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looking at new digital scale

3K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  RAJBCPA 
#1 ·
http://www.brianenos.com/store/be.scale_hp.html
Anyone try one of Brians scales. This one has a lifetime warranty and the cheaper one has a twenty year.
I like to have one digital and one beam. My cheapo digital has started to drift some. I like to compare back and forth
I have heard that if I go digital that I want to get one that plugs in
 
#2 ·
My el cheapo digital scale was a piece of junk.It wandered all over the place. I bought a RCBS Rangemaster 750 (110 volt) and it works great. Make sure theres no fans or air affecting it. Also Leave it plugged in to warm it up first and I leave it pllugged in until finished.I would check it with provided weights occasionally just in case while weighing charges. I stomped the el cheapo into the floor.
 
#3 ·
Buy a beam scale, and you won't have those problems! And they work when the electricity goes out!
 
#5 ·
I have a Dillon Digital scale I bought nearly 20 years ago and a top of the line at that time RCBS beam scale with the micrometer dial. For those 20 years the RCBS has never been used. It sits on the top of the gun safe covered gathering dust.

The point? A good digital scale can last for a long time. Worried about accuracy over time? Buy the Lyman check weight set and verify the accuracy occasionally. Mine is still accurate to less than a tenth of a grain (the limit of its display).

Beam scales are slow to use as they swing back and forth homing in on the actual weight while you change the counterweights (or tun the dial on my RCBS). The digital scale is instant answer. But there are things you must do before using it.

The digital scale must not be near any breeze, either natural or from the heating/cooling system of the reloading room. You must warm it up for some period before using it (say 20 or more minutes). You must check the zero for drifting....I do it before each measurement series. It must be level and away from vibrations. Buy the best one you can afford. Someone here went outside of the reloading industry to the scientific measurement industry to get one more accurate for less money (that is the same place RCBS and others go to get them in the first place).

I have had several beam scales and I hated using them all including the RCBS micrometer scale that I bought new on a closeout. But that's just me and your choice might be different. To each his own.

LDBennett
 
#7 ·
laserdoc:

Do you really think Brian Enos as a enterprise will be around in 20 years let alone during your lifetime. I have nothing against Brian Enos but that warrantee is only worth the paper it is printed on especially compared to a known durable digital scale from a company that has been around for decades who's business is scientific scales and other instruments?

I once bought a bunch of oak furniture with a lifetime warrantee. Two months later when the company closed its doors it became obvious the warrantee was for the lifetime of the company.

I say buy the best scale you can afford and forget about the warrantee. It will last a long time if the scale is good enough. Mine has, but if it broke tomorrow after getting a good 20 years out of it I'd just buy another good digital scale. Nothing is forever.... home appliances are good for 5 years. The same goes for home electronics. If a good scale lasts more than 5 years then you won.

LDBennett
 
#8 ·
I am also thinking about getting an electronic scale to either use as a primary, or as a back up to my Dillon beam scale. I have noticed the last 5 months or so my Dillon beam scale started weighing a little on the light side. Example- I can zero out my scale, then weigh a 4gr check weight, and my scale will be dead on the money 4.0gr. The problem is when I start measuring my check weights over 10gr. No matter what weight combo I try, my scale always reads .2gr lower than the check weight. My 20gr CW weighs 19.8gr, both 20gr CWs weigh 39.8gr. I can throw, and measure 10 charges at 3.8gr per drop, and will get between 37.8gr, and 37.9gr overall. I can't for the life of me figure out what has changed. My beam scales use to read exactly 40gr when checking.
 
#9 ·
I've been using this scale for 10 months and am very impressed by its' speed, accuracy, and stability. It is battery operated and I've only had to replace the batteries once.

I have a set of NIST certified weights (ASTM class 2) that I use to check the scale before every use and it has always been more accurate than needed for reloading. It reads to 0.01 grains and is almost never off by more than .04 grains. I use it on my reloading bench and it is not affected by vibration. You do have to keep air currents off of as they can affect it quite a lot.

I've used scales in the past that cost upwards of $2,000 that were not as accurate or stable as this one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003STEJD4/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

None of the reloading mfgs make their own scales. They buy them from the likes of Ohaus, Taylor, or Mettler add their brand name and mark the price up. That includes both beam and digital types.
 
#10 ·
I don't have a digital. Went through two cheaper ones and ponied up for a RCBS 10-10. It is fast to use and I dial it in to the charge I want to throw and adjust my powder measure until I get there. I'll probably never buy a digital unless it is a higher end model and runs on 110 volt power and not batteries.
 
#11 ·
I am also thinking about getting an electronic scale to either use as a primary, or as a back up to my Dillon beam scale. I have noticed the last 5 months or so my Dillon beam scale started weighing a little on the light side. Example- I can zero out my scale, then weigh a 4gr check weight, and my scale will be dead on the money 4.0gr. The problem is when I start measuring my check weights over 10gr. No matter what weight combo I try, my scale always reads .2gr lower than the check weight. My 20gr CW weighs 19.8gr, both 20gr CWs weigh 39.8gr. I can throw, and measure 10 charges at 3.8gr per drop, and will get between 37.8gr, and 37.9gr overall. I can't for the life of me figure out what has changed. My beam scales use to read exactly 40gr when checking.
You can try using a can of compressed air and blow out around the balance knife edge (if you can get to it). Dust and debris on the balance beam edge will cause erratic weighing. It might also be that the knife edge is worn down and if so the balance needs to be replaced.
 
