Check weights and electonic scales

[Rock Knocker]

Im about to purchase a My Weigh Gempro 250 and on order with it I have a couple 1 gram check wheights and a couple 5 gram, the scale also comes with a 20 gram weight.

For calibration purposes am i getting a little carried away? My funds are stretched thin on this already, i rather not spend the other several bucks on check wheights i will find pointless.

I know some others use bullets of "known weights" as check wheights but i really have no other way of weighing a bullet to know its actual wheight. My other scale is a Lee Saftey crapper or whatever they call it, its served me well on my thread thin budget but i dont know what in the %&#@ i am Actually wheighing.

I have never calibrated an electronic scale and dont know if you can calibrate it at say: 1 gram then 2 grams then 5 grams then 10 grams all the way to 20+ grams just for the utmost precision.

 

[itchyTF]

The electronic scales I have calibrate with the weight that comes with it. I don't believe they can be calibrated with any other weights. Any other weights would be used for your piece of mind.

 

[smokin54]

I am a scale tech by trade . I have no personal experiance with the scale you are looking at but if it comes with a calibration weight buy one cheap weight that weighs 1/2 of what the calibration weight weighs . after the first calibration check the 1/2 weight and adjust it accordingly , fine sand paper to remove a little off the bottom or a light coat of clear spray to add . then you can test the scale regularly . actually I found my cheap rcbs (made by ohaus) never needs adjusting .

 

[kitsap]

The manual for the scale you are about to purchase is available online in several places for download. The instructions for calibration from the manual shows the normal calibration procedure is accomplished with one weight, the one that comes with the scale. Special linear calibration requires another weight.

If you have not downloaded the manual, it is a good place to start.

Doug

 

[Rock Knocker]

So if my 20gram check wheight calibrates at 20.012 should i trust the scale and try to shave it down a little to get as close to 20 grams as possible?

 

[jacksaligari]

How much do you spend on a good set off digital scales anyway and what brand would you recommend ?

 

[mr45man]

How much do you spend on a good set off digital scales anyway and what brand would you recommend ?

Jewelry stores have to have calibrated scales by law, much more accurate than ones normally used in reloading.
Take your check weights to the local store and if they are not busy. Have them check them out.

I have three electronic scales and they weigh different when you get down to .02 grains ,that’s close enough for most stick powder, one kernel will but you way over anyhow. And no I don’t look for a “small kernel any more , it just does not matter.


Denver instruments are good but a little pricy, I have two, very accurate but a little finicky about out side interference, lights, wireless phones ect.
Also my Dillon works great down to .1 gr

 

[Rock Knocker]

Going to a gewelry store is an excelent idea. I will wait untill they get me my 10 gram wheight and i will head to a jewelry store.

But in the case that my scale is spot on and the 20 gram weight does show up as 20.012 should i try and take a little bit of weaght off for as correct of a calibration as possible?

 

[nhm16]

Going to a gewelry store is an excelent idea. I will wait untill they get me my 10 gram wheight and i will head to a jewelry store.

But in the case that my scale is spot on and the 20 gram weight does show up as 20.012 should i try and take a little bit of weaght off for as correct of a calibration as possible?

How do you know your scale is spot on? I would much more trust a checkweight (you can buy checkweights that cost $$$ with certificates and everything) than the scale. What smoking54 suggested was to calibrate your scale with the 20g weight it came with, then buy a cheap 10g weight, and modify that (basically it sounds like you'd be calibrating/normalizing/whatever a 10g weight against your existing 20g weight on your scale), not the 20g weight itself.

 

[CoverDog]

Rock Knocker.......I purchased the Gem Pro 250 about a month ago and once I got over the shock of how small it was I am convinced it is an excellent scale. That in part was because of the True-Division German HBM sensors & professional components used in the mfg. of the scale. The 20g ASTM Class F2 calibration weight that comes with it weighed exactly 20.000g when I calibrated my scale. That equals 308.65 grains, but since the scale only reads down to 2/100th's it will always read to an even number and mine ALWAYS reads 308.64 grains. I leave my scale on 24/7 and several times a day I check to see if it has drifted and only twice in a month has it moved up to 308.66 from 308.64

I also purchased a set of about 10 calibration weights and have adjusted some of them to read what they should on my scale. I have also adjusted the 20g & 50g weights that came with my Pact scale to read exactly what they should on the Gem Pro 250.

I have compiled 3 pages for a report and comparison loadings with the Pact Powder dispenser/scale (accurate to 1/10th of a grain) and the Gem Pro 250 that I was going to send in to post as a review. Here are just a few of the results.

With RL15 and all the powders I used I set the Pact to dispense 27.7gr, in 10 charges I checked with the Gem Pro it varied from 27.76 to 27.94

With 8208XBR the 10 charges thrown weighed from 27.74 to 27.84 when checked against the Gem Pro.

And with HS6 the charges ranged from 27.68 to 27.76 once again ALL weighed more then the set charge but the smaller the kernel of powder the better the Pact dispenser did.

I will continue to use the Pact dispenser but I will trickle the last bit into the pan on the Gem Pro 250. IMO this scale is a bargain and I'm sure you will find this to be true. The LIFETIME WARRANTY isn't hard to swallow either.

 

[Lone Hunter]

Rock Knocker, Buy Once Cry Once is what they say. Buy the best you can afford. I found this true on scopes for sure. My scale (electronic) came with a 20 and a 50 gram weight. the 20 is 308.6, not sure what the 50 is. According to the instructions I use the 20 then the 50 to calibrate before each use. I have a balance beam scale and have I believe 1/2 grain all the way up to 20 grains for it. Good Luck on your purchase and usage..

 

[CoverDog]

Lone Hunter.....Your 50g weight should weigh 771.62 grains

 

[Rock Knocker]

Thanks for the awesome help.

I was assuming my scale may be off a little and the check weight may be off a little, would like like to kow how to make things as close as possible.

 

[Ont0001]

As an addition to check weights for the electronic scale,once I have an "established" load weight of what I'll be reloading (lots of)
I make a check weight of that load weight to be able to confirm reading and check for drift.
I use a small/medium bolt nut and file it to exact charge weight desired and scratch charge onto it.
Fast and accurate check.
Just an idea to simplify .
Gord

 

[Rock Knocker]

That is a great idea, I will do that once im done with my recent H4831sc ladder test.