☛ Official ☚ The Big & Dandy Scale / Balance Thread - Part 2.000±

[Transform]

I had the second one for 9 months before it packed up. A friend has had one for a couple of years I believe.

 

[Blue Druid]

Don't know if this is the best place to post this or if ADD would get more responses but I recently picked up cheap a Sartorius 4503 MP6 scale, 0.001mg (1microgram) readability.
Didn't find out till after I'd bought it that it's missing a weighing pan, I've checked out sartorius spares dept and they've quoted me several hundred for a spare weighing pan so I'm planning on making something myself rather than pay more for the pan than I did for the scales.

I think it should be doable only problem is I'm not exactly certain how the pan fits on as I've only got the manual (b&w with little technical drawings), what I can see and a few pictures from the net to go by so I wanted to see if anyone here has any experience with this model and can answer a few questions about the parts. Specifically what part the little hook in the middle of the weighing area plays, it's not attached to the motorised pan extractor arm which I'm sure the pan is attached to but I can't tell if there's some connection to it I need to make.

This isn't the one I bought but it's the best picture I can find of the weighing pan :http://www.kitmondo.com/sartorius-4503-mp6/ref278089

I know this isn't the best way to go about it, ideally it'd have had all the parts like I initially thought but it hasn't so I figure I've got to try making something suitable. I've made a basic pan under the 300mg weight of thegeneric sartorius one, just have to figure how to best, and most accurately attach it.

Would really welcome any assistance anyone can offer.

 

[Transform]

I might get this, but can only find it on e-bay so far.

What's wrong with ebay (for this)?

 

[crOOk]

Don't know if this is the best place to post this or if ADD would get more responses but I recently picked up cheap a Sartorius 4503 MP6 scale, 0.001mg (1microgram) readability.
Didn't find out till after I'd bought it that it's missing a weighing pan, I've checked out sartorius spares dept and they've quoted me several hundred for a spare weighing pan so I'm planning on making something myself rather than pay more for the pan than I did for the scales.

I think it should be doable only problem is I'm not exactly certain how the pan fits on as I've only got the manual (b&w with little technical drawings), what I can see and a few pictures from the net to go by so I wanted to see if anyone here has any experience with this model and can answer a few questions about the parts. Specifically what part the little hook in the middle of the weighing area plays, it's not attached to the motorised pan extractor arm which I'm sure the pan is attached to but I can't tell if there's some connection to it I need to make.

This isn't the one I bought but it's the best picture I can find of the weighing pan :http://www.kitmondo.com/sartorius-4503-mp6/ref278089

I know this isn't the best way to go about it, ideally it'd have had all the parts like I initially thought but it hasn't so I figure I've got to try making something suitable. I've made a basic pan under the 300mg weight of thegeneric sartorius one, just have to figure how to best, and most accurately attach it.

Would really welcome any assistance anyone can offer.

I can't exactly help you here, but I really like how you go about this. Maybe you could make pictures of the process in case anyone else ever stumbles into similar problems. Good luck!

 

[Blue Druid]

Got a decision to make now, I advised the seller of the Sartorius 4503 that it was missing a part & they've offered to take it back & give me a refund.
I'm in two minds as to whether to do it or keep trying to make an alternative pan. Can someone with knowledge of precision scales chime in here? what's my chances of getting it right and are there any factors I'm unaware of that might prevent me from getting an accurate reading?

 

[crOOk]

Got a decision to make now, I advised the seller of the Sartorius 4503 that it was missing a part & they've offered to take it back & give me a refund.
I'm in two minds as to whether to do it or keep trying to make an alternative pan. Can someone with knowledge of precision scales chime in here? what's my chances of getting it right and are there any factors I'm unaware of that might prevent me from getting an accurate reading?

I've only messed with my old Mettler B5 which was manufactured in the 40s. I can most definitely replace every part of it and could probably build most of them from scratch. It has a precision of 30ug and if I got you right there yours is a digital scale with a precision below 1ug? I have no idea at all how those are built.

