Am I alone in questioning the need of enduring the high costs of these automatic dispenser scales? After you have spent $200+ on one can you point to a measurable improvement in accuracy? Sorry, sports fans, I fail to see where accuracy to one hundredth of a grain is gonna' make a difference.
People like me who load about 8K rounds per year don't need such automation at these prices or the extra accuracy that they purport to furnish.
Very good points and IMHO, your points are readily applicable to vast majority of reloaders out there.
And while I agree mostly with the notion of "You get what you pay for", due to globalized manufacturing, cost of products doesn't always equate to better quality/performance, especially for certain electronic devices like digital scales.
In the spirit of THR myth busting (
like this myth busting of tumbling finished rounds, for up to 48 hours), we myth busted inaccurate notions about digital scales.
In the digital scale myth busting thread, we shattered these myths -
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...tal-scale-accuracy.759750/page-6#post-9614543
- Cheap digital scales (less than $50) are junk and cannot be trusted for reloading
- Since digital scales cannot be trusted to weigh powder charges to .1 gr resolution, they may be good only for weighing bullets
- Digital scales won't stay calibrated and will soon drift and give inconsistent readings
- Digital scales are not as good as "gravity based" beam scales
From data provided by various THR members and verification with
Ohaus ASTM Class 6 check weights (check weights down to 0.015 gr), we found "cheap" sub $50 digital scales, even those around and under $20, not only consistently verified accuracy to 0.1 gr (good enough for reloading) but many digital scales had higher resolution than benchmark Ohaus 10-10/5-0-5 beam scales with 0.1 gr resolution which were used by reloaders to win matches and set records, even 1000 yard Palma match.
We also found digital scales should be used within manufacturer specified temperature range (typically room temperature of 59F to 95F and carry warning against use in extreme cold/heat) with fresh batteries (Alkaline or rechargeable) or they will start acting funny, inconsistent or malfunction. And of course, just as with beam scales, digital scales should be used on flat stable surfaces.
I would like some suggestions on a good digital scale to replace it.
So after the digital scale myth busting thread, I now tell people a "good digital scale" is the one that repeatedly verifies check weights in the range you are going to use.
My usual powder charges for pistol loads range from 3.0 gr to 6.0 gr and all five of my digital scales consistently verify check weights in that range along with check weights down to 0.1 gr.
While it's nice to have 0.02 gr resolution digital scale; to me, 0.1 gr resolution digital scale is "good enough" for reloading as 0.1 gr resolution beam scales were good enough for record setting match shooters for decades.
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