Need a digital scale recommendation

Profile picture for user justkeepswimming
justkeepswimming on 7 Sep 2025 at 17:48

My trusty digital scale died, sadly. It was a cheap one from Walmart, but proved to be a reasonably good one that lasted almost 5 years before the tare and unit buttons quit working. One of the features it had was reading gm in 0.5 gm increments, very handy when measuring salt. 

I tried one from Amazon and it's fairly useless. The weight reading drifts pretty frequently (400 gm, 410 gm 395 gm... all without touching anything). It's "close enough" for flour and water as I generally hold back a little water and go by feel when mixing anyway. But that is seriously not good when it comes time to weigh salt. I don't know if I have 7 gm or 10 gm of salt. It also does not have a decimal point in the gm reading, something I miss. 

Most I have looked at now seem to require AA batteries. That's fine, just made me wonder if the rechargeable ones were a fire hazard in shipping, warehouses, (homes...) etc. 

Suggestions/recommendations, please and thank you! 

 

Profile picture for user breadforfun

breadforfun on 7 Sep 2025 at 20:28

I always hesitate when making recommendations since everyone has different needs and requirements. I will make an exception here and hopefully it will give you some info that you need to make a decision. 

I have had this KD-8000 scale now since 2013 and it has worked flawlessly for all that time. The main reason I got it is because the display is angled vertically and can be easily read when there is a large bowl on the scale. The capacity is 8 kg. Subsequently to my purchase I learned that it is the one used by King Arthur baking classes, and is sold by Keith Guisto bakery supplies in Petaluma. Anything that is used by students has to be pretty robust, and Guisto sells to amateurs and professionals alike. At around $50 it’s probably on the high end of what’s available, but it has been well worth it for me. 

There are some cons. It doesn’t read to less than a gram, so your salt measurements aren’t accurate. Also the “bakers math” feature isn’t all that useful if your formula is in grams. It does use AA batteries but they last quite a while. I believe there is an optional AC adapter. They also make a model KD-7000 without the bakers math feature, but it costs basically the same. 

For the smaller amounts I use something like this. It’s small, cheap and accurate enough. 

-Brad

The Amazon listing for the Fuzion scale does not mention the size of the weighing pan. How small is the pan?

Thanks!

Based on one of the photos on the Amazon link that shows a nickel coin in the center of the weigh pan, I'd estimate the pan is about 5 nickels wide and about 4 nickels high. Just my 2 pennies worth! :)

Maybe that's close enough?  I'm thinking of ordering one also.  I'd use it to weigh dry yeast.  The precision is probably not really not really necessary, but I love baking toys!

OldWoodenSpoon

This is the one I have. It's cheap and mesaures in .1g increments. Lowest weight is .9g (1g), but once you reach that threshold, it will go up by .1 grams. Takes 2 triple As, but as Brad mentioned, these last a long time. Don't care for the shortish shut-off time, but I guess that's why the batteries last so long. I've had a rare bit of drift, not enough to be a problem.

I have the same Elekcity, it's been great. I do wish it used AA batteries, though. I hate triple A's.

For really light weights, I have an old Cen-Tech 93543 that is optimized for small weights.

I originally posted the below comment in this thread back in June of this year.  You might find the other comments there useful in your evaluations.

I have used the same MyWeigh scale for about 15 years.  I have had zero trouble with it, and no complaints.  The 1 gram increments have never been an issue.  I guess I just don't sweat the salt at such fine a granularity.  A fraction of a gram isn't material in the 2kg batches I typically bake.  Several years ago the hinge tabs of the flip-up plastic cover to the controls broke off; first one, then the other, so I threw it out.  The scale has been even easier to use since then.  Mine did not include a power adapter at the time,  and I did not purchase the optional one.  Batteries have lasted me a couple of years per set on CopperTops.  I don't know where the scales are made, but they have been, in my experience, sturdy and functional.

OldWoodenSpoon 

I have both the KD7000 and KD8000.  They are utterly reliable.  When I bought the first, 10+ years ago, batteries were standard and a power supply (not charger) was optional.  My more recent purchase had the power supply as a standard part of the package.

Paul

It has the power supply and takes a 9 volt. It’s completely reliable and the 9 volt lasts a very long time. The weight never travels unless the battery is going…. a great feature 😊. 

As others have said 1gm is plenty small enough for my baking as salt is the only thing that’s consistently in smaller increments but given the size of most of my batches it’s fine. 

It stays a long time so I have plenty of time to add on items. I’m very happy with it. I don’t remember the cost. 

I also posted back in June about digital scales. I purchased an American Weigh Scales LB-3000 and I initially liked it. But when I went to replace the AA zinc batteries that came with the scale, I found that the battery compartment was sized for these batteries (which were undersized) and rechargeable AA wouldn't fit in the compartment. Even most alkaline AA did not fit. All the batteries I tried were within published dimensional specifications. The scale also comes with a power supply, so if you you can use it that way, it's a pretty decent scale.