Is waiting for digital scales to 'warm up' really necessary?

[veep]

G'day all,

I'm looking at a digital scales and powder dispenser combo after using a mate.

Before doing a bit of reloading with it though we waited 30 minutes to let it 'warm up' as the instructions said.

Not sure I'm getting what that was about though? Just seemed like 30 minutes of doing nothing?

Can't say I see what's changing during that 30 minutes?

[petemacsydney]

mine (hornady) times out and turns off after 5 or 10 mins
never heard of "warming up" for such an electronic device though. seems very strange to me - at least compared to other elec devices that i am more familiar with..

[Chronos]

in my experience when you turn the scales on they will be on zero, after a few minutes they start to drift. i think this is caused by the software that is used to buffer the scales so they settle, otherwise they'd never settle on a weight. this can also be seen when you add small amounts of powder to a pan on the and the readout doesn't change

i recommend anyone looking at powder dispensers read this article first, http://www.accurateshooter.com/gear-rev ... -part-one/

it's a little dated now but will help you understand a few limitations of these devices

Chronos

[Lorgar]

I have the RCBS combo and it too says you need a warm up.

20 minutes I think? Could be wrong about that.

Can't claim to be a scales expert, but I was under the impression it is about the components reaching a 'normal' temperature.

On hot days my scales go all over the place. Like wise if is a fast heating up day or cooling night and I'm doing enough charges to be sitting there for an hour or two, the reported weights change and the scales have to be re-zeroed. On sticking hot days it changes so fast it's too time consuming to bother doing it...

Gotta do it on even temperature days with mine. I can't remember who but I've had feedback from someone on here with the same for RCBS.

They work great in the right conditions, but are definitely affected by temperature change.

[Guliver]

in my experience when you turn the scales on they will be on zero, after a few minutes they start to drift. i think this is caused by the software that is used to buffer the scales so they settle, otherwise they'd never settle on a weight. this can also be seen when you add small amounts of powder to a pan on the and the readout doesn't change

Don't confuse lack of resolution with accuracy.

[Chronos]

I'm not talking about resolution, I'm talking about the buffer designed to stop the readout jumping up and down with every vibration or puff of wind.

If you slowly trickle one kernel at a time onto some digital scales it's possible to add a volume of powder without it registering on the readout. Its a software issue, not a resolution issue.

There is also the potential power issues with digital sales that can be caused by supply and even fluorescent lights.

This from lyman a own site

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/faqs ... asures.php

Another good read on digital scales is this guide on brianenos.

http://www.brianenos.com/dnld/scale_tips.pdf

Chronos

[veep]

Cheers all.

Thanks for the replies, total newbie to this stuff obviously.

Will probably pay to do some testing with the scales without filling any brass to get a better feel and understanding for it.