Reloading Scale That Works

[AJ]

I finally found a reloading scale that works. I was fed up with my Acculab VIC 123 so I call Denver Insturments and talked to a tech. He said I needed a force restoration type of scale and the little strain gauge scales were just toys. He said Denver Instruments parent company Sartorius made the GD503 that wasn't cheap but was deadly accurate. I bought one and I have to say it is one awesome unit. I was loading my 260 with 42 grains of H4350. The GD503 is accurate to .005 that is 5 thousandths of a grain. My Acculab was supposed to be accurate to .020 of a grain but couldn't do that on a good day. This new scale can actually weigh an individual kernel of H4350, it weighs right at .025 per kernel. I weighed a small screw about 20 times throughout one day and every time I got the same exact reading. My load for my 260 now has a SD in the single digits and an ES of 10 fps is not uncommon for 5 shot groups. I made my first YouTube video just to show it off to my friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfl9C0-5zYw

 

[lovdasnow]

that is sweet, but for $900 i would hope it would be thanks for sharing

 

[wooger]

That's very cool! I also get single digit sd and low extreme spread with my tuned beam scale, it's interesting to see how many different techniques work for different people.

 

[AJ]

I didn't say it was cheap, but it is accurate. I'm just hoping the guy I sold my Acculab doesn't see this and call wanting his money back because it is a POS. And yes after playing with the cheap digitals like the ones sold with the Charge Master any tuned beam scale would be better. But after having a Sartorius GD503 for just one week I wished I hadn't wasted my money on all the others. I am sure my loads will get nothing but better. PS: You can look for the Charge Master on ebay because I'm dumping that too.

 

[6BRinNZ]

Aj, did you need to do all of the power protection, no fluro lights thing, or is it plug and go...?

 

[AJ]

I have floresent lights in the room and they don't affect it. I am not sure what force restoration means but I know it works. I have no power protection.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Here is an video that demonstrates the difference in accuracy between a strain gauge and force restoration (magnetic) scale... coincidentally, a GD503 vs a XX123 measuring out powder (salt)...

Interesting comparison and interesting to hear exactly how they work and why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxMzbAt4bj0

 

[40X Guy]

Nice scale and vid! My A&D FX-120i is working very well for me after chasing my tail with 3 other junk scales, they aren't cheap, but buy once and cry only once. Any warm up time with your new scale?

Frank

 

[Heavies]

Very nice scale! I thinking of getting rid of my chargemaster as well. It is just not as accurate as I would like it to be. I have a tuned beam balance, and it is very accurate. It is not subtended for less than .1 grains, but it will register 1 kernel of powder.

 

[markm87]

$900????

Yowza! I don't want to remove too many excuses for flyers. ;D

 

[Matt Pitchon]

AJ:

I'm the guy that bought the Acculab 123. Not to worry, it a great scale. I use it to verify charges from my other scales and its precision it more that enough for this sling shooter. I'm very happy.

Matt

 

[bozo699]

I didn't say it was cheap, but it is accurate. I'm just hoping the guy I sold my Acculab doesn't see this and call wanting his money back because it is a POS. And yes after playing with the cheap digitals like the ones sold with the Charge Master any tuned beam scale would be better. But after having a Sartorius GD503 for just one week I wished I hadn't wasted my money on all the others. I am sure my loads will get nothing but better. PS: You can look for the Charge Master on ebay because I'm dumping that too.

AJ:

I'm the guy that bought the Acculab 123. Not to worry, it a great scale. I use it to verify charges from my other scales and its precision it more that enough for this sling shooter. I'm very happy.

Matt

That's just way too funny

 

[Jay Christopherson]

I talked to Gary at balances.com before ordering a GD503 (based on AJ's advice). An *extremely* knowledgeable guy when it comes to scales and I spent a few minutes talking to him. Definitely watch his videos on Youtube for good info.

 

[itchyTF]

Another alternative -
I had a VIC-123 that drove me nuts and sold it. I replaced it with a Denver TP-153 which, I believe, has the force restoration load cells. A slight amout of drift but nowhere near the VIC. Denver/Sartorius wouldn't take the VIC back but gave me a decent deal on the TP.

