Time for a new scale

[JackWagon]

Been saving for an A&D FX-120i but with three kids in college it's been a slow process and now my old un-trusty hornady bench scale is going bad so I am out of time and need a new one now. I have it down to three.

Creedmoor Sports TRX-925 (Most affordable, includes calibration weights look to be OIML Class F1)
A&D EJ-123
A&D EJ-54D2

If I order from CE products looks like they give you a calibration weight but it does not mention what class. Nice discount code for the EJ-54D2 making it lower than the EJ-123

All of have good "reviews" but with the creedmoor most of them look to be more of a infomercial than a user review.

Who has used any of the above and happy with it.

 

[DiffEQ]

Kudos to you helping your kids through college.
Both of the scales you listed use load cell technology (strain gauge), which yields a settling time of ~2 seconds.
Save your money and buy one of these at ~$120
https://ussolid.com/u-s-solid-300-x-0-001g-analytical-balance-1-mg-digital-lab-precision-scale.html
I can attest to their accuracy and repeatability, and can see the difference in weight of one powder kernel.
It's not in the same league as a FX-120i with its active dampening, but at 1/5th the price, I don't need it to be.
Having used one extensively for two years now, I'll put my scale weighing results up against those of any any 120i owner out there.
The active dampening us needed when you use it with an auto-feed trickler.

 

[DirtySteve]

I hate to be "that guy" but buy a used 10-10 scale from ebay or any where you can find one. Call Ohaus and get a new set of agates. Sharpen the knife edges and wipe the scale down with some alcohol to clean off all the dust. use steel wool to shine up the brass dampening blade and you will have a great scale..

 

[R.Morehouse]

Try aiming a cheap webcam at the pointer of a decent repeatable beam scale and run it through a laptop or whatever you have left over from the kids. I do this and it does everything it needs to do. I am a low-volume reloader with old man eyes, and never really in a rush. If I was I would just pre-weigh my charges and put them in 1 dram vials to take to the range. That system would save you a lot of "cheddar" . Cheap electronic scales can be a real " ADVENTURE"......To say the least.

Regards
Rick

 

[nmkid]

Yep, college is so expensive today. But parents have to try and do what they can for their kids. I have in storage an EJ 123 that I haven't used in over a year. Since you are a contributor and apparently a great parent...I will sell you the scale for $125 and I will cover the shipping. Read on the up on the scale and if you feel OK about it let me know via a PM. I would then get it out of storage and make sure it's still working right before you send any $$.

 

[JackWagon]

Yep, college is so expensive today. But parents have to try and do what they can for their kids. I have in storage an EJ 123 that I haven't used in over a year. Since you are a contributor and apparently a great parent...I will sell you the scale for $125 and I will cover the shipping. Read on the up on the scale and if you feel OK about it let me know via a PM. I would then get it out of storage and make sure it's still working right before you send any $$.

Wow, thank you. I am all in on that one!

I have been researching since Monday, the EJ-123 is a little slow to stabilize but that will not bother me as I take my time anyway. It was actually my top pick out of the three and the only reason I looked at the EJ-54D2 was a cost savings.

PM inbound to you

 

[liljoe]

I have owned a EJ123 for about 5 years now and have zero complaints. I would order another one tomorrow if this one let's out the magic smoke.
Joe

 

[wheelgun7360]

Kudos to you helping your kids through college.
Both of the scales you listed use load cell technology (strain gauge), which yields a settling time of ~2 seconds.
Save your money and buy one of these at ~$120
https://ussolid.com/u-s-solid-300-x-0-001g-analytical-balance-1-mg-digital-lab-precision-scale.html
I can attest to their accuracy and repeatability, and can see the difference in weight of one powder kernel.
It's not in the same league as a FX-120i with its active dampening, but at 1/5th the price, I don't need it to be.
Having used one extensively for two years now, I'll put my scale weighing results up against those of any any 120i owner out there.
The active dampening us needed when you use it with an auto-feed trickler.

I assume it will weigh in grains??

 

[DiffEQ]

I assume it will weigh in grains??

Yes. It wakes up in grams. I haven't tried to figure out how to make grains (Gn on the display) be the default measurement. Hence, when I power it on, after its self test/zero, I will press the units button about 6 times to get it to display in grains.
I don't know how many countries use grains, but the few EU and GB reloaders I do know use grams and the SI system.

 

[1066]

I don't know how many countries use grains, but the few EU and GB reloaders I do know use grams and the SI system.

I know we are often a bit odd but I don't think you'll find many of us GB reloaders using anything but grains.

 

[55fairlane]

I have no dog in the, because I have none of the above, but call Brent at Creedmoor.....he is a high power shooter and reloader....might shed some more light on the subject

Aaron

 

[K22]

Couple of years ago my Ohaus went "belly up" after about 45+ years of heavy use.

I purchased a Lyman Brass Smith 500, and it works flawlessly. I check it with calibration weights, and it's spot on. Consistent return to zero also.

 

[Bill Rodolph]

I have the Creedmoor. Seems the accuracy is fantastic, but it does drift.

 

[RegionRat]

I'll be the dissenting vote... save your pocket change and get the one you really want.

Soon those kiddos will make us all proud, launch their careers, and then there will also be grand kiddos to spoil too. The money will come, sometimes not as fast as we want, but it is just a matter of time...

