Digital scale recommendation

GhengisAhn175

GhengisAhn175

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Minuteman
Dec 29, 2013
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#1
Did a search on the hide equipment section and didn't find my answer so creating a thread here.

Budget : $200

Requirement: just to give me a fast digital readout as ACCURATE as possible within budget.

Current set up: rcbs 505

I do not need a charge master combo as I want to throw my own charges and trickle
The rest. I am also discounting the rangemaster due to finicky reviews.

So far here are the contenders:

1. Dillon terminator
2. Gempro 250

Anything else I should be aware of? Dillon only offers a 1 year warranty while gempro offers lifetime if bought within states.


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#3
Stay with your 505 until you can afford a A&D FX 120 I.
The dillon is not any good, and the Gempro works for some and some has just problems with them.
None of them can reliably weight trickled powder any way.
 
#4
Hey powermac!

Don't think I can have the heart to spend 1k on a digital scale.. Looking at more affordable options that will speed up my reloading process without breaking the bank or accuracy.

I did notice as someone mentioned in another thread with a 505, I need to sometimes lift the pan and put back on because it won't measure some trickles. Just adds way too much time for me..


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#5
I understand it is a rather large investment for a reloading scale in some ways, but it is incredibly accurate, and have a 5 year warranty witch trumps a lot of the mfg warranties for such.The A&D unit is quality though, and have a very good track record by now, long warranty, no drifting. And impressive performance for the price.

I am also aware prices and wages are different in the US, witch i take advantage of all the time when it comes to reloading equipment. Here a simple Chargemaster retails for more then 900 dollars.

If speed is what you are looking for and are satisfied with 0.1 grains, the Chargemasters are good to go.
But the scale again won't reliably respond to trickling.

And if your theral in your reloading you will surely enjoy being able to trickle powder with kernel accuracy.

Yes the 505 is not as fast and user friendly as others, but they are accurate and very good for the price.
Always smart to have a good old magnetic scale as back up any way.

The Gempro's are a more affordable option, but seems to be hit and miss with them, some people praise them others only have trouble.
I do not own one myself so i only know what i've heard and read plenty of times.
 
#6
Send your 505 to Scott Parker for accurizing, cost $75 I think including return shipment. I broke my beam and purchased a tuned one from him, and it always goes back to exact zero with true check weight.
 
#7
In this world of digital this and that a old school beam scale should always be used before some ChiCom crap like the GemPro, save your pennies for a good scale, and do your research on the GemPro, lots of failures, and slow to non existent warranty coverage.
 
#12
Gem pro 250 don't believe the arm chair experts that cry about warranty. Had mine for 5 years still kicking and I've dropped it more than once.
 
#13
I have been using a Gempro 250 for about a year and a half. It's been a frustrating year and a half. It's slow, zero drifts like crazy, and doesn't keep up when trickling. Fortunately, it has finally gone TU displaying "ERR 1" all the time. I have had it with digital scales. Ordered a tuned Ohaus beam scale from Scott Parker instead.
 
#14
gewehr said:
Gempro 250 accurate and they back their shit up with a kickass warranty


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Click to expand...

If you get a Gempro, count on buying 2. You need one for everyday use, and a backup for when it fails, and you need to send it in for replacement.

Mine lasted a year before it went nuts. I sent the scale in for replacement, and was told it would be at least a month. Their Gempro 250's are backordered and they don't have a firm ETA for their next batch. I wouldn't consider the warrantee "kickass", but maybe a "kick in the ass".

I am now in the process of getting another scale since I reload almost every week. I think folks considering the Gempro, need to budget for 2, and a yearly or bi-yearly fee of $12.50 to send a unit in for repair/replacement. When you look at the costs, paying more for a good scale may make sense.
 
#16
Powermac said:
Stay with your 505 until you can afford a A&D FX 120 I.
The dillon is not any good, and the Gempro works for some and some has just problems with them.
None of them can reliably weight trickled powder any way.
Click to expand...

Powermac/All,

I am debating weather to get a 2nd Gempro 250, or the FX-120I. Can you tell me what you like about the FX-120I? Obviously, the FX-120I will be more reliable, but having 2 Gempros will take care of that.

Does the FX-120I function any better than the Gempro? The Gempro is ok, but measuring trickle charges is slow.

Thanks...
 
#17
Fx-120i uses magnetic sensors which makes it highly accurate. Measures a lot fiber than the gempro. Because it's more for industry standard use higher quality.

Just trying to justify the cause to own one for reloading purposes when we work at a tenth of a grain and that's what most scales are, +/- .1 but floats a few more.



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#18
Abq-Defense said:
Powermac/All,

I am debating weather to get a 2nd Gempro 250, or the FX-120I. Can you tell me what you like about the FX-120I? Obviously, the FX-120I will be more reliable, but having 2 Gempros will take care of that.

Does the FX-120I function any better than the Gempro? The Gempro is ok, but measuring trickle charges is slow.

Thanks...
Click to expand...

First off it is a lot more reliable as mentioned.
Has a good 5 year warranty.
The Gempro uses strain gauge weigh cells, and have anti drift software that works against it's accuracy, and contributes to it's slow speed, the software kind of chooses the closest weight and shows it being stable, while sometimes it is not. To explain it simply.
The Fx-120i weigh cells are of the magnetic force restoration type, and has no counterproductive software, it registers the correct weight instantly.
A strain gauge balance like that, does not reliably measure a kernel or two of powder, and it drifts.

