Today’s STEM students are our future, which is why it’s important for educators to have the proper top loader balance when teaching. Adam provides a range of high-quality top loader balances that are perfect for each stage of a student’s educational journey. This blog will discuss what type of top loader balance is best for your classroom, and how you can use it to enrich your lessons.
What is a Top Loader Balance?
A top loader balance is a balance without a built-in draft shield, so the pan is easily accessible from all sides. There are many kinds of top loader balances, including mechanical triple beam balances, compact balances, and precision balances.
Triple Beam Mechanical Balances
Mechanical balances, like our TBB Triple Beam Balances, operate without electricity. The weight of an object is determined by actively moving counterweights to physically balance the item. Our TBB Triple Beam Balances have capacities from 610g to 2610g, with readabilities of 0.1g.
Why Should You Choose the TBB for Your Classroom?
We recommend our TBB Triple Beam Balance for ages nine to fourteen. The lack of electricity or electrical parts makes using our TBB a very hands-on activity. This gives students a way to visually see and understand the balancing process as it happens. This is opposed to an electrical scale automatically performing all the work and calculations.
Despite all the moving parts, the TBB is easy to operate. This reduces the learning curve and helping them focus on why weight and mass matters. The budget-friendly TBB allows schools to purchase more units at once so fewer students need to share during lessons.
Compact Balances
Compact balances, with their lightweight design, offer portability and occupy minimal space. They frequently feature batteries, enabling operation without requiring a power plug. Our compact balances range in capacity from 100g to 30kg, with readabilities from 0.001g to 5g.
They are fantastic for quick, easy-to-understand results that don’t require sub-milligrams. Their portability allows them to be set up at different workstations or taken with students around the building as necessary. No need to be tied to precious electrical outlets!
Which Top Loader Compact Balances Do We Recommend for Your Classroom?
Our Dune and CB compact balances are suitable from ages six all the way up to eighteen, depending on your lessons. The CB only has three buttons – including the off/on button – for extremely simple operation. With ABS plastic housing and a stainless-steel pan, the CB is durable enough to last in the hands of clumsy kids and teenagers.
For those extra cautious, our Dune Compact Balances offer the same simple interface in addition to an internal overload protection feature. If you’re nervous about your students exceeding the scale’s capacity, overload protection will give you peace of mind. Internal components will be protected – to a reasonable degree, of course.
A step ahead in terms of precision yet easy to operate, our Core Portable Compact Balances are an outstanding value for science classrooms. Many CQT models come with an optional draft shield. In field lessons, utilizing the Core ensures that results remain unaffected by wind. Additionally, CQTs' unique design allows them to safely stack with each other despite being larger than the CB and Dune. This is helpful for reducing space taken up when placed in supply cupboards and prep rooms.
Precision Balances
Precision balances often provide finer readability than compact balances because they intend to deliver highly precise weighing results. Unlike compact scales, precision balances offer more functions than weighing alone. For example, our Luna LTB Precision Balances boast parts counting, checkweighing, dynamic weighing, and percentage weighing applications. Our selection of top loader precision balances ranges in capacity from 2100g to 15kg, with readabilities from 0.001g to 0.1g.
What Top Loader Precision Balance is Best for Your Classroom?
When your students need precise results but still need to be able to travel, our Highland balances are suitable for ages twelve all the way to university. Highland HCB balances offer internal calibration with patented HandiCal® technology, so you don’t have to worry about externally calibrating the scale should the results begin to drift. The HCB also boasts ShockProtect® just in case a student were to drop the balance or use a bit more force than necessary to place an item on the pan – ShockProtect significantly improves the lifespan of your machine.
Our Luna LTB and LBB, Equinox ETB and Solis STB ranges are our best options when it comes to higher educational and professional top loader precision balances. Though they’re all similar in terms of readability, the Luna Precision offers the most diverse range of capacities should you be looking for something specific. If your lessons include research, the exceptional Solis can store up to 99 ingredients for recall later. If you value convenience above all, our top-of-the-line Equinox features a touch screen display, making it extremely easy to access and use the eleven different applications it offers.
How Can Schools Utilize a Top Loader Balance?
If you’re looking for ideas on how to incorporate a top loader balance into your lessons, we have some suggestions. Adam Equipment offers a variety of freely downloadable experiments on our Education Resources page, all using top loader balances! You can choose between experiments that involve determining molar mass, observing and measuring osmosis, chemical reactions and more.
Both classrooms and real-world jobs can utilize top loader balances for various purposes. Helping your students build a solid foundation and familiarity with these extremely helpful tools truly benefits them in the long run.
Still not sure which top loader balance is best for you? Contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.
