Why an electronic scale?

[Virginian]

I have an old Ohaus (remember them?) 10.10 beam scale that has always worked perfectly. A friend's wife gave it to me when he died some years ago, and hence I gave my old Lyman that had less capacity to another friend.
A beam scale kind of can't be wrong unless you have an idiot attack setting up. So, What's the advantage of an electronic scale?

 

[neal7250]

I have an electronic scale, but I like the feel of my 10 10 also

 

[miestro_jerry]

I have two electroni scales and one beam balance, I keep the old one around in case the power goes out. Then I open up the binds and keep loading.

Jerry

 

[Pat-inCO]

Speed.

I have a Lyman 1200 for doing .223s. It takes 8 seconds to have the next charge ready (faster than I can seat the bullet and get the next one in the press).

 

[brickeyee]

The electronics are great for sorting things like shells.
For checking the weight of powder every Nth round on a progressive, or individually weighing charges I still use a balance beam.

 

[30Cal]

The electronics are great for sorting things like shells.

+1 The electronic shines when you have to quickly weigh a couple hundred items

 

[dagger dog]

electronic scale with electronic powder dispenser= speed if your doing volume + very accurate powder drops compared to a powder measure.

if its just the scale , i don't see any advantage

 

[Idano]

I too have an Ohaus 10-10 Scale and I also have a Cabela's Model EG1500 Reloading Scale that I now use exclusively. I initially checked my electronic scale against my Ohaus when I first got it to verify that I was calibrating it correctly and that it was repeatable, but it was always dead on so I quit. I personally like the electronic scale over the beam scale because it settles faster and more accurately shows me the amount of variation of my powder measure. Also I like the digital read out, it's easier on the eyes. One word of caution; I have found that the electronic scales do better when powered by a battery rather then the AC adapter unless your power is real clean.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Just plain faster then a balance scale...

 

[jfh]

How about the "battery voltage" issues for the electronic scales.

I have one of those $30.00 FA digitals, and I think it needs to have fresh batteries, even though it still seems to be working 'just fine.'

Jim H.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Mine is a RCBS Powder Pro and has no batteries. It uses a wall plugin adapter. If you have check weights, use them. They will tell you if it is off...

 

[Walkalong]

:banghead:

I have one nerve left and you're standing on it...

 

[okeybug]

I have the RCBS 10-10. I also have an RCBS Digital Powder Pro.
I still use the 10-10 to check the digital before using. This seems to work for me

 

[The Bushmaster]

L M A O

 

[WayneConrad]

Some parts of reloading can get all scientific, like. A balance beam is a terribly painful way to measure an unknown weight. That's where an electronic scale shines.

Do you want to weigh 40 of the bullets you just cast--or bought--so you can get a mean, min, max, and a standard deviation? Gonna take a long while with a balance beam. Pretty quick with an electronic scale.

Same thing if you're working up charges. An electronic scale settles so much quicker that the time savings are considerable you're throwing and trickling 2.8 grains, then 3 grains, then 3.2 grains, etc. It's very convenient that way.

If you buy an AC adapter for your scale, and just keep it plugged in all the time--or at least plugged in and on at least half an hour before you're going to use it--problems with drift are (at least with mine) eliminated.

To check a scale for accuracy and repeatability, use check weights--not another scale.

 

[kildar]

I like my digital scale for the speed if nothing else. Got tired of waiting for the balance beam to settle down.

 

[Jacka L Ope]

Why an electronic scale?

Speed is one issue.

I'm currently using a Lyman 1200 DPS II. As fast as it dispenses powder, it still requires the human hand to remove the pan, charge a case and place the pan back upon the scale.

Timed myself the other day at the bench. Given a charge of 42.0 grains, I'm able to charge 2 cases per minute.

Fast? Slow? You decide.

Then, there is the issue of accuracy.

This unit dispenses, verified by a beam scale, exactly 42.0 grains all day long. Rarely dispenses 41.9 or 42.1 grains.

In short, as long as I follow the precautions described in its manual, it dispenses powder charges at a reasonable rate and with precision.