I have heard to take the scales out of Auto-Zero so I did an experiment. With the scale zeroed (and nothing on the pan) I started trickling and noticed it kept returning to zero. I guess that's what it's supposed to do!! BUT, if I dumped a larger amount (maybe a tenth or two) it didn't return to zero and accepted the smaller amounts from that point on. So, with Auto-Zero on and a tared pan you always start out at zero before you throw a charge and can trickle from there.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

FYI, this is for some that have asked or are wondering about using this in the field or at a range without AC power available. Somehow I got roped into a conversation/conference call about this with Gary and a potential customer who was from this site, so I thought I would post what I know (or think I know). Any electrical engineer expert types out there feel free to correct me if needed and remember, so far, this is all unverified since I don't have the scale in my possession yet, but it should theoretically be true.

The power input (as AJ so nicely provided to me), uses a wall wart to convert AC to DC. The nominal conversion to input is 15VDC/200mA. The input jack on the scale itself is DC so clearly, we should be able to use an external, rechargeable battery pack for this. This is what I do for my PVM-21 chronograph and existing GemPro scale anyhow.

According to the manual documentation for the GD503, it accepts an direct current input of 10 - 20V (quite a wide range there), which is nice. So, in my estimation, you could use something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-XP18000-Universal-External-Netbooks/dp/B002K8M9HC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315596078&sr=8-1

or something like this:

http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/Super-Rechargeable-Li%252dBattery-DC12V-4800mA-for-CCTV-Camera.html

with appropriate connectors. The latter is what I use with my chronograph, GemPro, and wireless target cam system at the range now. They're cheap, last a long time, and I've never had a problem with them.

Also, just FYI, I sent an email to Sartorius itself to confirm the power ratings in the manual.

 

[bozo699]

I talked to Gary at balances.com before ordering a GD503 (based on AJ's advice). An *extremely* knowledgeable guy when it comes to scales and I spent a few minutes talking to him. Definitely watch his videos on Youtube for good info.

That is a very educational video, I had given up on electronic scales but I might have to do some more checking into the GD503, Thanks AJ and jaychris.
Wayne.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

I guess Gary at balances.com decided to ship me a Sartorius AY123 (same as Denver MXX-123) to do a comparison with, vs the GD503 I ordered and if it hasn't sold, I'll include my GemPro 500.

If there's interest, I can take some video of it during a loading session. I'm really anxious to see how it does with regards to drift. As it stands now, I re-tare my GemPro every 5 rounds or so, just to be 100% sure it hasn't drifted. I've caught it a few times, where I didn't do that, and it had drifted as much as .15 grains. As long as I re-tare it often, it seems to stay pretty accurate, but it's a pain to do that and I still get the random flyer (in terms of velocity).

It'll also be nice to be able to trickle powder (I have the same Omega trickler that AJ does) without having to trickle/pause - trickle/pause - (curse/empty) - trickle/pause, like I do now. This new scale should be nearly instantaneous with updated readings.

 

[6BRinNZ]

jaychris, I am definitely interested in the drift as well. Drift has put me off electronic scales. I'm happy to use surge protection etc but I can't be bothered with the whole granite table, no fluro's, make sure the wind is coming from the west thing

 

[AJ]

I left the GD503 on for 8 hours straight today and it had drifted .150 in that 8 hrs. I rezeroed the scale and put my test part back on the scale and it weighed exactly the same as it has weighed every time I have check it. My Acculab VIC 123 would drift .2 to .3 in an hour and it never weighed something the same twice.
AJ

 

[deadlyswift]

I guess Gary at balances.com decided to ship me a Sartorius AY123 (same as Denver MXX-123) to do a comparison with, vs the GD503 I ordered and if it hasn't sold, I'll include my GemPro 500.

If there's interest, I can take some video of it during a loading session. I'm really anxious to see how it does with regards to drift. As it stands now, I re-tare my GemPro every 5 rounds or so, just to be 100% sure it hasn't drifted. I've caught it a few times, where I didn't do that, and it had drifted as much as .15 grains. As long as I re-tare it often, it seems to stay pretty accurate, but it's a pain to do that and I still get the random flyer (in terms of velocity).

It'll also be nice to be able to trickle powder (I have the same Omega trickler that AJ does) without having to trickle/pause - trickle/pause - (curse/empty) - trickle/pause, like I do now. This new scale should be nearly instantaneous with updated readings.

I would be very interested in your findings! I have been looking at the GD503 for about 2 mounths now. Trying to decied if it's worth the $900 plunge. I don't mind taking the plunge if its worth it? So far I can't find anything on the net, nor what others tell me about other scales they have tried. It appears the GD503 is the cat's meow? Is it? If anyone has more feed back on the GD503 please post it.
Thanks!