How to weigh very small doses of things...?

[gtarman]

Hi all.

So I'm interested in finding out asap how to weigh things accurately to within a couple of milligrams. I've been going through a spot of depression lately and after reading of the studies on Saffron for depression and anxiety and stuff I've bought a gram of the stuff and intend to start taking the studied dose of 15mg twice daily.

The problem is my current scales are not accurate or sensitive enough to give me readings that are useful, and it usually ends up being mostly eyeballing and rather imprecise.

Can anyone recommend me scales that measure in mg that are accurate to within a couple of mg? Preferably that don't cost an arm and a leg? I could deal with getting a pretty accurate measurement of 60mg (which my current device can't even do) and then eyeballing that into quarters, but I'd prefer not to have to rely on guessing.

Edited March 24, 2015 by gtarman

[Keenter]

Try eBay:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10g-0-001g-1mg-Precision-Digital-Jewelry-Diamond-Scale-With-5g-10g-Weight-TE49-/201088955704?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item2ed1d5f538

$25 includes delivery.

[Slocombe]

IMHO scales aren't always accurate with very small doses

[wert]

Especially when the moon is directly above you. In witch case your fuked?

[gtarman]

^ Yeah, probably not I guess beeralternative. But if I can get one that can accurately measure say 60mg I'd be happy enough with that, that way I can at least eyeball it down from there with some degree of confidence

Edited March 24, 2015 by gtarman

[shortly]

How soon do you need to weigh out your portions bloke?

[2XB]

IMHO scales aren't always accurate with very small doses

scales are fine to measure any unit if they are designed to do so??. Any decent scales will supply weights to calibrate the scales, which can be done every time one uses the scales, if they are concerned about atmospheric variation etc....

[2XB]

And I hope you are all good gtarman. If you ever need to get out of the house or something give me a yell??

[Slocombe]

I should have qualified that by saying my experience is that scales aren't always accurate for powders, even when they are advertised as being able to measure in 0.001 g increments.

If you have trouble measuring powders with your scales you can cap a small amount and then take the weight of the capsule away to get the true weight.

As for calibration, if you lose the small weights that usually come with scales, you can always check their accuracy with a 5 cent piece.

Edited March 24, 2015 by BeerAlternative

[mimzy]

Best way to do it, unless you have a spare $3000 for an analytical scale, is to measure your powder in a larger quantity than what you want to use, then find a suitable solvent (i.e water, ethanol, food grade oil) to dissolve it in. That way you have a solution, and can measure out volumes that represent your dose. i.e if you wanted 15 mg, measure out a gram, dissolve it in 100ml of suitable edible solvent, so that each ml contains 10mg. Then use a small measuring cup to pour out 1.5ml.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

Or like the above sorta mentioned grind up the gram and mix thoroughly with flour then cap, just measure how much flour fits in your caps, 15mg saffron won't add much filler so I wouldn't really adjust for that just the flour weight.

[Responsible Choice]

http://www.dalman.com/product/onbalance-truweigh-100-x-0-01g-black/

[gtarman]

http://www.dalman.com/product/onbalance-truweigh-100-x-0-01g-black/

This is much like the one I have unfortunately...although this one looks a little more well-made. But it only measures down to hundredths of a g unfortunately which with saffron is 2/3 of the dose.

Thanks for your answers and help all

And yeah I'm ok doublebenno, just going through one of life's troughs, nothing too dire.

Edited March 25, 2015 by gtarman

[Responsible Choice]

[Pie'oh'Pah]

As a note coins are always the same weight and can be used to recalibrate scales if you think they are out.

[stonewolf]

To get more accuracy out of cheap mg scales try putting something heavy on the scale to get it into the mid range of weighing. It will usually be more accurate between 500 and 510mg than 10 to 20mg.

[stonewolf]

To get more accuracy out of cheap mg scales try putting something heavy on the scale to get it into the mid range of weighing. It will usually be more accurate between 500 and 510mg than 10 to 20mg.

[FragmentedSanity]

Not that it will help weigh stuff...

but wiki says an average flower produces 7mg dry weight of saffron stigmas. 3 stigmas per flower. So 6 should get you close to 14mg dry saffron, maybe just have six and a half.

Not the answer your after, but maybe help in the short term.

I remember a thread her years ago about the effects of saffron, i think it was called 'psychoactive saffron' from memory and Torsten put up some intersting info. Let us know how you go, hope it helps

[ghosty]

yeah, volumetric is the way it's done in pharmacy. Adding to dried mix, such as flour, forget it... You will NEVER achieve the balanced mixture. 5c coins will never be the same weight for calibrating scales. Ever.

Just use OK MG scales $20-$60.00 Not that dear. Rub them down with some anti-fog cream or such to remove accumulated static electricity. Add anything to them to give some extra weight making them more sensitive. and, the best advise? Make sure they are warmed up well! Cold scales nomatter their price, will not ever work.

[MerryPrankster]

Yep, volumetrically as some people have mentioned is the best way for distributing tiny doses. Dissolve your gram in a suitable amount of solvent, then you know your ml/mg ratio and you can dose accordingly.