Of course you can have a great scale but without a set of standard calibration weights with which to check the scale you really don’t know how well your scales are performing.
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Scales to weight pellets
- Thread starter DesertSilver
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Of course you can have a great scale but without a set of standard calibration weights with which to check the scale you really don’t know how well your scales are performing.
I’ve said this before your scale just needs to be consistent if you are the only one using it. The reason is if your scale tells you a pellet weights 18.3 and you get fantastic results with 18.3 that’s what you’ll be looking for. Then a friend takes some of you 18.3 pellets home and calls you to say they only weigh 18.1. You are not going to reweigh everything or buy a new scale your just going to know that 18.3 on you cheap scale does the job and you can continue to use it for your personal pellets
if you were a pharmacist then you need an accurate and calibrated scale or someone could die, no one will die if you pellets are off
it’s consistency that matters
if you were a pharmacist then you need an accurate and calibrated scale or someone could die, no one will die if you pellets are off
it’s consistency that matters
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Although my comment was directed more to the gentleman who purchased a near lab grade balance you just hit the hammer on the head Brian, your scale just needs to be consistent. The issue I’ve seen (and saw in the past) is that these little scales which use very delicate (but cheap) pressure transducers to translate mass to grain weights are prone to drift. That means over time you could see a pellet measurement which was reading 18.1 with a factory fresh scale and new transducer actually being read as something completely different. As time goes on how do you know that transducer hasn’t drifted off to now read an 18.1gr pellet at 18.6?
It’s the normal drift over time that a calibration set helps you to see (and correct if your scale allows). Zeroing a scale corrects the zero but the transducer probably will retain its factory calibration as time progresses. Powder reloaders routinely use calibration weights to check and correct the linearity of their powder scales.
Now if you wanted to make an inexpensive version for your hobby scale, say an inexpensive Franklin Armory scale for example, take a pellet from a tin weigh it, note the reading and store that exact pellet away where it won’t get dinged, (a small plastic lidded box with a silica gel pack would be ideal.) Then grab a pellet of a different weight, maybe the middle weight you’ll most likely shoot weigh it, note it’s weight and store it along with the first, finally take a pellet which represents let’s say the highest weight you’re likely to shoot and do the same. Now periodically, using tweezers to handle the pellets and not one’s salty grubby greasey fingers, take your test set out and compare how the three readings compare to their original readings on the factory fresh scale. I don’t know what correction, if any, one can make on some of these inexpensive scales but at least you’ll be able to see if your scale has drifted off.
Calibration sets aren’t all that expensive (although they could be more than an inexpensive hobby scale) If one is taking the time and trouble to weigh pellets you might as well know the truth of how your scale is performing over time.
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Invest in a set of scale calibration weights, on top of the ones that came in your cheap or expensive set. It always good to check to see if the calibration gets off. Also, and if you reload you will know this when it comes to scales, any air movement(electric fans, HVAC registers close by), unsturdy work tables(unsecured to wall AND floor), and certain voltage drops/spikes can affect readings(if the scale is plugged into a 120v outlet). If your scale is of the plug in type, invest also in a watchamacallit. Can’t remember what they are called, but they are mounted on most of the cords on hand power tools being bought new.
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The cheap scales are inaccurate and imprecise. If they were precise/consistent then all it would take is a little firmware tweak or press of the tare button and they'd be just as good as expensive scales.
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I have a Radwag XA 110/2X:
https://web.archive.org/web/20121229122807/http://radwag.com/english/1a_xa2x.htm
I have two sets of calibration masses. One is Class 1 and the other Class 0. I can put a 1 mg calibration mass on the pan and it will read 1.000 mg.
Weighing pellets isn't the primary use for this scale but it's there if I need it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20121229122807/http://radwag.com/english/1a_xa2x.htm
I have two sets of calibration masses. One is Class 1 and the other Class 0. I can put a 1 mg calibration mass on the pan and it will read 1.000 mg.
Weighing pellets isn't the primary use for this scale but it's there if I need it.
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I agree! I am not measuring powder for reloading just weighing pellets so it is not that critical.
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and if one is serious about that one should probably invest in a couple of standard test weights to check scale sensor drift...
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