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The Big and Dandy Scale Thread (First wave - archived 10-31-07)

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I'm ordering calibration weights later this week.

They're expensive as all hell though.

What was the lowest one you used, djfriendly?
 
My Ohaus brand set cost under $40 several years back. The weights vary in mass from 1mg to 500mg. For this application the cheapest weights are adequate. I've weighed them on an analogue torsion balance which is accurate to .01mg, and they all weigh within .1mg of what they are supposed to, most closer than that. Look for Ohaus item # 218-16.

My tests indicated that the Tanita 1210 is perfectly accurate, with one important limitation - amounts under ~10mg are less reliable. I had to place about 6-8mg of weight on the tray before it registered a reading. This is easily remedied by starting with a weight already on the tray, such as a credit card or gel cap. However, adding 2mg to any amount above 10mg consistently added 2mg to the readout. Furthermore, adding a 5mg weight caused a +4mg increase in the readout, and adding a 1mg weight to this increased the readout by 6mg, suggesting that the scale is truly accurate to +/- 2mg, and that it is sensitive to having as low an amount as 1mg added to the tray. These are just a couple examples of the testing I did. Above ~10mg, I never saw this scale misread the calibration masses.
 
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I just got a Gemini-20 via Ebay (70 dollars)...however, when I put the 10 gram "calibration weight" on, it reads it as 10.003 grams. Should that be reading a perfect 10? How accurate do they make the calibration weights?
 
I'm discussing weights for checking a scale's accuracy. The weight included with a scale is provided so that you can actually calibrate the scale. 10.003g is pretty close, so the scale is only very slightly miscalibrated. It probably has a button (check the instructions) which you will press, then place the 10g weight on the scale, then it will change its settings so that it will read 10.000g.

Just how accurate are these weights which come with the cheap scales? I don't know. The highly sensitive analogue scale I mentioned above can only measure amounts up to 36mg, so I can't measure it.
 
So even the calibration weights included with a scale should be that good? I was under the impression for true calibration weights you needed to buy them from a real weight place
 
I edited my last post and I think it addresses your question as best as I can.
 
Thank you, after tonight (in which I measured ~13 mg of a substance), I think that my scale is in fact 3 mg over. Thanks for the information though
 
Everything I've read says that Class 6 weights are totally not suited for .001g accuracy... nor Class 5... some places say 4 is okay all say 3 is good... but fuck Class 3 is expensive!
 
Just bought a Sartorius 2432 this afternoon. 0-200 grams of weighing capabillity, and accurate to 100ug :D
 
MagickalKat777 said:
Everything I've read says that Class 6 weights are totally not suited for .001g accuracy... nor Class 5... some places say 4 is okay all say 3 is good... but fuck Class 3 is expensive!
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The same sources will also tell you that a mg sensitive scale which costs $70 is a piece of garbage, not worth the plastic it's made out of.

I think my post above makes a good case for why the cheaper weights are more than adequate for this application. I've worked extensively with the calibration masses, and as stated have weighed them on a scale sensitive to .01mg to see how accurate they are. Testing to see if a scale is reading the proper amount is not a "rocket science" application.
 
Well thanks but I didn't buy a scale that cost 70 dollars and I'd totally agree that the 70 dollar scale is a piece of garbage and shouldn't even be trusted to weigh out 100mg... so what relevance does that have to my research reporting that Class 6 weights are inadequate?

In any case, experience this weekend proved that my scale is plenty accurate. I had no problem weighing out 4, 5, and 6mg doses of 2C-E for people to insufflate and it didn't fluctuate in its readings even once so I'm not too worried.
 
I was under the impression that you were one of the many using those Gempro scales. Looking back , I see you're an Acculab man. Nonetheless, I contend that the cheaper masses are perfectly adequate for this application.

In any case, experience this weekend proved that my scale is plenty accurate. I had no problem weighing out 4, 5, and 6mg doses of 2C-E
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In my opinion, you've missed the whole point of using the calibration masses. How do you know that those 4, 5, and 6mg doses were actually 4, 5, and 6mg? What you know currently is only that certain amounts of powder were placed on the tray, and those numbers were displayed. Only by placing, for example, a known 2mg weight on the scale and seeing the reading ".002g" will you know that the scale is accurately showing the amount placed on the weighing tray.

I look forward to hearing the results of your tests with the masses should you perform them, and I also have little doubt that your Acculab was reading correctly.
 
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It wasn't an Acculab scale. But we tested my GemPro 150 (its not the same as the GemPro 50 and gives the same reading every time in multiple trials instead of being off by 4-6mg like the old GemPro 50 was) against my friend's Acculab and the results came out the same each time between scales.

As I said, I'm not concerned. My scale was reading the same as his Acculab all the way down to 3mg, which seemed to be the lowest it would register.

Had I realized how cheap the low-end Acculabs were, I would have just gotten one of those instead.
 
what the hell, you guys use scales? what for? i just put the powder in my hand and estimate, im usually right give or take a mg.
 
We use scales because it is impossible to always be correct in eyeballing a known amount of powder (not to mention without a scale it is impossible to know how much powder is there).

With drugs like ketamine, DMT, DPT and maybe a few others eyeballing might not be too big of a deal...but with chemicals like 2CE, where every 2-4mg is a LEAP in intensity...it gets to be a big deal (and very dangerous seeing as how the LD50 is not established).
 
Its full of shit.

Those things are off by about 2-6mg every time.

Its good for measuring things where the dose isn't as sensitive but I wouldn't try it for anything else.

Anything that has the word "cheap" associated with it isn't going to be any good. That's a general rule to live by.
 
Does nobody ever listen?

ANY scale that is that cheap is going to be off by at least 4mg in readings and may waver even more than that... is your life worth spending less when you could spend a bit more and have more peace of mind?
 
Well, most eBay auctions start at $0.99, so that doesn't mean anything necessarily.

Personally I have a JPrecision gemological 10x.001g scale, and it drifts a bit, but with practice and multiple readings I have used it very accurately on many, many occasions. It's about the cheapest I'd go though. From eBay, with shipping, it was $70, which was low for that model.
 
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