accurate milligram scale suggestions?

happyhanneke

I'm looking for a decent milligram scale. I already tried one with good reviews from Amazon that is totally worthless, so I don't want to go through al of their options before I find a good one.
Any suggestions?

Thanks!

@happyhanneke

If you want a really good one get a balance from a lab equipment supplier or ask universities if they have any old balances they are throwing out.

Ecstatic_Hamster

I've bought 5 or 6 of these. They break. But they're decent.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011J88S8M/

Smart Weigh 50g x 0.001 Grams, Premium High Precision Digital Milligram Scale, Includes Tweezers, Calibration Weights,Three Weighing Pans and Case

And if you want a really good scale, this is what I have for commercial operations https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09J88VFBY

U.S. Solid 110 x 0.0001g Analytical Balance - Density and Dynamic Weighing, 0.1 mg Lab Balance Digital Precision Scale

happyhanneke

@Ecstatic_Hamster thanks, I ordered the smart weigh. The reviews seem to be good. I don't really need anything high end. But also not total junk.

I have a cheapo one from amazon and I find if I look up how much a £10 note weighs I can then see how accurate it is. Could try a dollar or a euro to test it for yourself

Ecstatic_Hamster

@happyhanneke they last about a year. The rubber feet or something else breaks. I have a backup and when one breaks I throw it away and use the backup and re-order. I think they are amazing for the price.

yerrag

@Ecstatic_Hamster

I had the same scale. They're good. I'm glad mine lasted 3 years though. But they're designed to not last as the microswitches eventually fail as the contacts wear out. Happens to all things using micro switches. If not, the led screen starts to lose its lines.

One year of reliable service is good enough. Longer life is bonua.

pannacottas

nootropics depot scale is pretty good

yerrag

@Ecstatic_Hamster I was just thinking that maybe my climate is more humid than yours and that could account for the longer year of service for the microswitches. Perhaps a silicon dielectric grease applied or sprayed into the microswitch could slow down the wear and tear and extend the life of your scale, and even mine.

On the other hand, the higher moisture content of air in the tropics where I live could account for my led scree failing. In this case, pre-empting the wear by use of a dewatering fluid such as DW-40 could extend its life.

But just something to experiment with for the tinkerers. I'm all for extending lives, inanimate or not lol.

dangley

The only truly accurate way to weigh very small doses (without some very expensive pieces of lab equipment) is volumetric dosage. Take maybe 1 gram of whatever compound you have find a solvent, water will be fine in most cases, but everclear will work with non water soluble compounds, measure 100 milliliters, stir until dissolved, and viola. Each milliliter will contain exactly ten milligrams of whatever compound. This is extremely important for substances where accuracy is needs to be above +-10mgs ex 2cb

yerrag

@dangley Great idea! Thanks.

A lot of times, where convenience is as important as accuracy (maybe more) and you don't want it to be so tedious as weighing each time, it helps to have a set of spoons (tad, dash, pinch, smidgen,drop) handy, so that each spoon would have the volume that is close to the weight of the substance as measured in the scale.

Getting a scoop would be easier instead of having to weigh each time.

dangley

@yerrag True! If you are using volumetric dosing it is helpful to have some syringes on hand to measure the liquid. I mostly eyeball compounds that don't require extreme precision.

yerrag

@dangley

Syringes and disposable polypropylene pipettes are very handy.