 

[Cfshooter]

Kudos to you helping your kids through college.
Both of the scales you listed use load cell technology (strain gauge), which yields a settling time of ~2 seconds.
Save your money and buy one of these at ~$120
https://ussolid.com/u-s-solid-300-x-0-001g-analytical-balance-1-mg-digital-lab-precision-scale.html
I can attest to their accuracy and repeatability, and can see the difference in weight of one powder kernel.
It's not in the same league as a FX-120i with its active dampening, but at 1/5th the price, I don't need it to be.
Having used one extensively for two years now, I'll put my scale weighing results up against those of any any 120i owner out there.
The active dampening us needed when you use it with an auto-feed trickler.

Does it drift often?

 

[DiffEQ]

Does it drift often?

Not in my experience that I would call it drift. Compared to the drift of my old Powder measures (Hornady, RCBS), this one is golden. Those older ones would get off by one to three few grains.

In a few hours of loading powder, it may go off by -0.076gr and then after a while, go back. I zero it when it happens, and zero it back when it drifts back. I list the precise amount because the drift has always been that number as if it's a function of bit error in the A/D converter. It has never changed more than that.
When it happened the first time, I used check weights after zeroing to see if it affected accuracy, and it hadn't. Now when I see it, I just zero and keep on rocking.

I've left it on the entire time over a weekend of loading (with all the plastic covers in place) and it hasn't drifted.

I've also seen it off by less than that, and when I check, I'll see a few kernels of powder on the scale platten.

Edit to add:
Having used load cells extensively in robotics design, I'm OCD about how I treat my scale. I'm extremely careful to never let anything more than the pan and powder touch the scale, and to never let my hand rest on it. Load cells, once you hyper flex the mount, are toast and cannot be relied upon for any accuracy or repeatability.

 

[RegionRat]

Edit to add:
Having used load cells extensively in robotics design, I'm OCD about how I treat my scale. I'm extremely careful to never let anything more than the pan and powder touch the scale, and to never let my hand rest on it. Load cells, once you hyper flex the mount, are toast and cannot be relied upon for any accuracy or repeatability.

And, since you have obviously done this sort of work from scratch, it bears repeating out loud that there are limits to null/gain calibration and temp compensation when it come to this level of signal and the costs.

The bridge and amp are relatively simple, until we talk about the quality and stability of the circuits and the components along with the scheme for temp compensation. Getting the power to be clean is cheaper than a ratio circuit, but this is where corners get cut in favor of cheap on many scales. It can be done, and should leave room for a profit, but it can also be done wrong for even more profit.

Any performance test would require the temperature to be held very tight, or else we should expect to re-zero and re-calibrate often. As often as not, the way to tell the real value of a load cell scale, is to see how far the temp can change before the null or gain need touch up.

 

[M-61]

I know we are often a bit odd but I don't think you'll find many of us GB reloaders using anything but grains.

Maybe, but your s/n is not odd at all

 

[Cfshooter]

Not in my experience that I would call it drift. Compared to the drift of my old Powder measures (Hornady, RCBS), this one is golden. Those older ones would get off by one to three few grains.

In a few hours of loading powder, it may go off by -0.076gr and then after a while, go back. I zero it when it happens, and zero it back when it drifts back. I list the precise amount because the drift has always been that number as if it's a function of bit error in the A/D converter. It has never changed more than that.
When it happened the first time, I used check weights after zeroing to see if it affected accuracy, and it hadn't. Now when I see it, I just zero and keep on rocking.

I've left it on the entire time over a weekend of loading (with all the plastic covers in place) and it hasn't drifted.

I've also seen it off by less than that, and when I check, I'll see a few kernels of powder on the scale platten.

Edit to add:
Having used load cells extensively in robotics design, I'm OCD about how I treat my scale. I'm extremely careful to never let anything more than the pan and powder touch the scale, and to never let my hand rest on it. Load cells, once you hyper flex the mount, are toast and cannot be relied upon for any accuracy or repeatability.

The is for the great info. I see the one you linked is up to 300 but they have some up to 210 limit, I think it was 210. Is there a reason to go with the 300? They have so many within like $50 of each other, not sure which to go with, or why.

 

[DiffEQ]

And, since you have obviously done this sort of work from scratch, it bears repeating out loud that there are limits to null/gain calibration and temp compensation when it come to this level of signal and the costs.

The bridge and amp are relatively simple, until we talk about the quality and stability of the circuits and the components along with the scheme for temp compensation. Getting the power to be clean is cheaper than a ratio circuit, but this is where corners get cut in favor of cheap on many scales. It can be done, and should leave room for a profit, but it can also be done wrong for even more profit.

Any performance test would require the temperature to be held very tight, or else we should expect to re-zero and re-calibrate often. As often as not, the way to tell the real value of a load cell scale, is to see how far the temp can change before the null or gain need touch up.

Nah, I always bought the conditioning (power and bridge) electronics because it was so much easier to use something that already had been designed, and things like thermal coefficients were already evaluated. However, the customer initially required a demonstration of 1 million dry motion cycles for qual and acceptance. There we worked out every imaginable kink. There were some interesting instances of convergence with servo RPM, pitches and the load cells - destructive harmonics where only the most experienced or intelligent designers would anticipate them - of which I was neither.
I would expect a scale to accommodate issues like self-heating effects, but the proof is in the performance. I suspect that's why the RCBS needed to be powered on a while before using.
I designed custom boards for things like the MCU and where no OTS product existed for what I was doing. That was the '90s, and seems like a lifetime ago.

The is for the great info. I see the one you linked is up to 300 but they have some up to 210 limit, I think it was 210. Is there a reason to go with the 300? They have so many within like $50 of each other, not sure which to go with, or why.

I don't exactly remember why I chose one over the other, though I would suspect it was mostly because of availability at the time. I specifically wanted the RS232 output so I could put it up on a display if I wanted to.