Floor Scales are popular ways to weigh pallets in your warehouse. The platform scale is generally pretty reliable if you take care of them. But if you (or your employees) don’t take care of the scale, they can easily get damaged. Below is an online synopsis that we found of one person’s struggle with 5000 pound capacity 3×3 floor scales and our thoughts on how to address these concerns.
We have had multiple brands of 5K floor scales. We always have concerns with them displaying incorrect weights, not being able to calibrate. I have noticed it happens after someone moves them.
Recently we had a brand new set of scales stop displaying correct weights after the scales were slid across the floor to move them for maintenance. After that, we can’t get them to display the correct weight again. Tried basic troubleshooting but we can’t get them to weigh correctly. Is this common for all floor scales?
What is the Solution to Fix Your Floor Scale?
If you own floor scale(s) contact your local trusted scale company and sign up with them to have your scales checked on a regular basis. Accuracy is important and you want to make sure your scales are accurate year round. This will also help you get priority service if you ever need it and probably save you some money on any replacement scale parts you may need.
First off, don’t slide the floor scale across the floor. Instead, carefully pick up the floor scale with a forklift. This can be done and cause no damage and keep the scale working accurately. If you slide the scale across the floor you are very likely going to damage either a load cell or a foot.
The majority of floor scale issues can usually be one or two things. A cut loadcell cable is usually at the top of the list. You can inspect the cable that runs from the scale platform up to the scale display. Look for cuts or crimped areas. If there are any issues, replace the cable. Many times that can fix your scale without a big hassle.
Other floor scale issues that you sometimes see include a bad load cell(s) or a bad digital weight indicator or a bad summing board.
What Causes a Bad Load Cell?
There isn’t just one thing that breaks load cells. But there is one thing for sure that is not good for shear beam load cells and that is shock loading. Sometimes a bad load cell can be the result of a shock load. The strain gauge load cells inside a floor scale do not like it when a mass is “dropped” on the scale. Instead, you need to “set” the item on the scale platform. The worst cases of shock loading can even damage the scale platform too.
Back to troubleshooting, if the floor scale is displaying weight when you step on it, take a moment to walk around the perimeter of the scale platform onto each of the four corners. Pay attention to what the scale displays on each corner. If you weigh more or less on one corner, then there is a very good chance something is wrong with that load cell or there is an issue in that corner such as buildup under the scale platform. (We’ve even seen situations where the scale owner simply had the scale crammed up against the wall. The solution, gently slide the scale two inches)
Another thing you can do is open up the scale junction box and start to disconnect one loadcell at a time and see what your weights are. Pay attention to your color codes too as they can vary from load cell brands.
As mentioned earlier, the majority of floor scale issues are a pinched or damaged home run cable. Another thing we see occasionally is “someone” (usually nobody claims it’s them) has gone into the indicator settings and has changed the settings or the calibration. Sometimes this person feels the 5000 pound capacity scale should have readability of 0.01 pound instead of the standard 1 pound. Or perhaps they just want to try and calibrate the scale for some reason. This often leads to a scale not weighing correctly and you probably need to call in the professionals.
So the answer to the question how do you keep industrial floor scales working is by taking care of the scale and having it checked on a regular basis. If you need some assistance choosing the right pallet scale for your needs, be sure to visit our floor scales section and browse our wide selection of floor scale brands that we offer.