#12 ·
You can try using a can of compressed air and blow out around the balance knife edge (if you can get to it). Dust and debris on the balance beam edge will cause erratic weighing. It might also be that the knife edge is worn down and if so the balance needs to be replaced.
Yea I blow it out with compressed air before each loading session. I keep it covered in a Rubermaid shoe box. As for the worn down knife edge; that's a possibility. I noticed last night there was a little wear. I have only had this scale since Dec 24, 2011. Looks like I may be calling Dillon.
 
#13 ·
I went ahead and got Brians less $$ scale for 74.95.
I know the 20 year warranty is meaning less but I talked to him and he said if I ever have a problem to send it not back to him but to the address in the manual.
Heck I will be 77 years old in 20 years and will not really care if it is working then or not :)
The biggest plus for me is that I can turn the time out off on the display so it will not shut down in the middle of weighing up a charge!!
http://www.brianenos.com/store/be.scale_be.html
 
#15 ·
i use a lyman digital.. has check weights.. but i also use a rcbs beam scal too. good combination between the 2...

ditto wha tthe others said about calibration.. drafts.. etc.

also on a digital.. i'd do plug in electric.. not bat. and let it equalize in temp to the room it will be used in.

check calibration now and then.

IE.. I will setup my beam and digital.. and every 20 throws check each again..
 
#16 ·
stev32k:

Your experience is the one I had in mind (buy from a scientific company rather than from a reloading company). But you need to explain to those not familiar with this model that it also reads in grains, not just grams. I believe that is the case??? LDBennett
Yes, it does read in grains as well as grams, pennyweight, and carets. It could just as easily read in pounds, stones, tons, or hogsheads. The only difference in any of them is a conversion factor and that is easy with today's electronics. It is exactly like converting watts to kilowatts the only difference in these two numbers is a conversation factor of 1,000.

The conversation factors in moving to and from other units is not as easy as multiplying or dividing by 1,000, but it is exactly the same procedure. All you do is multiply or divide one unit by the correct conversation factor and you have the new unit number. It's as easy as that.
 
#17 ·
stev32k:

Wait a minute!

It does not directly read grains as used in reloading? I looked up your unit and it is not clear that it reads grain of powder for reloading. It says "gn" but it is not clear that is the same. Have you anything to clarify this?

I understand math can be used for conversions but the last thing I want to be doing is math to set up loads. too easy to screw up the math. There are scales by scientific measurement companies that do read in grains of powder for reloading. The one you have may not be one of them?

LDBennett
 
#18 ·
stev32k:

Wait a minute!

It does not directly read grains as used in reloading? I looked up your unit and it is not clear that it reads grain of powder for reloading. It says "gn" but it is not clear that is the same. Have you anything to clarify this?

I understand math can be used for conversions but the last thing I want to be doing is math to set up loads. too easy to screw up the math. There are scales by scientific measurement companies that do read in grains of powder for reloading. The one you have may not be one of them? LDBennett
yes, it does read directly in grains - as in reloading powder grains just like a RCBS, Dillon, Hornady,or any other reloading scale.
 
#19 ·
LD, the scale that stev32k bought a while back does read out in grains. The grains we use to measure reloading components is the same unit of measure that his scale reads.
I was skeptical of it too when I first saw him posting about it as his choice of reloading scale...primarily because it is one that I had lumped into the "el cheapo" category. :)

There is only one grain unit of measure in both the english/imperial or international measurement system. it's not like the troy/apth. and avoir. ounce units, which do differ per pound.
1 grain = 1/7000 pound

The jeweler's grain and the obsolete Tower grain (wheat grain) are different units and both are long obsolete.


Back to the OP's question about the scale that BE has on his site...
Either one looks like a perfectly good scale for reloading. the only thing I might be a bit suspect of is the claim about it being one of the only scales that you can use a trickler with.
I work with scales daily, and to me that statement kinda indicates that the scale has very little damping in the calculation unit and it might be tricky to work with. I'm not saying it's a bad scale because of that though! But it will show any drafts or slight vibrations much easier than some of the "mainstream" reloading digitals or beams on the market. It'll probably be damped similarly to a common magnetic-damped beam scale or possibly even a bit less (like my old old-damped Redding beam scale if I use 0w synthetic motor oil in it).
 
#20 ·
I would not have purchased the AWS scale if I had not seen it in operation. My wife and I were in the jewelry store where she shops and I saw the owner using one of the scales. I asked him about and when he told me it would weigh in the milligram range I was pretty skeptical. So he picked a small loose diamond and took me into the back where he had a Mettler Analytical balance that reads to 0.1 milligrams (about a $3,000 balance). The Mettler sat on a a very heavy marble table to dampen vibration. The small AWS scale was setting on a regular display case. He weighed the diamond on both scales several times. I don't remember the exact weight but it was in the 50 milligram range and the difference in the two scales was very small (can't remember the actual difference but it was less than 0.5%).

I was very impressed then and still am. I tested the balance pretty thoroughly when I first got it and continue to check it each time I use it and it still performs well. I've posted the test results before, but here they are again. The calibration weights I use are NIST certified, ASTM class 2 weights.
 

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