Re: [EE] Measuring increasing mass over a 1/2 day period

Brent -

Thanks, those are interesting ideas.

I've saw a video on Youtube by BigClive on using load cells - the
thing that would trip me up is the mechanical part.  And I still
wonder about how the zero would drift over hours and hours.

The other thing I didn't mention about volume measurement is how it
changes with temperature - that's the reason why I started using the
scale to measure the input mass.

The balance idea is obviously back to first principles but again I
would find the mechanical part daunting.

Chuck

On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 6:21 PM Chuck Olson <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Alan and Sergio -
>
> the container is a 1 gallon Rubbermaid pitcher - I wish we had metric
> here in the US.  It is translucent but really NG for measuring volume
> - I though about buying something with a tapered neck like an
> Erlenmeyer flask to get better volume precision.  Yes, I use a short
> length of hose from the still to the pitcher.
>
> I start with 4 liters of sap, about 40 ml is lost to evaporation ?  I
> get about 1+ gallon of distilled water and maybe 160 grams of maple
> syrup (it varies).
>
> I'm often asleep when the overnight boil starts percolating so no
> chance to fiddle with roughly 1/2 the boils  - also the probable drift
> on the scale zero would probably mess things up.
>
> I got a couple of gallons of sap this afternoon so I'll try the insert
> the scale at the last minute idea and see how it works tomorrow
> morning.
>
> Chuck
>
> On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 6:04 PM smplx <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, 12 Mar 2026, Chuck Olson wrote:
> >
> > > Sergio -
> > >
> > > Thanks, that seems fairly easy to do - I'll have to think about it.
> > >
> > > The timeout is usually 2 minutes but can be increased to 5 minutes.
> > >
> > > If I could get around the initial heating period where nothing is
> > > collected, roughly 1.5 hours, possibly the increase in mass would keep
> > > the scale alive ?  I will have to try it.
> >
> > Perhaps another source of drip for the first 1.5 hours? Maybe into another
> > container on the same scale. You could remove the second container once
> > the distilate starts to come over? Or if the scale can't accomodate
> > another container you could accuratly weigh the drip source and weigh it
> > again when distilate starts to come over and go from there.
> >
> > Regards
> > Sergio
> >
> > >
> > > Chuck
> > >
> > > On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 4:45 PM smplx <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Thu, 12 Mar 2026, Chuck Olson wrote:
> > >>
> > >> > The mass in question would start at 263 grams (container mass) and
> > >> > increase over 11+ hours to 4000+ grams (container mass plus about 1
> > >> > gallon of water).
> > >> >
> > >> > I am trying to measure the distilled water output from a boil of maple
> > >> > sap.  I use a Still Spirits Air Still.  With the still it's like
> > >> > making candy blindfolded.  I can't measure the temperature or the
> > >> > specific gravity of the maple syrup or even see what is happening.
> > >> >
> > >> > But I can measure the input maple sap for mass and sugar
> > >> > concentration.  From that I can calculate the amount of maple syrup I
> > >> > should be able to get at a concentration of 67 percent sugar by mass.
> > >> >
> > >> > I do have a kitchen scale which can handle 6000 grams but the problem
> > >> > is that it times out and every subsequent powerup the measurement is
> > >> > zeroed (tare function).  I suppose there are AC powered digital scales
> > >> > which might stay on for 11+ hours but would the measurements still be
> > >> > accurate after that time ?
> > >> >
> > >> > The only thing I can think of is to wait until near the end of the
> > >> > boil and then start measuring the mass but that's a hassle trying to
> > >> > put the scale under the container while the still is continuously
> > >> > dripping.
> > >> >
> > >> > Any ideas ?
> > >> >
> > >> > Chuck
> > >>
> > >> I guess the scale has a timeout that resets when the weight changes? If so
> > >> you just need to upset the weight periodically so that the scale never
> > >> times out. Perhaps a solenoid to tap the scale?
> > >>
> > >> Regards
> > >> Sergio
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