Imho, you should look at this as a chance for some personal achievement. I'd say: If you paid less than 100 bucks, definitely go for it, since all you have to lose is 100 bucks after all. If it was considerably more expensive, you should judge whether you feel up to the task or not. We usually can achieve a lot more than we are aware of once we put our mind to something. If you have a tendency to give up at the slightest sign of resistance, give the scale back. Otherwise go for it!

I personally hope you attempt this.

EDIT: I found this one used for USD 2,350.00 on ebay. That's a lot of fucking money for a scale. I still don't know how much you spent, but if it's anywhere close to 1000 bucks, I'd carefully consider if you even need a scale with such a high precision. I paid 30 Euros for mine, it's been very reliable for almost 10 years now (and another 60 before that) and I can still weigh out 100ug +-30ug, not that I would have ever needed to do that anyway.

 

[Transform]

IMHO you definitely don't need a balance with such precision. I use my 0.01mg in 0.1mg mode usually because it settles faster and I don't need such precision.

If you want to do this as a project then go for it but otherwise I would keep your eyes peeled for a working second hand 0.1mg.

 

[Blue Druid]

Imho, you should look at this as a chance for some personal achievement. I'd say: If you paid less than 100 bucks, definitely go for it, since all you have to lose is 100 bucks after all. If it was considerably more expensive, you should judge whether you feel up to the task or not. We usually can achieve a lot more than we are aware of once we put our mind to something. If you have a tendency to give up at the slightest sign of resistance, give the scale back. Otherwise go for it!

I'm not easily discouraged if I put my mind to something and I think I've got a good chance of success, but I do try to assess the likelihood of success as well as I can.
The scale was 250, expensive enough that I can't afford to throw the money away on a chance of getting an accurate scale.

At this stage I still don't know how accurately it weighs, I've also noticed some problems getting in to fit the weighing pan - or to put powder onto it as the automatic door & mechanical weighing pan holding arm have been sticking a few times.

Transform,

You're right I don't really NEED a 0.001mg scale, it's just I had the opportunity to get it and the hubristic desire to get the 'best' scale. It was worth a shot for the money I paid, and if it had a weighing pan & no automatic door issues it would've been an incredible deal. Right now though I'm about 90% sure I'll send it back as I'm now seeing issues with it I'd not anticipated. I'm going to have a shot at estimating the scale accuracy & ease of use tonight though so we'll see.

 

[Transform]

Honestly I have no idea how you could estimate accuracy at that resolution. At the 0.1mg level using liquids of known density is good but I don't even know how you'd professionally calibrate 0.001mg!

Have you ever had ultra high precision before? Like you say it's pretty cool but I've honestly switched into 0.1mg mode because the increased precision is more of an inconvenience.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

Hey guys,

I'm new to mg scales, and looking through this thread I came upon the Gemini-20 scale:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Weig...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1307655441&sr=1-1

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with it, and can tell me if it's a good bang for your buck kinda thing. I don't have much funding to work with. I would be using it to weigh substances such as 2C-C, where I wouldn't need to go below 10mg ever really. Y'all's input is greatly appreciated, I'm wanting to order one soon to coincide with when I'm getting my first testing material. Getting finals over with has never been so exciting hahah.

Thanks!

 

[Xorkoth]

I have that scale, it works great for its price, I usually weigh something multiple times as it can vary by a mg or so. Also, at the low end, it seems to be not as accurate, ie, if you tare it with the pan to 0, and try to weigh like 5mg or something, it seems like it doesn't read it too well. However I fix this by putting the pan on and NOT taring it, so it reads a couple of grams. Then, adding even a few mgs of a substance will work. It's like once you get past the ~0 point, it becomes more accurate. You just have to do basic math, ie, if it reads 2.430 grams with the pan, and you want to weigh out 12mg, then expect it to read 2.442 grams.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

I have that scale, it works great for its price, I usually weigh something multiple times as it can vary by a mg or so. Also, at the low end, it seems to be not as accurate, ie, if you tare it with the pan to 0, and try to weigh like 5mg or something, it seems like it doesn't read it too well. However I fix this by putting the pan on and NOT taring it, so it reads a couple of grams. Then, adding even a few mgs of a substance will work. It's like once you get past the ~0 point, it becomes more accurate. You just have to do basic math, ie, if it reads 2.430 grams with the pan, and you want to weigh out 12mg, then expect it to read 2.442 grams.

