Balance beam vs. Digital scale

V

varhunter

New member
Im looking to get a new scale for reloading at home on a bench. It would be in an unfinished basement or potentially my garage. I've used a digital scale for most of my reloading, but I've heard digital scales can be finicky in certain conditions. How do balance beam scales compare to digital in terms of speed and accuracy? Anything i should be aware of otherwise if i decide on a balance beam scale?
 
FWIW, I started loading in 1952, long before digitals were available and never saw the need to change. Not much to go wrong with a balance beam.
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Regards,
hm
 
+1
Old time reloader here also. I can tell when something is wrong with my balance beam, tried a digital and could never trust it, I can't tell if it is working right or not. I have a half dozen balance beams, I even use a oil dampened one(little paddle on the beam that sits in a pool of oil to slow the beam down) yet, it is one of my favorites.
 
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I've been using a balance beam for around 45 years.

Never a problem.

Never used a digital scale so no help from me on them.
 
I would like a nice balance beam but for the last 8, maybe even 10 years I have been using the same Gempro 250. It has surpassed all my expectations, still accurate to within .02 gr. it registers every 2 kernels of small stick powder like varget or benchmark, and every 1 or 2 kernels of larger stick powder like H4831sc and maybe every 6 to 8 kernels of ball powder. I have 1,10 and 20 gram checks weights and the scale still reads them like it did almost a decade ago.

It feels small and light weight but it has been dropped on the ground at least 3 different times that I can think of with no issue. It can plug into a wall or run on batteries, I used to bring it to the range with me and reload on the shooting bench and with it's pan cover down the wind made no difference. I used to reload on the same desk my computer is at and I would have music on with a subwoofer underneath and it didn't care.

The only time it would read strange numbers is if it was heating up or cooling down, it needed to reach a stable temperature to be spot on, but even when it was reading strange numbers it would bounce around by .04-.08gr, still more accurate than any dedicated reloading scale I have seen.

I got to use a nice RCBS beam scale one time and I really liked it but that little gempro has blown me away.
 
I've got both. The digitals are fast and as far as I can tell accurate. I also have Blance beams and use both. I calibrate before every session and always set my pan back on the scale to verify its zeroed before dumping another charge into the pan. Havent had an issue yet. But always have the trusty old back up if something doesn't seem right to cross reference. I picked up the Lyman for 60 bucks. I had the rcbs one but the LCD display was hard to read the Lyman is easy because the large screen and the color contrast between the background and numbers
 
A good balance beam scale is supposed to be accurate to +/- 1 tenth of a grain. A good electric scale should be accurate to +/- .02 of a grain.

All scales seem to be finicky to any air movements. (central heat and air con etc.)

Having check weights is the best way to stay on top of a wondering electric scale. They just need to be checked with a test weight and then re-zeroed often. (still faster) Especially when they have not been turned on for very long.

I like my electric scales. But i have a beam scale.

If the end of the world apocalypse ever happens, there will be no electricity. Having a bunch of tools that do not require electricity could be handy.
 
Digital or balance scale, both need calibration/zero and check weights. I use both, the digital is very useful for adjusting powder thrower. I only trickle to the balance. That may change if I upgrade from my rcbs 750.
 
I use both when loading for a match. However, when loading for grandkids or kids shooting, I just use the powder dispenser and only weigh the first couple on the scale.
 
Sooooo, those of you who, like myself, that have digital scales, how many of you leave them turned on all the time versus only turn them on when you use them???

I have two, my RCBS CM and a Dillon D-Terminator. I've had both for probably around ten years and even though I think RCBS doesn't necessarily recommend it, I rarely turn them off, in fact its been years since either was powered off. They are both plugged into a surge protector.

In the beginning my CM would take a good 10 minutes, after it was turned on, before it would settle down and start working right. My Dillon always seemed to settle in within a few minutes. I wouldn't consider either to be high end lab quality so maybe some of the more high end dig. scales don't have this problem.
 
Started out checking my CM with a Lyman 500 balance beam every
five loads. Never had a conflict. Then went to every 10 loads
with no conflicts.

I agree that everyone should have a BB scale. Electricity is
not a guaranteed commodity.
 
Originally Posted By: B23Sooooo, those of you who, like myself, that have digital scales, how many of you leave them turned on all the time versus only turn them on when you use them???

I don't leave mine on all the time, but If I know I'll be doing some reloading, say, over the weekend, I'll turn it on Thursday or Friday and leave it on.
I recently purchased a Hornady LNL Auto Charge and I like it so far. I don't leave it on all of the time either.
 
Originally Posted By: B23Sooooo, those of you who, like myself, that have digital scales, how many of you leave them turned on all the time versus only turn them on when you use them???


Mine stay on 24/7 on a surge protector.
 
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