thelonious
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cheap 0.01g and 0.001g scales from Ebay
I was looking for a scale online and I found these on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/0-01g-x-500g-Precision-Electronic-Jew...
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/20g-x-0-001g-LCD-Digital-Electronic-P...
Seeing as they're about 13 bucks each, I have my doubts as to the quality. Has anyone had experience with these scales? Are they any good?
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sargent1015
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I use the 0.01g scale and I think it works just fine. I don't do anything too analytical, so I don't really need the more precise one.
I do have to point out that they mine is rather small, just large enough to hold a weigh boat. They also have a 1 minute power saving mode, which is
great for battery life, not great for tarring something and wanting to come right back to it.
But, for $13 bucks? Take it and run! 
Hoped that helped your decision.
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mycotheologist
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I bought a 0.01g scale for €20 on ebay a couple of years ago and it still works fine. Heres the one I have though:
[Edited on 12-5-2012 by mycotheologist]
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vmelkon
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Quote: Originally posted by mycotheologist  | I bought a 0.01g scale for €20 on ebay a couple of years ago and it still works fine. Heres the one I have though:
[Edited on 12-5-2012 by mycotheologist] |
What is the maximum that you can weight? Does it maintain its accuracy of 0.01g all the way up to the maximum or does it switch over to 0.05 g?
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Wizzard
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My .01g scale is quite easy to manipulate- Only costs $25 on Ebay, but it's accuracy is questionable! I guess I got what I paid for.
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vmelkon
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Why don't you calibrate it?
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sargent1015
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I doubt you can, they are very cheap scales! I know, I own one
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vmelkon
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I bought this one http://www.ebay.ca/itm/270948303211?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT...
You can't see the text well on that picture but I did some google searches and found a larger resolution. There are instructions for how to do it and
you need 100 g and 500 g masses.
So whatever you buy, there should be instructions for it.
If there isn't, the manufacturer doesn't know what it is manufacturing.
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Mailinmypocket
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www.dx.com has a good selection of scales, reasonably priced and free shipping. I have bought two so far (0.01g and 0.001g) the milligram scale is
listed as a jewelers scale, has a 50 gram max load and weighs in milligram increments. The one I bought came with adjustable feet, a built in fish eye
level and two 20g calibration weights. I can reliably measure in milligram quantities with +\- 0.003 variance (I have an Ohaus milligram calibration
set and the 100mg weight is displayed as 0.100-0.102). No drifting either and has a windshield as well as blue backlit display. Costed me 48$!!
Highly recommend it:
http://dx.com/p/1-7-lcd-high-precision-digital-jewelry-scale...
[Edited on 22-6-2012 by Mailinmypocket]
[Edited on 22-6-2012 by Mailinmypocket]
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vmelkon
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Yes, I saw such mg scales on ebay (no the exact model as yours) but I wasn't sure if they would be reliable. There was a 10 g version and 20 g version
and 50 g.
One thing you have to watch out for is as the guy on their forum says, when you add small amount of weight, it "self-adjusts" and doesn't register
what you have added.
You better weight something multiple times to be sure.
Maybe next time, I'll get a mg scale.
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Bronstein
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This scale looks like it's much better than those cheap scales from china:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item...
1mg precision, runs on AC, has with a windscreen, and still only £55.
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Mailinmypocket
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Ooo that is a really nice looking one! Although for that price it's probably also from china... Then again, what isn't? 
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Swede
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Going from 0.01 to 0.001 is a big leap in terms of accuracy vs dollars. The cheap "jeweler's" milligram scales can be really hit or miss. One way to
at least partially confirm it's a decent scale is to check repeatability. If 2.355 g remains 2.355 g after repeated weighings, then it's probably
decent, and if calibrated, would do good work. But more often, the really inexpensive jobs would weigh 2.355, then 2.350, then 2.358, etc, so the
milligrams digit can be pretty suspect.
In other words, when weighing out an accurate 0.005 grams really matters, then the scale is probably going to cost some hefty $$.
That $49 eBay scale does look interesting. One other option are inexpensive mechanical powder scales as used by reloaders. You usually have to
covert grams to grains, but that's no big deal.
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Mailinmypocket
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| Quote: Originally posted by Swede | Going from 0.01 to 0.001 is a big leap in terms of accuracy vs dollars. The cheap "jeweler's" milligram scales can be really hit or miss. One way to
at least partially confirm it's a decent scale is to check repeatability. If 2.355 g remains 2.355 g after repeated weighings, then it's probably
decent, and if calibrated, would do good work. But more often, the really inexpensive jobs would weigh 2.355, then 2.350, then 2.358, etc, so the
milligrams digit can be pretty suspect.
In other words, when weighing out an accurate 0.005 grams really matters, then the scale is probably going to cost some hefty $$.
That $49 eBay scale does look interesting. One other option are inexpensive mechanical powder scales as used by reloaders. You usually have to
covert grams to grains, but that's no big deal. |
Thats exactly it, if were to be doing analytical stuff that absolutely needs to be accurate to the milligram, I wouldnt trust these cheap things. For
weighing out somewhat expensive chemicals like luminol for small scale experiments it is nice to know how close to the nearest .010g (give or take a
few mg's) you are at instead of the scale rounding up or down.
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