[p5200]

The scale I have now, I think might not be accurate enough to produce consistent powder loads from one round to the next. Some suggestions on a more accurate scale would be appreciated somewhere between 50-$100.00 if possible. It needs to be digital as my eyes aren't very good any more. The scale I have now, reads 102.2 gr. when I set my powder tray/funnel combo on it. Next I hit the tare button to zero it. After I remove the tray several times instead of reading -102.2 gr. it reads as low as 101.7. Then, when I set the tray back on again sometimes the last digit will read .6 or .7 and not zero. I just hit tare again to re zero again. Here is the scale I'm using now. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=175512 Thanks for all suggestions!

 

[Goatwhiskers]

Contact the manufacturer or Midway, I'll bet they make it good. Goatwhiskers

 

[gomerdog]

I recently bought Cabela's XT1500 Digital Scale. I checked it with my RCBS balance type scale by weighing bullets, and they matched exactly time after time. I haven't used it a long time, but it so far has been a good time saver.

Jeff

 

[unclenick]

The Frankford Arsenal scale has had mixed reviews from several folks. I don't have one, but have spoken to Brain Enos about the scale he sells, which has an astonishing 20 year warranty, and it sounds like it's very good. If I were shopping for a scale today, that's the one I would try first. It's about $75, here.

 

[Gyroboy01]

Sael variation

Sometimes the scales are very temperature sensitive. Even my father's $ 250 scale says, "plug it in and warm up the electronics for 20 min before using".

The cheaper battery operated variety would have the same problem too. Down side is you cant leave them on for 20 minutes because they have a shut off feature in them. I've seen mine creep too but the longer I have it on, the more it stabilizes. Using in a cold basement or garage would probably exasperate the problem. I check mine with a beam scale from time to time and it appears to be within a tenth tolerance.

Another problem mentioned on here is metal items close to the scale which apparently have an affect, and florescent lights. I have not had that problem but others have.

Good Luck,

 

[unclenick]

The warm up is not a consistent issue. A lot of the battery-powered units don't require it. Enos has a testimonial on his site indicating his does not. My CED Pocket Scale does not. A lot depends on how the measuring strategy is handled. A scale that is used to measure down to its least significant digit will almost certainly require warm-up. The battery-powered powder scales often have it in their control logic to do an automatic rezero whenever the weight is under a threshold of around half a grain or so, and that lets you make a measurement, remove the weighed powder, return the pan, and have the scale self-zero again before it drifts far enough for the measurement to be off by a least significant digit. You just wait to see the zero appear. The downside is you can't measure quantities below that half a grain without adding a preload weight to take a difference measurement from. It's something that only works for dedicated powder scales because the maker knows you don't normally need to measure powder below that lower limit.

That said, I've seen some scales that were just plain bad. Couldn't hold zero or repeat a measurement reliably. Bad load cell glue, electrical noise sensitivity or whatever. The best bet then is to return them rather than fight them.