milligram scale advice/tricks?

I just received the cheap $15-20 chinese milligram scale off ebay. I tried to put straight powder on scale but that was a mess. I'm thinking of weighing an empty capsule first then adding some 2c-x powder and reweighing (subtract weight of capsule) til i get it right.

What is your preferred way of measuring your doses?

 

What scale did you get? I have a cheapy I can make work pretty good. Happy to pass on my experience if it helps.

 

I got the cheap scale on the left:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idhzxp8p_0s"]jennings mack 20 vs cheap ebay scale 2 - YouTube
http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-001g-20g-...745?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25648964a1

 

Ok. That's the one I have too. I posted somewhere else about it but I can't find it.
Here's my experience. If you look at the center, where the tray sits, that is the part that takes the load input. (load cell) The tray is shaped wrong, it sometimes sits on the ridge surrounding the load cell and interferes with getting a proper reading. What I did was got a small washer and glued it to the bottom of the tray. Find one smaller than the very center circle of the tray, on the bottom. That will make it sit squarely on the load cell.
Then I do the following:
Let the scale "warm up" a little. At least 30 sec's or so.
When you add material, let it settle and stablize, then pick it up, set it down and settle again, several times. When you get the same number (or within +/- .002 or so) repeatedly, you can be more certain of your measurement.
As for keeping it tidy, I often use a little bit of rolling paper on top of the tray. When I've got my amount, I drop it into what I'm mixing it with like ginger ale, or fold it up in a little package to parachute it. Cigarette paper is smooth, powder doesn't really stick to it.
I have a little plastic coffee stirrer to pull material out of whatever it's stored in and drop onto the scale.


If I use only the tray, I rinse the tray in the ginger ale, and stir with the little stirrer, and rinse everything off.
Just my technique. Ask if anything wasn't clear, hope it helps.

PS Figure out the 'tare' button. If you want to do that cap thing, you can put the empty cap on the scale, hit tare, that will zero it, then whatever is actually added will be read on the display. I don't bother with caps, dropping it in ginger ale or lemonade, or making a little package with cig paper to take with me works fine. Or a 5-hr energy bottle with lemonade...

 

Wow thanks, that's I will try all of this 1st thing in the morning, way too baked right now.

 

lulz... ya it's kinda hard to glue little washers centered when you're toasted.

 

I have the same scale and it's a pain in the ass! I had to weigh out an ounce of shrooms with that thing and it took me forever. You have to get the bowl completely centered on that peice in the middle to get an accurate reading.... it's a nightmare.

 

i know money doesn't grow on trees but scales aren't TOO expensive so i recommend getting at least 2: one for mg measurements, and one bigger one with a large tray for g measurements for things like pot, shrooms, etc. bulk plant matter is a hassle to weigh on that little tiny mg bowl. i also recommend backup scales

 

It's very simple. I have the same scale.

Forget the tray and get a dime. It fits perfectly on the weighing circle.
Put the dime on before you turn on the scale and it will read 0.000

Then weigh your gel cap several times and get the average (usually around 0.097)

I like to keep my chems in small tupperware containers to seal them but also to make it easy to scoop up with a gel cap. You can also cut a semicircle from the end of a straw to make a little scooper. Just put the material in the cap, put it back on the dime, and calculate the difference. Pick it up and weigh it again a couple times for accuracy.

ex.
.097 before material is added
.115 after material is added
You have around 18mg inside!

 

have a slightly different mg scale and it hs been pretty fucking accurate for a while now. I only use it to weight small amounts of bud and i use it for chems.

As Writer said, for larger amounts of cannabis or mushies, or whatever, getting a gram scale that can weight ounces at a time is a good idea.

 

Make sure to have some spare batteries laying around also. Running out at the worst time is a pain in the ass!

 

Yes. This is the best way to do it. I would try the tiny washer glued to your tray like the first guy said then add this^^^^^. That tare button is your enemy... don't tare your tray or your capsule. Turn on your scale with nothing on the weighing arm. It will weigh more accurate when it's got for example 2.735 with your capsule on the tray, then you want to add 18mg, get it to weigh to 2.753. And try to scoot your capsule around on the tray until you get it to the same exact place every time. Cut the tip of a straw diagonally or just take the longer part of the capsule and poke it in the little baggie. just avoid touching the powder with your fingers and work over a clean piece of printer paper so you can scrape up any lost powder. If you weigh all your stuff at the same time at the same dose, it works best and results in minimal loss. It gets easier but its never going to stop being tedious and long. And turn off the heat, the fans, the computer, the subwoofer, all of those things blow air/vibrate and can interfere with your readings. You even have to take your wrist off the edge of the table sometimes I've had my pulse/shaky hands messing with my reading.

 

Good advice over all but I take issue with your tare comment.

I deal with all sorts of measuring devices in my work, including scales up to the 100k lb range. One rule of force measuring tools is that they are always most precise in the middle of their range. On any modern electronic scale the force measured is simply turned into a digital display and "taring" simply changes the zero point. Especially with cheapy scales one is much better weighing with a tare included like the dime or washer, and zeroing the display is just a matter of convienance. These scales aren't going to be accurate like a proper lab scale in the sub milligram range are, but with what you said about minimizing air and disturbances and not rushing they do the job.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I had 100mg of 2c-e but adding to caps and weighing/subtracting them made it seem like I had 200mg. I should have weighed the powder alone first.

I will have to retry by putting it on different surfaces etc. Will take me a while to get the hang of it. The tray is flimsy and the dime advice was great, will have to try.

 

Try the piece of cig paper, works pretty good for me anyway.

 

I do have some zig zags lying around, will do it up :afro:

 

Huh maybe its superstition on my part to say that. I will try with 'tare' and see if I can achieve the same accuracy.

But I feel I get more 'wandering' up and down when I've got over 2 1/2 grams on the sensor and only 20 mg on the display.

I'm no expert I just do a lot of drugs and I over-think a lot, this guy ^^^^^ is the expert... Never tried the dime but I can't picture it working as well as or better than the tray alone or the tray/washer combo

 

Far from an expert but have alot of experience.

I wonder though.. what's the range of the scale you're talking about? There's something wrong with 2 1/2G reading 20mg. If it's that same one, one reason could be that tray is sitting on the load cell wrong. That tray is a poor design.

 

It's the same .001 (max 20g) piece of crap that everybody has.

But I don't know if I said what I was trying to say... that if I don't tare I feel I get better results, then you explained how the tare button shouldn't make a difference in the reading, it only makes a difference in the numbers on the display.

Then I spoke of how unnerving it was for me to place the tray on, hit tare, and 'know' that there was already 2 1/2g on there and then read the display showing 20mg.

I hope you can agree with me that if you're going to tare out the tray don't tare out your capsule...

Weigh the capsule then weigh filled capsule? I just never tare except on 100% empty/naked/exposed load cell. But I'll stop giving bad advice now with this 'disclaimer.' My post is based on a moderate level of personal experience and minimal research conducted through online forums.

 

I think I got ya...
Really I was trying to say (maybe not well) that the big problem from what I've read and experienced is the shape of the bottom of the tray. It can sit crooked and not directly on the load cell. If you sometimes put your weight directly on the cell itself, that's probably the most accurate, I can see why you feel confident doing that. That's all the little washer trick is meant to do.