need new scale

lee · Aug 16, 2003

All,
I am interested in hearing what brand of scales you guys use. Is it digital or analog and what tipped the scale in favor of your purchace? BTW, Pun intended.

lee\c

Jorge Oliveira · Aug 16, 2003

I have two scales: a very old (triple beam?) mechanical Johnson of England that can measure from 1g and a digital Proscale 250 (Taiwan) that has indications from 0.1g.

I do not know how precise they are.
The digital one was purchased çause it was a good deal...

And I do not use any of them to mix paper fixer (hypo+sulphite).

Jorge

Jorge · Aug 16, 2003

I got me a RCBS gun powder digital scale, this one worked for both the darkroom and reloading ammo. You can get them digital sclaes at e bay much cheaper, get one with .01 gr scale, you will not regret it. I have seen them go on e bay in the lab ware section for $50 and up.

Bruce Osgood · Aug 17, 2003

Ohaus Tripple beam capable of 2610g. I don't know how accurate it is but a US copper penny weighs at 1.5g if anybody cares to compare? What does your penny weigh?

Aggie · Aug 17, 2003

Ed Sukach · Aug 17, 2003

Bruce (Camclicker) said:
Ohaus Tripple beam capable of 2610g. I don't know how accurate it is but a US copper penny weighs at 1.5g if anybody cares to compare? What does your penny weigh?

In a different life, I worked in a Metrology Lab, and calibrating scales was one of our duties.

A new American dime ($US 0.10) weighs 3.0 grams.

A new Amrcan nickel ($US 0.05) weighs 5.0 grams.

Amazingly accurately.

Ed Sukach · Aug 17, 2003

Jorge said:
I got me a RCBS gun powder digital scale, this one worked for both the darkroom and reloading ammo.

No!!! You do that too!!.

I reload for a beloved pre-war Winchester Model 70 SuperGrade (mid 1941 - from the serial number) in .30-06, and for .38 Special/ .357.

I'm still "trickling" into an RCBS - Ohaous (sp?) 0-500 "mechanical" scale.

Let me guess - IMR 4350?

Robert · Aug 17, 2003

You don't say if you want a small one or a big one. If I ever decide to get a new small scale this is the one I think:

http://www.lacywest.com/01scales.htm

Prices are C$ so divide by about 1.4 to get US$. $50 Canadian isn't that much if it lasts -))

I've got a BIG old scale that I got from a food service supply place. The only thing in the whole place that wasn't at least 50% over priced. The scale I got can handle 30kg and was fairly reasonable in price. OTOH it's not the sort of thing you use to weigh 50 or 100 grams with.

So what I'm saying is a scale collection isn't a bad thing. A small fairly accurate one for small things. A big brute for those big heavy things that don't need supper accuracy.

Ed Sukach · Aug 17, 2003

Try www.balances.com - a site suggest here on APUG a while ago. Should be *something* there...

lee · Aug 17, 2003

thanks Ed that was the link I had before the big computer crash of '03.

lee\c

Jorge · Aug 17, 2003

Ed Sukach said:
Jorge said:

I got me a RCBS gun powder digital scale, this one worked for both the darkroom and reloading ammo.

Click to expand...

No!!! You do that too!!.

Yep, you kidding I used to love going shooting, did mostly handgun and clay pigeon, sadly guns in Mexico are hard to have, many permits and stuff and is not wort the trouble.

Ed Sukach · Aug 17, 2003

Jorge said:
Yep, you kidding I used to love going shooting, did mostly handgun and clay pigeon, sadly guns in Mexico are hard to have, many permits and stuff and is not wort the trouble.

The Permit process is not easy here in Massachusetts, either. I've been a Certified NRA Fireams Instructor for well over twenty years, and recently was certified by the Massachusetts State Police. Even so, I had to wait four (4) months after applying to *renew* my License to Carry Firearms - and that required being fingerprinted again, new photographs, references, and a whole new criminal record - background check.

Anyway ... I just realized how acurate these powder scales are - reading to 0.1 *grain* and there are 15 grains to the gram. That is .008 gram ...

Silverpixels5 · Aug 17, 2003

I have two digital scales. One accurate to the nearest gram and the other to the nearest 0.1 gram. I use a little weight calibration set to ensure accuracy in the scales. The only problem with a penny is that the weights changed over the years seeing as how they aren't made of copper anymore. Pennies after 1985 or somewhere around there are actually copper plated zinc. Seems copper was too expensive...

Aggie · Aug 17, 2003

Silverpixels5 · Aug 17, 2003

lol...yea i was pretty sure the year was wrong. We did experiments with them as well in high school. We'd hold them in a bunsen burner with a set of tongs until the penny would start to disfigure, then would tap the penny on the counter so that the molten zinc would splash out. Pretty cool thing to do, but not too smart now that I think about it. Molten zinc really isn't something you'd want to pop on you

fhovie · Sep 6, 2003

I work for a scale company so I can use my samples - $3000 worth of automation. I measure out chemicals in lots - ten kits at a time and seal them in indusrial plastic bags. The scale is calibrated and accurate to .01 gram and the scale operates a hopper with a vibratory feeder and will fill each bag within a few seconds. It is really a nice perk because I'd probably look for an old double beam balance or have to spend several hundred on a cheap precision bench scale. - If I was looking - I would try to find one that is no mre than 500 grams capacity - A decent load cell can support 10,000 divisions (ours will do over 30,000) - that would give .05 gram resolution and you can mix a liter of almost anything with 500 grams capacity. - Frank

Donald Miller · Sep 6, 2003

I use a digital scale capable of accuracy to .1 gram. It has a 400 gram maximum capacity and is adequate to all of my needs with the exception of 1 gallons of fixer. In that case I divide the thiosulfate into 3 batches.

MikeK · Sep 6, 2003

I have been using an old Pelouze scale (Balanced Beam). It is as accurate as the weights it came with. It is a pretty cheap scale (stamped brass and aluminium) but works a charm. I have seen them on EBay go very cheaply.

It is OK up to 50 grams, after that you need to measure in batches. The pans are a little small. But it works for me just fine.

- Mike

MikeK · Sep 6, 2003

fhovie said:
I work for a scale company . - Frank

So that explains why you are so evenly balanced

Aggie · Sep 6, 2003

Black Dog · Sep 8, 2003

I use a Salter digital scale-has a tare button so you just weigh the chemicals not the container. Before this I used the teaspoon measurement table in The Darkroom Cookbook (VV useful) and this was fine as long as you weren't weighing very small amounts.

roy · Sep 9, 2003

Black Dog said:
I use a Salter digital scale

Presumably these weigh down to 1gr. Do you ever find the need to weigh smaller amounts ?

Black Dog · Sep 9, 2003

Yes, 1g is right. Haven't really needed to weigh smaller amounts- I make up % solutions if using benzotriazole, bromide, pot iodide etc. OK for all my regular brews. BTW, anyone out there wear a dust mask while mixing from raw chemicals?

Robert · Sep 9, 2003

I should but it's too much of a hassle. Not smart but then.

need new scale

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