Scales - cheap vs expensive

[Kobranek]

My GPR-20 has been holding strong..... Only drawback is it turns off pretty fast....within thirty seconds or so

 

[Sky Motion]

I have a Gemini-20 and love it!

 

[corpus callosum]

I think the cheap 0.001mg scales are adequate but theres a bit of a knack to using them optimally.IME, calibrating them with a reliable weight is important.I've also found that they dont behave half as well if you add your poison to the pan directly or onto a carrier such as a cigarette paper upon the said pan.

My approach is to calibrate the scales, add a cigarette paper to the pan and note its weight.I then remove the cigarette paper, add an eye-balled approximation of goodies onto the cigarette paper and THEN replace this onto the pan.The cigarette paper weighs say xmg alone, with goodies weighs y mg hence the weight of goodies is y-x mg; if this is incorrect for my venture then I will remove the loaded cigarette paper and then add/subtract goodies as required then re-weigh until the desired weight is achieved.I find the scales become fairly inaccurate if material is added to the pan in small quantities.

 

[a1pha]

I am in the process of sending back the SECOND-IN-A-ROW crappy non-working American Weigh GPR-20 I've gotten from Amazon. The last one was DOA. On this one the display is messed up and does not show all the sides of numbers, making it very hard to read. I used it a few times, figuring out the weight by context ("It just passed looks-like-maybe-two so it must have settled on looks-like-maybe-a-three..."). It seems like a perfectly decent scale if only I could get one that %$#^&*% works.

The GPR-20 came to me last December as a gift. While accurate, I am disappointed with the build quality. It feels cheaply made and I will be shocked if it lasts more than a year or two. I would not recommend it. At least I have time to save up for the Sartorius AY123.

 

[zombicyckel]

Look at this one, 0,001 in other words milligram scale. 11 dollar 13 for shipping

http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Precise-0-001-10g-Digital-Jewelry-diamond-Scale-Kitchen-Milligram-weight-/270880413656?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f11bb17d8

 

[semios]

Thanks, I bought that one off E-Bay, it will take 4 weeks to get here from Hong Kong but for $17 with shipping, why not. I'll post when it arrives.

 

[unclesyd]

I use a plastic little twin-beam scale. I have found this exceptionally accurate over the years. Although it might take a little more work to get an accurate reading??? These things cost around ten bucks on ebay-if you can even find them anymore-, and for the quantities I use is perfect. Might not be good for substances that need precise 1-2 mg dose sensitivities though.....

 

[Electric Kool-Aid]

^ I like it! Going back in time! Just like the manual hand drill for drilling the machine. Good karma in the old manual way.
I wish I had my grandfathers old triple beam right now!!! Comes in a nice glass wood frame case, very 20s style.

 

[dooby]

I think the cheap 0.001mg scales are adequate but theres a bit of a knack to using them optimally.IME, calibrating them with a reliable weight is important.I've also found that they dont behave half as well if you add your poison to the pan directly or onto a carrier such as a cigarette paper upon the said pan.

My approach is to calibrate the scales, add a cigarette paper to the pan and note its weight.I then remove the cigarette paper, add an eye-balled approximation of goodies onto the cigarette paper and THEN replace this onto the pan.The cigarette paper weighs say xmg alone, with goodies weighs y mg hence the weight of goodies is y-x mg; if this is incorrect for my venture then I will remove the loaded cigarette paper and then add/subtract goodies as required then re-weigh until the desired weight is achieved.I find the scales become fairly inaccurate if material is added to the pan in small quantities.

Great thinking! First of all, using the paper there will be no traces of any substance whatsoever on the scale itself, which certainly could help in damage reduction if you're ever busted...at least where I live...
Also, even the super-expensive lab-grade milligram scales need a minimum weight on them before they actually work properly... I would think that they fix this by using a small tray to weigh products in, but I'm not sure...