Thanks Xorkoth! From what I read previously it looked like a good purchase, I just wanted to be sure.

 

[Transform]

Yes, they are second in value only to the unbranded version, as discussed earlier in this thread.

 

[.:Holy::Toast:.]

I have what seems to be the knockoff brand of the gemini, the smart weigh.
It looks identical to the gemini-20 as my friend has a gemini.
They seem to weigh fairly accurately, although I haven't used it for any 2c's although I definitely plan too soon once I finish my final exams

 

[DeLee]

Hello
So I have this cheap scale that is "intended" at weighing diamonds. I think it cost me just 24$ so I knew it wasn't going to be the most accurate thing.
When I use the calibration weight which should wheigh 10grams the scale shows 1025 milligrams.
So how should I compute this?

Should I subtract 25mg from everything I weigh or can it be the calibration weight that is weighing a little more than 10 grams on the dot?

Thanks!

 

[Transform]

It's odd for the calibration weight to be quite that much out. The problem with chinese junk like this is that it could be the weight or it could be the balance. I would send it back for a replacement.

 

[Asante]

I love my gempro 250 so much that when I make sweet love to it all night I'm confident it could weigh each sperm individually.

Seriously though, has anyone any information on the Miraklas BS050 which is said to be accurate to 5mg?

I want a simple dose-while-high scale for MXE, its OK if its off by 10-20mg tops as its for oral MXE when I'm so blitzed that I rather not use my gempro and when 10-20mg extra or less dont matter much for the final outcome anyway.

 

[bropiate]

When I use the calibration weight which should wheigh 10grams the scale shows 1025 milligrams

The calibration weight is intended to calibrate the scale before use, it's not the weight that's off by 25mg, it's your scale.
Don't add or subtract the 25mg, the scale could be off by 0.025% which would mean that adding or subtracting won't solve anything; you need to put the scale into calibration mode with the weight on the pan, that'll make it read as 10g with your weight on, thus calibrating the scales. You should calibrate the scales every time before use if they're cheap ones; they'll likely be affected by moisture and air pressure causing the scale to be off by a certain amount when starting, which is why you're provided with a calibration weight (which will always be 10g, provided it's well made), the weight isn't for making sure your scale is correct, it's for correcting small errors in your scale.

If your scales have a manual it'll tell you how to put your scale into calibration mode (along with why and when you should do this), once calibrated your scales will work to the accuracy they're supposed to. Personally I'd say that cheap mg scales can be out by 5-10mg, so if you're measuring doses of things measuring a large amount of stuff (like NBOMh/NBOH crystal or other potentially dangerous super-potent drugs) then making a dilute solution of this measurement is the best way to work with things that you can't measure without microgram scales.

 

[2cAlex]

Scale broke. Looking for the cheapest reliable to +/- 3-5mg scale.


Not planning to use for any extreme low dose RCs unless I am using volumetric dosage aswell (if drug has changes in about the ~4mg range)

Really looking for a budget scale. If I can get one for under $40 that is +/- ~7-10mg that is no biggie either as I would love to use that for volumetric dosage.

 

[Transform]

Hi 2cAlex, please have a read of the thread for recommendations, all models appear accurate enough to meet your needs but the cheapest are these two. The second one is very popular.

My budget balance has packed up already after a few months. I went to weigh something and noticed that the weighing boat seemed much lighter than normal. When I weighed a 10 mg item on them it registered as 5mg! Could have been a close call.
I will not get this style of balance again; they need twice as many batteries (not clear if they last longer as a result though) and generally seem to not be made as well. For the extra £2 I will be returning to other style of budget balance for my portable set.

Style 1 (broken)

Style 2:

plmar: I would recommend getting the second balance I've listed here. It weighs down to 0.001mg and costs £9.50