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Posted: 1/7/2010 7:11:43 PM EDT
| Well its time to vent a little. I was working on getting everything loaded up tonight to go out and test some loads Sat. My g/f's uncle came over, my reloading mentor, and was helping me out. I started throwing powder in all of my cases. I weighted every single charge everyone of them on the scale measured 5.3 grains which is my starting load. Got done and we were moving on to seating bullets, but I noticed the charges looked like they had alot of variation in the cases. We started to measure them and sure nuff they were off. My scale that I went ahead and ponied up the money for a good one is wondering and not accurate at all. I guess I will be calling Midway tom for a replacement and wait another week. Im leaving the brand out of this because its a simple mistake that any manufacturer could have and Im just glad I caught it. So, Im now open to suggestions for a replacement. |
| What type of scale, balance beam or electronic? Whichever type a set of scale check weights would be recommended. Electronic scales need 20-30 minutes to warm up and settle down before taring and starting to load. Also you would need to watch the readout when removing the powder pan just to check that the numbers on the readout stay the same every time the powder pan is removed. Also the electronic scale should be on a separate bench or table to avoid vibration and avoid wind currents from air conditioning vents. It is possible your scale is at fault though. |
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What type of scale, balance beam or electronic? Whichever type a set of scale check weights would be recommended. Electronic scales need 20-30 minutes to warm up and settle down before taring and starting to load. Also you would need to watch the readout when removing the powder pan just to check that the numbers on the readout stay the same every time the powder pan is removed. Also the electronic scale should be on a separate bench or table to avoid vibration and avoid wind currents from air conditioning vents. It is possible your scale is at fault though. Its and electronic scale. my reloading room is off by itself with no airflow and it is on my bench but I really dont think vibration is the issue. I dunno I guess I will talk to Midway tom morning. |
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Quoted: Like the man said, did you let it warm up?Quoted: Its and electronic scale. my reloading room is off by itself with no airflow and it is on my bench but I really dont think vibration is the issue. I dunno I guess I will talk to Midway tom morning.What type of scale, balance beam or electronic? Whichever type a set of scale check weights would be recommended. Electronic scales need 20-30 minutes to warm up and settle down before taring and starting to load. Also you would need to watch the readout when removing the powder pan just to check that the numbers on the readout stay the same every time the powder pan is removed. Also the electronic scale should be on a separate bench or table to avoid vibration and avoid wind currents from air conditioning vents. It is possible your scale is at fault though. I'm asking because you didn't answer that part. |
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Like the man said, did you let it warm up?
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Its and electronic scale. my reloading room is off by itself with no airflow and it is on my bench but I really dont think vibration is the issue. I dunno I guess I will talk to Midway tom morning.
What type of scale, balance beam or electronic? Whichever type a set of scale check weights would be recommended. Electronic scales need 20-30 minutes to warm up and settle down before taring and starting to load. Also you would need to watch the readout when removing the powder pan just to check that the numbers on the readout stay the same every time the powder pan is removed. Also the electronic scale should be on a separate bench or table to avoid vibration and avoid wind currents from air conditioning vents. It is possible your scale is at fault though. I'm asking because you didn't answer that part. Also, are there flourescent lights within 5 feet of the scale? Flourescent lighting within 60" plays games with the electronics in most reloader digital scales- they're not shielded from interference as well as laboratory scales. |
| One other thing that's not likely but possible is that the circuit that the scale is plugged into should not have any other appliances that would kick on and off. Constant voltage is necessary for electronic scales. Some buy a gadget that keeps the voltage constant and filtered. I'm not familiar with those. I haven't had any problems with my electronic scale but it is necessary to let it warm up before starting to load. |
| There are no florescent lights in the room just standard lights. I did let it warm up per say. I cut it on and calibrated it and let it sit while we were talking, explaining, setting things up. Probably about 10 to 15 min, but the scale was on for a good hour and was still drifting. I will cut it off and let it sit for 30 min without doing anything to it and then see how it does. |
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Electronic scales are a novelty item. Never trust them. Hardly a novelty item. Electronics are always subject to faults of many types. Just like mechanical devices can fail. You are entitled to your opinion no matter how wr....... The world runs on electronic scales. When my RCBS Chargemaster 1500 was working, I would always check every charge with a beam scale. Novelty item but you have one? 
