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Wasted $400 on a cheap load cell last month - shoulda listened to my trainer | Crane Operators - Guest Forum

Wasted $400 on a cheap load cell last month - shoulda listened to my trainer

I was trying to save a few bucks on a load cell for my mobile crane setup. Found one online for $400 from a no-name brand and thought I was being smart. First day out on a job in Houston, it started giving me readings all over the place. I figured it was just interference or something so I kept using it. By the third lift, the numbers were off by almost 2,000 pounds and I almost overloaded a pickup truck. My trainer Frank had told me to stick with the name brand stuff like Rice Lake or similar, but I figured I knew better. Ended up having to buy a proper one for $900 anyways, plus the $400 is just sitting in my toolbox now. Anyone else get burned by cheap gear like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_morgan3mo ago

You ever tried getting that cheap one recalibrated? Might still work for lighter loads.

jadep413mo ago

My buddy @the_morgan actually talked me into trying that with a 15 year old bathroom scale I found at a garage sale for $2. Had to YouTube how to do the recalibration but it took maybe 10 minutes with some pennies and a known weight. I was SHOCKED it actually worked, it's been within half a pound of my fancy one for like 6 months now. Totally worth a shot if you're not trying to weigh anything over like 50 pounds.

tyler_white423mo ago

Gotta gently push back on the pennies thing though. Pennies weigh different amounts depending on the year they were made. Like pre-1982 pennies are heavier, around 3.1 grams, but newer ones are like 2.5 grams. So if you grab a handful of random change you could be off by a decent amount without knowing it. You'd be better off using something with a fixed weight like a can of soup or a bag of sugar that literally says the weight on the package. Just saying it's easy to think you're spot on but be stacking up errors without realizing it.