Sartorius Entris 64-1S Drifting

[bbowles]

I have the Sartorius Entris 64-1S scale with The Ingenuity Trickler system. It works great. However, recently I started noticing my scale takes several minutes to stabilize once I turn it on. And then after using it and verifying after have loaded some cases it has changed again. Small amounts of drift such as 0.026 to 0.050 or so. About a kernel or so of weight drift. It's not much but up to now it has taken very little time to stabilize and then rarely moved after was tared. I don't have anything like a line conditioner or antistatic mat etc. Just plug in and go.
Any ideas what is happening? Do I need to change my setup such as line conditioner, surge protector etc? It is always been in a separate room in my house with climate control. I have changed nothing. Never did anything to scale either. Thanks for the help!

 

[acourvil]

IIRC, the instructions recommend turning it on a couple hours before use to let it get to a stable temperature. But I also run a line conditioner. On a bad day, I see maybe .010 drift, usually it is .006 or less during a loading session.

 

[bbowles]

IIRC, the instructions recommend turning it on a couple hours before use to let it get to a stable temperature. But I also run a line conditioner. On a bad day, I see maybe .010 drift, usually it is .006 or less during a loading session.

Thanks! I used to get almost no drift also even when started loading after turning on and waiting only 5 min. I will look into a line conditioner also.

 

[bbowles]

Any particular line conditioner work better for our use?

 

[acourvil]

I use a Furman PST-8 but I can’t really say if it is better or worse than others, it’s the only one I have used. I originally got one for some electronic equipment, then got another one for reloading.

 

[Edsel]

Any particular line conditioner work better for our use?

I use a Furman PST-8 but I can’t really say if it is better or worse than others, it’s the only one I have used. I originally got one for some electronic equipment, then got another one for reloading.

Lines "free of noise" are more important than one would think.

Back in the day (though addressing output more than input), it was a big deal when selecting Power Supplies for the consoles we built.

 

[secondofangle2]

Not possible.

Sartorius doesn’t drift

 

[Basic user]

Anyone else have anything on this? Has anyone ever used a line or power conditioner and eliminated a problem they were having from their high end scales here?

 

[bbowles]

I actually reached out to Sartorius North America service. This was their reply....Try cleaning beneath the pan/pan support with a handheld vacuum to remove any dirt/debris that may have slipped into this area. If grains somehow slipped into the load cell, then this can cause drift.
Guess what....this fixed it! They had other suggestions but there must have been a kernel stuck under the platon. It has been flawless since.

 

[Basic user]

How would something have even gotten in there?

 

[bbowles]

When grains are dropped from the autotrickler it will get a kernel that bounces out of the pan once in a while and apparently one goes under the platon too

 

[TCKev]

Anyone else have anything on this? Has anyone ever used a line or power conditioner and eliminated a problem they were having from their high end scales here?

I don't have a high-end scale but I have an older Chargemaster and this is how i cured my drift issue a little over the top but it works. I'm an Electrician and Maintenance guy.

No Florescent bulbs
I replaced all bulbs with ballast bypass LED's
Ferrite Core
Power Filter
Battery Back-up

 

[ZiaHunter]

Changes in room temperature will cause it to drift even on conditioned line. No big deal and just re-tare when it gets out of range, I do check to see if kernels wound up where they weren't supposed to be on occasion. Use a Harrell to throw the powder into pan then trickle up.

 

[Bmghunter]

When grains are dropped from the autotrickler it will get a kernel that bounces out of the pan once in a while and apparently one goes under the platon tooView attachment 8586407

I don’t have an AT, but I thought I had read that their platen insert thing helps align the cup to the optimal position so the kernels don’t bounce out as easy. I think it’s not suppose to center on the nozzle?

 

[Basic user]

I don't have a high-end scale but I have an older Chargemaster and this is how i cured my drift issue a little over the top but it works. I'm an Electrician and Maintenance guy.

No Florescent bulbs
I replaced all bulbs with ballast bypass LED's
Ferrite Core
Power Filter
Battery Back-up

What's a ferrite core? Ferrite core what?

 

[TCKev]

What's a ferrite core? Ferrite core what?

If you google that it will show you a pic of them. But you wrap the power cord of your scale around it it's supposed to help with noise. Cheap add on to start with

 

[Basic user]

Gotcha. Just installed two power filters inline, and turned the zero drift back on. Seems to be helping thus far. Has only been one day though.

 

[Rick H.]

This may not apply, but I'm going to throw it out there since it mattered for a few scales/balances I've used through the years. Our use of these scientific tools in the reloading process doesn't always address some common problems.
Most scientific scales/balances have a setting that you can access which will alter how the unit determines, and then displays the value. The graphic used to be a wiggly line, wave-form symbol looking like what is on the top left of your keyboard next to the number one. A large size one means it will allow greater movement when providing a reading, and the smallest one will change with the slightest alteration to that signal from the pan. I don't remember the function name specifically, might be dynamic weighing, but it's how the unit decides that the pan is stable enough to display a value. Think of weighing a mouse or other small animal that doesn't stay still, you use the bigger symbol setting, and the unit makes an average of what it sees and displays that. You can access the level of instability the scale will and will not accept, and at the most sensitive setting, the reading on most 4 and 5 place units almost never remains stable. That isn't drift, it just hops back and forth a bit. Some hygroscopic materials will seem like the scale is drifting, but it's actually measuring the rate which that compound pulls moisture from humid air. This happens frequently when weighing out standards in the lab. You can also see rate of evaporation in measuring solvent-wet compounds in exceedingly dry air. This is the main reason most labs have strict climate control. The more decimal places you use, the more all these other things come into play.
Sometimes we get a little carried away, and if you're set for grains on your display, going past two decimal places may seem like you are being more precise, but it becomes counter productive when all these other factors start showing themselves, and your display never stabilizes.