To the OP. As stated.try....and use. Clean power circuits Vibration free surface Level surface. I had a scale that would refuse to calibrate on a bench I had because it was off level a little. Warm up Remove EM fields. Flourescent lights create EM fields that can disrupt sensitive electronics. Be sure you have a quality set of standards. If the standards read right throughout the weight range then your scale will. Be sure to test the weight range of your scale. Just because it is true out to 30grs does not mean it will be true out to 70 or 120grs. Avoid getting powder under the platter/load cell Do not pull or push on the platter/load cell If i missed something. someone will tell me. Also I will not discount the use of a balance beam scale as a back up. Don't be afraid to use one as a primary either. Many of the same cautions apply to a magnetic dampened balance beam scale as does to a digital/electronic ones. Be sure to keep the bearings clean on a balance beam as well. That said I use, like and would recommend the Lyman DPS 3 scale/dispensing system. If you can afford it. I also got the computer interface with it. I can store and recall loads from the scale to my computer and back again into the log software provided. It stores lists of charges you set up amd will dispense from memory the one you select. |
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Electronic scales are a novelty item. Never trust them. Hardly a novelty item. Electronics are always subject to faults of many types. Just like mechanical devices can fail. You are entitled to your opinion no matter how wr....... The world runs on electronic scales. When my RCBS Chargemaster 1500 was working, I would always check every charge with a beam scale. Novelty item but you have one?
This. I have the RCBS Chargemaster 1500 combo setup. I verify it regularly with check weights (simply because I'm paranoid...I'd do the same thing with any type/brand/model of scale) and it has been flawless. Given the critically important nature of the operation, why anyone would employ a "novelty item" to do their powder measuring is a mystery to me. |
| Well I spoke to Midway today and they are sending me a new unit out. I will make sure the bench is level, leave my cell out of the room, and let it warm up. Trust me this is not a cheap scale and is not a novelty item. I spent the extra money on a good scale to have accurate readings. I'm glad I posted so that I have a few tips now to try out with the new one, thanks guys for the advice. I would get the chargemaster combo but I have a Redding 3BR powder throw that I really like. Anyway the new scale should be here next week and we shall see. |
| I'd hardly say they're a "novelty item"... I have used a Chargemaster Combo for 3 years and have never had any trouble of any sort. I calibrate before every use and I double check every 10th load on a balance beam scale, keeping the 10 round batches separate so if something is wrong, I only have 10 rounds to pull down. Guess what? I've never had to pull down any rounds due to charge variations after many thousands..... |
| I use the same Lyman beam scale that came with the Kit about thirty years ago. I do use check weights. I trust my Redding 3BR and believe that charge volume is more important than charge weight, so after the initial weigh, I'll keep the hopper more than half full and probably won't weigh another charge. For precision handloads, I'll throw a charge that's a half grain light and trickle the rest. |
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Electronic scales are a novelty item. Never trust them. When my RCBS Chargemaster 1500 was working, I would always check every charge with a beam scale. Please tell me why you used the Chargemaster at all? You might just as well have thrown it onto the beam scale with a normal powder measure. 
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my chargemaster 1500 has been the cats meow. I actually got it because of erratic readings with my 30 year old rcbs beam scale. On the beam, weigh the same charge
3 times, would get 3 different readings, bench level, scale zero'd. I trust the chargemaster, just warm it up. 
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Electronic scales are a novelty item. Never trust them. When my RCBS Chargemaster 1500 was working, I would always check every charge with a beam scale. Please tell me why you used the Chargemaster at all? You might just as well have thrown it onto the beam scale with a normal powder measure. My rcbs powder measure can't throw consistent charges (fit is so sloppy), so I bought the chargemaster several years ago on a whim to speed up powder handling. The first one died after one use and read 2 to 3 grains less than the actual charge (I checked every charge because I was working with something unverified). The replacement lasted two years before dying and would routinely show an extra 1/10th a grain if I picked up the pan and replaced. I'll be picking up a quality powder measure and an another beam scale to replace it. Every week, there's a post or two about cheap scales and inaccurate readings. There are dozens of things that can affect scales. You need to have a way to verify what the electronic scale is reading. |
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I trust my Redding 3BR and believe that charge volume is more important than charge weight Do you care to explain your reasoning on this? IMHO, it has wrong written all over it. Powder is made up of a mixture of chemicals. Those chemicals all "burn up" when fired releasing the energy that goes into propelling the bullet. Those chemicals contain a certain amount of energy per molecule/atom, and each chemical's molecule/atom weighs a certain amount. So when the powder company makes a powder, all of it should be fairly well mixed, and contain the same ratio of molecules/atoms. So for a set weight of the chemical, there is a set amount of energy to be released. So weight is the best way to weigh a charge. Volume is only if you desire a quicker reloading time over more accurate loads. Maybe you just worded that statement wrong, but I just have to wonder why you think volume is the more important measurement. Maybe you meant to say something similar to this? "I think volumetric charging performs a satisfactory job so I've never found the need to weigh my charges." |
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