read .1 grain.
 
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My Lyman Accu-touch, RCBS 505 and Lee Safety scale all read 55 and 85 grain bullets perfectly. Since the Lee only goes to 100grs., the Lyman and 505 both read 150 and 168 gr. bullet weight perfectly too. I like the 505 better than the Lee. The 150 bullet was actually 150.1 and I was able dial in the 505 to match the digital read out. I am not loading precision rounds. If If I were, I would use the Lyman and a RCBS trickler for quicker read outs.
 
I have both types. The digital is a cheap battery powered that is good to .15gn so it always moves by .2gn. I use it for quick checks to get close to the amount I'm looking for then use the rcbs 5-10 for accurate measure. I also have a Texan like MEHavey posted I got from a uncles auction but haven't used it because I like the rcbs. If anyone would be interested in shoot me a pm.
 
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