What Should A Metal Recycling Company Ask When Purchasing a Truck Scale?

For the next few entries we are going to answer some frequently asked questions about buying a truck scale. In the first entry we answer the question below.

What exactly is the difference amongst a full-length truck scale and an axle scale? Which variety do you notice recyclers employing most frequently?

An axle scale is designed to weigh only a single individual axle of a large vehicle at one time and may possibly give an overall total gross weight at the conclusion of weighing the truck. Axle scales are frequently portable, but could also be permanent installations as well. For example, check out the video below.

On the other hand, full-length truck scales, usually 70 feet long can weigh the entire truck (all axles included) in a single weighment, so axle scales need more time to weigh up a truck than full-length weighing machines. Recyclers will normally use full-length 18 wheeler scales due to the fact axle scales will not be NTEP legal for trade, which is needed in the recycling industry.

Recycling businesses are having to pay men and women depending on the load of the timber in their particular vehicle load, so consequently it’s important for the scale to be NTEP listed for correct weighments. In brief, the process involves individuals bringing in their recycled copper, the metal recycling company compensates these individuals for it depending on the weight displayed on their truck scale, and so the recycler then usually utilizes a railcar to deliver the material to steel mills. For more information on Cardinal Truck Scales, contact authorized distributor Central Carolina Scale, located in Sanford NC.

What Is The General Guidelines For Ordering A Truck Scale?

This week’s question asks what sort of site preparation could be required prior to scale installment?

Site preparation will vary due to whether the set up is a new or replacement truck scale. A concrete deck truck scale will add construction time on account of pouring the concrete inside the scale deck and curing time.

For brand new installs, the common truck scale installation method is as follows. Blueprints arrive from the scale vendor. After that, scale house is built or installed on location. Next, concrete foundation and approach ramps poured by either scale service business or the consumer. And then, truck scale is delivered from the scale supplier. After that, scale service organization wires the truck scale to the scale house and links all the peripherals. At last, calibration and certification with test weights and weight cart.

Much less site prep work is needed and faster installation times can sometimes be achieved with systems like Cardinal SnapStream Wireless Truck Scales, which provide wireless radio frequency connection in between the truck scale and the weight indicator in the scale house. Moreover, all peripheral gear like remote displays, computers and printers could be attached wirelessly with SnapStream, which perhaps conserves a large number of bucks in installation costs. SnapStream is really a fully-integrated NTEP legal-for-trade wireless scale system for commercial recycling applications enabling connectivity up to 1 mile line of sight between the truck scale and scale house.

Cardinal SnapStream is a fully-integrated NTEP legal-for-trade wireless scale system for commercial applications. It’s completely proprietary to Cardinal Scale and offers a number of competitive advantages for new (or pre-existing scale installations).  SnapStream allows a scale to send weight data wirelessly to an indicator and the indicator in turn to send that data wirelessly to a host of peripheral equipment such as remote displays, printers, PCs and networks. SnapStream is a digitally-controlled weighing and diagnostic system designed utilizing 802.15.4 Zigbee protocol for reliable and accurate weight and data transmission. SnapStream may be used with Cardinal Scale 205, 210, and 225 weight indicators, where scale diagnostics can be viewed directly on the digital weight indicator. For additional information on the products mentioned in this article contact the heavy capacity sales department at Central Carolina Scale today.

Legal for Trade Truck Scales

Why should you purchase a scale that is Legal-for-Trade when you don’t intend to use the weighing instrument  in a commercial weighing setting? Defining a commercial weighing application can sometimes be difficult. Scales can be moved around your facility and get utilized for things that perhaps you didn’t originally intend. Basically, an NTEP approved device is required any time money changes hands based on a scale’s reading. Freight scales, for example, must be NTEP approved. For these situations government requires that a scale must pass tests put forth by the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP). These regulations are meant to protect the consumer. Click here to see the rest of the story.

The other legal for trade question we wanted to discuss is related to Classes. Often you will see NTEP Legal for Trade Class III. But, what exactly does Class III mean? Handbook 44, the book that spells out rules and regulations for the weighing industry, separates weighing devices into five accuracy classes. Depending on the number and value of scale divisions, equipment can be either class I, II, III, IIIL, or IIII, with Class I having the highest precision. All Legal-for-Trade scales fall under one of these five classes.

Table 7a of Handbook 44 breaks down the description of each class. Class III states: All commercial weighing not otherwise specified, grain test scales, retail precious metals and semi-precious gem weighing, animal scales, postal scales, vehicle on-board weighing systems with a capacity less than or equal to 30,000 lb, and scales used to determine laundry charges. Continue reading

Programmable Digital Weight Indicator for Truck Scales

HMI Digital Weight Indicators from Rice Lake Weighing Systems, offer a complete line of weight indicators to fit any application. The revolutionary Rice Lake 920i programmable HMI Indicator/Controller takes charge of process applications and provides open connectivity to the most popular networking interfaces. When used in batching / mixing applications, one 920i indicator is capable of handling multiple scales, flow, temperature and pulse. It can control hundreds of I/O set points, queue gates and conveyors, perform yield management functions and store, Continue reading

What is Concentrated Load Capacity and NTEP?

Concentrated Load Capacity, or CLC, is an industry recognized rating of a vehicle or axle load scale. The rating defines the maximum load for which the weighbridge is designed as applied by a group of two axles with a center line spaced 4 feet apart and an axle width 8 feet apart. When a CLC load is applied to the weighbridge during a National Type Evaluation Program test, the NTEP tester records the displayed weight. If the scale falls within accepted testing tolerances, the scale has that CLC weight value recorded as the CLC on the Certificate of Conformance.

rice lake survivor truck scale

The CLC rating is not a measure of weighbridge strength or rigidity, because weighbridge deflection is not measured in the NTEP test. It is irrelevant if the load weighbridge sags 1/10th of an inch, or 10 inches, as long as the scale weighs within the accepted tolerance. The scale’s CLC weight rating passes in either case. A high CLC rating could be given to an extremely flexible deck sitting on load cell mounts which are capable of accurately handling the side loading resulting from a severely sagging weighbridge.

The Rice Lake SURVIVOR truck scale line boasts a 45 ton (90,000 pounds) CLC rating. With most legal highway weight limits being a fraction of Rice Lake’s rating, owners of a SURVIVOR scale can expect a long lifespan through Continue reading