A&D fx120i and power conditioner?

[Lunabear]

Has anyone put a line or power conditioner on their A&D scale? I haven’t had mine but a day and I’m out of state so I can’t say wether it drifts or not but we do have occasional power outages and such and I just wanted to make sure it’s getting a clean signal to be as accurate as can be. Any thoughts or advice from fellow owners?

 

[JimLee]

Has anyone put a line or power conditioner on their A&D scale? I haven’t had mine but a day and I’m out of state so I can’t say wether it drifts or not but we do have occasional power outages and such and I just wanted to make sure it’s getting a clean signal to be as accurate as can be. Any thoughts or advice from fellow owners?

Ferrite cores from Amazon, one at the scale plug and one at the end that plugs into outlet. Helps with EMI through the power cord. They all drift a little, especially at zero, unless you have achieved a laboratory like atmosphere for your reloading area. My house is too old a drafty to keep a super stable atmosphere, I rezero often and dont sweat .02 of a grain.

 

[canezach]

I ordered a line conditioner a couple of years ago after moving into a new house. My previous house had really solid electricity, so I never found my Chargemaster drifting much. Once I moved into my new house in a different county, I found my Chargemaster was subject to some pretty interesting drifts, like I'd be zeroed and midway through throwing charges, my pan weight would be off by ± 0.4 or 0.6 grains. I'd have to re-zero and re-weigh the charge. Once I used the line conditioner, the drifts mostly disappeared. Once I bought the FX120i, it's always been on the line conditioner. I still have some drifts, but we're now talking in the 0.02 grain range. I'll re-zero from time to time, but the frequency and fluctuation in weights isn't nearly as far off as it was without the conditioner.

 

[Brosome]

I had the same issue with the last place I lived, old wiring and old cars/tractors going past would cause a lot of weirdness with my scales drifting. Picked up a tripp lite line conditioner off amazon and it cured most if not all of the drifting.

 

[Maxim0]

Drifting stopped for me when I added two ferrite cores that clamp on to the power cord at both ends. Also I make sure the AC/fan is off in my reloading room. If power outage is common I would suggest A UPS (basically battery backup) over a line conditioner. It will stabilize the current and also provide backup if you lose power.

 

[Horns8491]

I asked the guy at balances.com about this. He is a great source for high end scales like the A&D FX 120i and the Sartorius Entris. Here is what he said in response:

"If you find your electric supplier does not delivery good electricity then a line / power conditioning will take care of burnouts and spikes.

My response has always been if you use a line / power conditioning for all your electronics (computer, tv, stereo equipment) then use it for the Entris. Just keep the line / power conditioning 4 to 6 feet away from the Entris since the line / power conditioning has a transformer in it and the electrons flux from the transform could affect the magnet in the Entris.

Overall if you have a force restoration balance like the Entris64 is I don't think the drifting has anything to do with the transformer/power supply.

This is simply static from the gun powder or some additional static from dust on the balance. First keep you balance clean. You can wipe the balance with static wipes but static is inherent to the gun powder especially when its dry out like in the Winter only very expensive static eliminators will fix this.

You can test the balance with a quarter. Place a quarter on the balance and if it's not drifting then it's all related to the gun powder.

Pharma companies have problems all the time in the winter when weighing their drug materials because of static. They purchase the static devices to fix the issue like at

href="https://scaleman.com/static-eliminator.html">https://scaleman.com/static-eliminator.html

href="https://scaleman.com/sartorius-ionizing-blower-static-eliminator.html">https://scaleman.com/sartorius-ionizing-blower-static-eliminator.html

href="https://scaleman.com/weighing-scale-accessory-ad1683-static-eliminator.html">https://scaleman.com/weighing-scale-accessory-ad1683-static-eliminator.html

I have wiped my scales down with dryer sheets (especially the auto throw hoppers) and I think it helped a bit. I haven't considered the drift I get in either the A&D or the Sartorius to be deal killers - i just re-zero the scale frequently and call it good.

 

[towerofpower93]

Overall if you have a force restoration balance like the Entris64 is I don't think the drifting has anything to do with the transformer/power supply.

Seems to line-up with what Adam told me when I asked about using a dedicated outlet for the A&D. He'd never seen or heard of credible info indicating the A&D will drift due to fluctuations in the incoming power.

 

[jsthntn247]

Mine used to drift like a MF. Put a line conditioning on it and solved it.

 

[_Raining]

I have an Entris 64, it is difficult to keep it zeroed perfectly (basically impossible) but if I sit still I can keep it pretty close +-.01. One thing that changes it is when the air is on and the biggest thing is if I shift my weight around or stand up. IDK how it is for normal people who live in structurally sound homes but in my 2nd floor apt, the scale can change A LOT just by walking around the room (I'm fat, but not that fat). So keep in mind, it isn't just electricity or the AC that causes the scale to change but also flexing in the floor from shifting your weight or walking around.