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Places to get precision scales? Also looking for powder dispenser

T

tessu

Greenlighter
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
2
Sorry if this is in the wrong section, apparently it is, but I couldn't find a better one. Please move this if you are a moderator.

Hi, I need to find a good balance. I currently have a basic milligram balance, but I would like to have a better once, preferably down to 0.1 milligram as 0.01 would be overkill and too expensive.

The problem is - where can I find such a scale? Most of the scales are 1 mg, and better ones are usually semi-micro (0.01 mg). It's a lot harder to find those that go to 0.1 mg only. When you can get a cheapish scale that measures down to 1 milligram and does a decent job for its price, I'd imagine you could get a more sturdy one that goes down to 0.1 mg with a reasonable price, like 400-1000 dollars. Internal calibration would be a nifty feature.

Does anyone here know a good model or good places to buy those? I looked for refurbished equipment from Biostad but currently there are no good ones for me. Once there was one that went down to 0.01 mg, but I hesitated buying and it went away... it was just a few hundred euros.
Also a good powder dispenser would be great, I have been looking at Mettler Toledo QUANTOS but I have no idea of price... just a nice pipette-like thing for powders would do it, if I can drop sub-milligram doses with it.

All suggestions are welcome! I know of volumetric measurement but it does not suit my needs.
 
Join the scales thread :)

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=348436

Out of curiosity, if this is mostly about being able to drop sub-mg doses, why don't you just use volumetric measurement combined with alternative ROAs / carriers? It's a hell of a lot easier to just first weigh say 25 mg of DOI accurately and proceed to process that 25 mg in a way that enables you to dose 0.75 mg, than fucking around with an almost invisible amount of material.
(Sorry I now see you already addressed this but it would help for us to know what your 'needs' are)
 
tessu said:
Hi, I need to find a good balance. I currently have a basic milligram balance, but I would like to have a better once, preferably down to 0.1 milligram as 0.01 would be overkill and too expensive.

The problem is - where can I find such a scale? Most of the scales are 1 mg, and better ones are usually semi-micro (0.01 mg). It's a lot harder to find those that go to 0.1 mg only. When you can get a cheapish scale that measures down to 1 milligram and does a decent job for its price, I'd imagine you could get a more sturdy one that goes down to 0.1 mg with a reasonable price, like 400-1000 dollars. Internal calibration would be a nifty feature.
Click to expand...

Actually most scales found in "head-shops" or the flea market, at least around here (OK), DO go to one hunderedth of a gram, (.01g), and why would this be overkill even at that, they will only measure to the nearest 10 mgs...sounds like "underkill" to me. I am trying to find "true" mg scales,.001g, around here, but to no avail...yet.
Do what Solipsis said, break down a larger know quantity of sub. in water or EtOH and use the gradations on syringe for dose...use an insulin syringe as opposed to something with a removeable needle though, it'll be more accurate.
Also, always check/calibrate your scales using said syringe and water, dist. water weighs in at 1gram per mil, 1 drop is around 5-7 mg...stay away from the nickel or dollar bill calibration methods...they'll only get you close.
Lastly, if you're in the US, you can get perfectly good (.01g) scales for a $100 bill...the more you shell out on scales the less you have left to buy the stuff to weigh on them.
 
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He's looking for a scale that measures 0.1mg, so a 0.0001g scale.
I would imagine they would be harder to find, when I was looking for a mg scale all the scale and balance websites I found with 0.1mg scales were generally over $1000.
Personally if you're dealing with dosages that low I would shell out the extra couple hundred bucks, it's not something you really wanna fuck with
 
.:Holy::Toast:. said:
He's looking for a scale that measures 0.1mg, so a 0.0001g scale.
I would imagine they would be harder to find, when I was looking for a mg scale all the scale and balance websites I found with 0.1mg scales were generally over $1000.
Personally if you're dealing with dosages that low I would shell out the extra couple hundred bucks, it's not something you really wanna fuck with
Click to expand...

Shit! I totally missed that...he said ".1mg"...I read ".1g"...good luck.
They're gonna be pricey. That, imho, IS overkill.
 
Four-point (0.0001g) scales and anything more precise tend to run in the $1000+ or more range. They also need different technique than "normal" scales, you have to wait for them to settle and can't let even the slightest draft disturb it.

If you're looking for a "proper" scale I would advise looking around proper scale places rather than head shops, there are weight and measurement places that are more than happy to sell scales to people.
 
You do NOT want cheapish on analytical scales that you use on drugs you use in the microgram range. Those drugs are even less eyeballable than others and often quite unforgiving of mistakes.
 
sekio said:
Four-point (0.0001g) scales and anything more precise tend to run in the $1000+ or more range. They also need different technique than "normal" scales, you have to wait for them to settle and can't let even the slightest draft disturb it.
Click to expand...

^^^^

Absolute truth. At work I use a 0.1 mg scale.in an open lab. When people walk by or when the humidity fluctuates too much I easily get variance of +/- 2-4 mg (yup, that's right, on a $1000+ balance). Typically I do not use that balance for less than 10 mg. I also use a 0.01mg balance that people treat like shit. That exists in a special room and sits on a table designed to isolate it from operator induced motion (pen's, papers moving about, sample tube racks, etc). The 0.01mg balance also has expensive calibration weights.

$1000 should be able to get someone a 0.1mg balance from a lab supply company.

Another option might be to cross calibrate a good +/- 1 mg balance with a 0.1mg balance if OP has access to one. Using the same calibration weights with 2 different balances is acceptable.

Tom

Additional information

1. At 10 mg or less I would always use a draft shield.
2. I use either aluminum foil weigh boats or static free wax paper for measuring samples
 
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