There has been a lot of bad Gempros made and a lot of warranty issues, some won't stop drifting without using only DC input etc.

The FX is a lot faster and accurate, it also has a draft shield to counter airflows that can affect the balance.
I weigh my charges to a kernel or two, and use the tube of the Omega trickler under one side of the draft shield to make a stable enviornment as possible.

A few other useful tools are weight certified pan/scoups, that i use with my CM's that have the exact same weight so they auto dispense while i drop the powder through the drop tube.
And a certified calibration weight should be used to calibrate every time you turn it on for use.
Also with any accurate balances you should attach some ferrite cores to the power cords.

A picture says more then a thousand words they say, so watch the video and learn.
Same model range of balance just different technology, the video quite clearly shows the difference.
And both these scales are of considerably higher quality then the Gempro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89BOlViQXto


Digital Scales: GemPro 500, AY123, Sartorius GD503 within AccurateShooter.com


I will admit i am not a real expert on balances, i know a thing or two though, and i happen to come across such equipment at work from time to time, along with being a bit OCD when it comes to reloading.
Make a call to the guys making the video (balances.com) they make a living of selling balances and are more qualified then me to answer your questions, they will be able to answer any question you've got.

If you only keep your charges to +/- 0.1 grains the Gempro should be able to do that reliably, as long as you have not got a lemon.
The 0.02 grain accuracy is quite questionable though, something the test in the article i linked also indicates.
 
Last edited:
#19
Powermac,

Thanks for the in-depth reply and the links to more info.

I think I will go ahead with a FX-120i. I could buy a 2nd Gempro, and spend time sending one in for repair every couple of year, or spend just a little more for the FX-120i. I found a place that has them for $515 shipped. I will end up spending a little more this way, but it sounds like I will have less drifting, and trickling with my Omega trickler will go much faster.

When I get the replacement Gempro, I can sell it off to help offset the cost too.

Thanks...
 
Last edited:
#22
Guys complain the gem pro doesn't trickle, well if you throw a charge weight of let's say 44.4 and your looking for 44.54 just trickle a bit ( watch the kernels go in I count them 0.02 gr per kernel) lift the pan off and remeasure it's faster than waiting for the scale to measure it. It's still very fast very accurate. Guys complain they drift. Mine drifts 0.06 grains every once and awhile I just push the tare button.....not that hard.
 
Last edited:
#28
My gem pro works great if you let it warm up for 30 min or so beforehand. I will double check it with a beam scale everytime and put it back on the gem pro a few times when I'm really tying to gnats ass it... Works for me


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#29
Ghengis,

I just wanted to give an update with my suggestions....

The Gempro can do the job. It can be accurate to .02 grains if you watch the drifting. You can use it to measure trickle charges. IT is slow, but usable. Some folks never have a problem with their Gempro, and others have had to send them in for warrantee replacement 1 or more times. In my case, I had to send mine in after 12 months. They have had mine for 3 weeks so far. Their original estimate was "atleast a month, maybe more". Others that sent their unit in got faster turn-around times. It depends if they have them in stock or not.

In short, the Gempro can be accurate and a decent solution. If you load every 1-2 weeks, you may need to have 2 Gempros on hand.

I got my FX-120i last week. There is no comparison in the usability. I haven't seen any drift, and it measures the trickle charges very quickly. A buddy of mine who also has a Gempro, was over this weekend. I loaded up 10 charges, all to the exact kernel, and it was very quick. He was shaking his head at how much faster the FX-120i did trickle charges. I think the reliability will be fine. I haven't seen anyone say thay had to send their FX-120i in for repair.

So, if you can afford 1 Gempro, get it and hope for the best. If you can afford 2, then you are covered from a reliability stand point. If you can afford the FX-120i, than you will have smoother, faster reloading. I am still shocked at how fast I can get trickle loads done now, and how the FX-120i doesn't drift.
 
#30
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but you can find a lot of your answers in the reloading section.

You should consider the RCBS Chargemaster. I know it's not in your list, but you should. It dumps AND trickles (I'm big on trickling loads too, which is why I bough this one) and it'll accurately dump and trickle any powder, including IMR 800-X and other pain in the ass powders, and accurately too. If it's off by even a tenth of a grain, it'll indicate so allowing you to manually trickle a bit more it or just discard that throw or whatever. It's great. You can also crenellate or otherwise cut drinking straws to insert in the end of the trickler that can supposedly make it even more consistent with throws (though I haven't had to try that yet, others swear by it as a simple upgrade).

It has memory for lots of different loads, counts your throws, etc. A great tool for weighing each load, I haven't used my thrower or trickler since I got it and I only use the 5-0-5 to check my scale from time to time (which has it's own weights for calibration, but still...) and it's always spot on. Highly recommended. Speeds up single stage hand loading. One fellow says he uses two of these and loads using a Dillon progressive but weighing each charge vs. using that auto dump

Each one has different details, but some simply do less than others. It's up to you which one serves you best, but you need to look hard at the RCBS Chargemaster combo because it seems to weigh like you want plus use a digital scale. In fact, you don't gain 1/100th as much from the digital scale as you do from the Chargemaster unit. Seriously, I swear.

If it's JUST a digital scale you're still after, by all means, then look for Ohaus. I think RCBS uses Ohaus for all their scales and I know that their beam scales are Ohaus. Or maybe you can by direct from Ohaus, from their site maybe? But I'd consider the RCBS Chargemaster were I you because it'll trickle it just as accurately as you can and automatically too.
 
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