weight, scale ????

[William]

Yes I would like to know what every one is useing to weight there rockets.? like what type of scale is the best for ackerate reading, know i know that a digial type like at the meat department would be great,but i am shure thay are expensive. so what would be the best, and the cheapest?? thanks

 

[rocketsonly]

Yea, they can be very expensive. My step-dad is now attending culinary school, and he recently bought one from Bed Bath & Beyond for $19.99! I'm not sure of its maximum load, but it can measure in grams and oz.

 

[William]

yea that is around the price i"m looking for

 

[sandman]

I just take my rockets to my local deli.

 

[illini]

I have a digital scale from My Weigh. I think it is the My Weigh i500, that measures up to 500 grams with a resolution of 0.1 gram (accuracy to that degree depends on calibration). I think I paid around $30-40 for it on e-bay. Can't remember exactly, but it was considerably less than the street price. It is a very good scale.

 

[Elapid]

got it from edmund, i think...
weighs 300g to .1g resolution

it would be nice to have something with a bit more capacity.

 

[rbeckey]

I have a Sunbeam SP5 digital postal scale with a capacity of 5 lbs in .1 oz or grams. It was around $30 at Staples. For larger rockets I would weigh it in pieces, though it is unlikely I will ever have a 5 lb rocket. It seems to me that weight to the closest gram (1/28 ounce) is sufficient accuracy for most rocketry applications.

 

[Gus]

I have the same Sunbeam as rbeckey. Great value for the money. I use it a lot and have never had a problem. I would definitely buy another if something happened to mine.

And as for Sandman's weighing his rockets at his local deli, perhaps that explains this photo of his latest project.

 

[William]

yae that sounds real good i think i will be going to staples, in the next couple of days. THANKs for all the info.

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by william
Yes I would like to know what every one is useing to weight there rockets.? like what type of scale is the best for ackerate reading, know i know that a digial type like at the meat department would be great,but i am shure thay are expensive. so what would be the best, and the cheapest?? thanks

Many people sell very good ones for $20 to $30 on eBay.
Mine was $25, measures in grams or ounces, from single grams up through 25 pounds. I don't recall the seller, but he specializes in selling scales. Most of them will be reasonably accurate because they're often used for postal scales.

 

[astronboy]

My postal scale came from Walmart fro about $10.00. It was in the business supplies section, and measures grams and oz.

Phred.

 

[tbzep]

Digital postal scale. Wifey had an extra one at work so I'm borrowing it.

 

[Micromeister]

There are as many scales and balances out there as there are different models in rocketry.
Our choice of a scale will depend on what we plan on doing with it.
Accuracy is directly proportional to the money we pay for our scale or balance, research is the only way you'll find the scale or balance that is right for the job.
Personally I use 3 different electronic scales and a triple beam balance in my model building and rocketry activities. If you just weighing model rockets to 1500grams, most any of the .1g accuracy, 2000gram postal or kitchen type scale will do just fine. Keep in mind the accuracy may be off as much as 5%+/- and range from 25.00 to 130.00. My Sunbeam 2000g was about 60.00 way back when.
If your looking at competition and or smaller models an Acculab or one of the New Palm Scales may do the trick. I use the Acculab 225g, .1g scale for rough mass gathering, with my new Palm Scale 200g, .1g accuracy for finial weights. This scale is easily calibrated to the suppled "tested" 100g mass plug.
If your doing delicate work with igniters or tiny scale stuff, a balance will be more accurate the an electronic scale. Again price is the determining factor to accuracy. I can't mention the cost for my 111gram triple beam W.M Welsh .01g accurate scale as the wife would kill me
If I had to sugget a single scale for a Model Rocketeer I'd have to say the Sunbeam 2000g has been the most universally useful.
Hope this helps.

 

[powderburner]

I have one more suggestion to toss into the pile, and that is to check out the small mechanical scales used by ammunition re-loaders to measure powder.
For delicate work, a scale like a Lyman 500 (or M5, or D7; similar scales available by other manufacturers) will weigh up to 500 grains (at 7000 grains per pound this is just over an ounce) with an accuracy of one tenth of a grain (= 0.0000143 pounds, = 0.000228 ounces, = 0.0065 grams). You can weigh heavier objects with attachments to the scale. You can weigh over-size objects by setting up your scale at the edge of a table and hanging your work items on a thread tied to the pan.
These scales can often be found for $10-20 on ebay. I bought my last one for $5 (and I don't have to hide it from my wife).

 

[Micromeister]

Good stuff powder...
We don't hide things from the wife..We just don't remind her of certain costs
Didn't I read somewhere recently the conversion factors for grains to grams.
1 grain = .0648 grams
1 gram = 15.43 grains
Man the conversion numbers must be huge! 437.4405 grains/oz.

 

[shreadvector]

Wal-Mart kitchen utensil section has digital scales that read in relatively small increments (1/8 oz. or 2 gram). Cheap and it includes a 9 volt battery. The one I bought was about 3 years ago and is rectangular and came with a rectangular "tray/bowl". This one is online today, not sure what's in the stores today:

https://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2684071#long_descr

For weighing tiny objects or determining density of balsa sheets, you will need accuracy to tenths of a gram and those scales cost $$$$ (triple beam balance with dial "dial-o-gram"). I use my digital kitchen scale for weighing model rockets at the club launches (RSO/check-in)to check for correct delay time selection and to see if they are under 3.3. lbs/1500grams.

Originally posted by william
Yes I would like to know what every one is useing to weight there rockets.? like what type of scale is the best for ackerate reading, know i know that a digial type like at the meat department would be great,but i am shure thay are expensive. so what would be the best, and the cheapest?? thanks

 

[powderburner]

Originally posted by Micromeister
conversion factors for grains to grams.
1 grain = .0648 grams

and one tenth of a grain = .0065 gm

Using a mechanical scale does require the patience to wait for the $%^&* thing to stop swinging up and down, and the dexterity to move those teeny little sliding tabs without setting the whole arm bobbing again . . .