Weighing, Dosing & Loss-in-Weight Feeding worked example

Refill Downtime at 7.2% refill and disturbance allowance: a worked example

Suppose refill and disturbance allowance falls to 7.2%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Refill downtime estimates how long a loss-in-weight feeder needs to deliver a batch of material, then pads that base time with an allowance for the volumetric refill windows and flow disturbances that interrupt gravimetric dosing.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Total material to dose: 120 units (held at the documented default)
  • Feeder dosing rate: 12 units / hr (held at the documented default)
  • Refill and disturbance allowance: 7.2 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 10)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base refill downtime time = required work ÷ processing rate.
  • Adjusted run time works out to 10.72 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base run time works out to 10 hr at these inputs.
  • Allowance applied works out to 7.2 % at these inputs.
  • Process rate works out to 12 pieces / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where refill and disturbance allowance sits at 10% and the headline result is 11 hr, this scenario comes in 2.55% below the baseline at 10.72 hr.
  • It computes base run time as material ÷ dosing rate, then multiplies by an allowance factor to include refill and disturbance overhead. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Adjusted run time: 10.72 hr (headline result)
  • Base run time: 10 hr
  • Allowance applied: 7.2 %
  • Process rate: 12 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Refill Downtime calculator, set refill and disturbance allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.