electronic powder measure's fluctuations

[lpreddick]

how much is too much? not mentioning my brand, but i have a .1-.2 gr fluctuation most of the time. i'v tried spraying static guard, dryer sheets, leaving the thing on for days, routing it's electrical source from all over the place and it still does the same. i load the 6br and it's variations, so .1-.2 gr can make a difference. any magic to cure it or do i need to get a newer and more expensive replacement and if the latter what scale is the most dependable? thanks.

 

[jlow]

First of all, what is the sensitivity of your balance? If it can only read down to 0.1 grain, then 0.1 to 0.2 grain fluctuations is reasonable. On the other hand, if it is 0.2 grain, then it is way too much.

Have you calibrated it? If that does not work, then buy a new one. As usual, I would suggest GemPro 250 unless you can afford the Sartorius GD503. Reviews for both are in the “Gear Reviews” of this board.

 

[tazzman]

lpreddick,

You've done a few of the things that can cure an electronic scale of variations in readings.
Here are a few more:
Use a battery pack linked to a battery charger to isolate your scale power from your grid(there are people here(this site) that offer this ready-made);
Ensure that you do not have an air current that might disturb your scale, A/C, central heating, etc...;
Fluorescent lighting does affect your scale. If feasible, use incandescent lighting in your reloading room;
Use one of the circular magnets around your power cord to dampen variations in grid power(Radio Shack has a selection);
Use a heavy base to support your scale(I use a leftover granite countertop piece for mine); and
Throw short and trickle up to your selected weight.

I also tipped mine back a little bit(using 2 quarters at each front corner of the granite base) to prevent clumps from ending in the tray when trickling.

Hope this helps. At least before you go out and purchase another scale !!!

Cheers,

Phil aka tazzman

 

[MVW]

I have both a Chargemaster 1500 (+/-.1) and a Satarius AZ153 (+/-.02). I have them side-by-side on a slab of level granite with dryer sheets under both. I wiped both off with static guard, put two different choke coils over the power cord and plug both into a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). The Chargemaster hasn't budged in months. The AZ153 on the otherhand drifts all over the place. If I TAR the scale, the accuracy is fine, but the readout isn't very stable. One of these days I'll send it back and have them take a look at it.

Mike

 

[itchyTF]

If your scale has an Autozero function, I suggest using that (zero without the pan). Along with that I would also suggest adding the weight of the pan to the powder charge and use that as the target weight. (i.e. pan = 162.7 gr., charge = 41.4 gr. - target = 204.1 gr.) That way every time you remove the pan to dump the charge the scale will zero itself.

 

[Killshot]

I found the same things a year or so ago. Tried the same hacks as you.

One thing I found success with was to keep the scale in one place all the time, keeping the unit plugged into a dedicated outlet and turned on and calibrate the scale before each use. That's in addition to the static guard and line insulation.

If the scale doesn't show the amount of my powder pan in the negative when the pan is removed, I re-tare the scale. The scale reads to .02 Grains and rarely drifts by more than .04-.06, but even then it gets re-tared (tared again?) before I move on.

I bought a Gem-Pro250 as a 2nd scale. While it doesn't seem to drift at all (!) it doesn't reflect increases from trickling as sensitively as the AccuLab does. Regardless, I'm very happy with the results on target and with the very low spreads I see from the chronograph. That is with either digital scale.