October 19, 2011 - 11:39am
Can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive scale?
I have a low-end DigiWeigh postal scale that is meant to weigh in both English and metric, but I've found that it's not terribly sensitive, and I've only been able to get it to register grams in increments on five. Sometimes, it doesn't seem to register at all until there's at least ten grams on it. Of course, there could actually be God know how much from none to 14 grams, probably. Obviously, this isn't working out well.
Can anyone recommend a good inexpensive scale for a home baker? Ideally it would should ounces or grams and not be too bulky as all the kitchen gear has already necessitated storing some of it in the garage. Thanks so much!
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I've been using the Salter 6055SSDR forever.
It weighs up to 11 lbs (5 kg) in 1 gram increments (most scales that cost this little don't have 1 g resolution–they usually measure in 5 g increments). It has a tare function. Metric (g) or imperial (oz). Auto-shutoff (so you don't have to constantly feed it batteries).
I recommend it.
It's $36 in Amazon.com.
I also have this Salter model, at least 10 years. I have calibration weights that I use in another hobby, this scale is very accurate.
Michael
One used by many including myself is the Escali Primo Digital Scale. It is inexpensive, accurate and durable.
Jeff
Escali
I have a polder slim digital.
No complaints. Doesnt take up much room, is flat and easy to clean.
Started a couple of months ago and didn't know what to buy either. I was on a very tight budget. Did some searching on Amazon and found this one... Works just fine for me. It's very small yet can handle even my biggest glass bowls. Tare, auto-off, grams (1 g increments), oz, lbs and kgs
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Kitchen-Silver/dp/B001N07KUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1319074918&sr=8-1
One of the scales we own, keeps tare, so far happy w/ it. We bought it thru amazon.com
I have a Salter; very pleased with its performance. This one is, IMO, also worthy of consideration.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0020L6T7K/ref=asc_df_B0020L6T7K1745502?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B0020L6T7K
Most brands have several different models. My experience is the "cheapest" model of every brand is junk. Whatever brand you choose, I suggest you get at least the second-from-the bottom model.
I've never found one scale that had both large enough capacity to handle a whole batch and small enough resolution to weigh ingredients like salt and yeast. So the solution I recommend is to have two scales: one that measures to the nearest gram and has a capacity of several kilograms, the other a "pocket" scale that measures to the nearest tenth of a gram but has a capacity of only a few hundred grams. Small higher-resolution scales didn't exist just a few years ago, then their guts came packaged as "digital spoons", and then somebody without a third arm to hold the spoon put the guts in something that could sit on the table. Search the web for "digital pocket scale" and you'll find lots of these things, several for under $10. Here for example is the one I have. (Or you may prefer the "digital spoon" form:-)
I have a Salter 3003.
It’s fast, easy on batteries, doesn’t take up much room, and doesn’t
have a lot of unnecessary programming.
However, the resolution only goes down to 2 grams. It also reads 1% too high.
I got this one: http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stainless-Pull-Out-Display/dp/B000WJMTNA/ref=pd_sbs_k1
I know it's a little on the high end but the pull out display is very convenient and I think the greater expense goes toward better quality/durability. Resolution is ±1 gram or ±1/8 oz. One downside is that the oz scale goes in 1/8 oz increments rather than a decimal figure but that's pretty easy to get used to.
Good luck!
Do any of the recommended models have adjustable switch off time? My scale annoys me by switching off while I get the flour bin from the cup board. Of course half of the flour is already inthe bowl and I have to re-weigh it! Arrgghh!
Cheers
Peter
I have the OXO that Emelye suggested above. To tell the truth, I love it. I've been using mine since December of '08 for weighing coffee beans each morning and weighing bread ingredients a couple of times a week. I, too, was annoyed by the shut-off in the middle of things. Then I made a discovery (it's probably somewhere in the instructions, but who reads those anyway?), if you simply click the power button, it will go through its POST routine, and re-display the weight at cutoff.
Try it with your scale (or read the manual—yeah, right). If it doesn't work for your scale, buy the OXO; you won't go wrong.
cheers,
gary
I love my MyWeigh KD-8000 that I bought on line recently from Amazon for $41.75US including shipping, partly because it does have a programmable shutoff timer. You can set it to 1,2,3...5 minutes (my choice). I bought it for two reasons: it has this setting to keep it turned on, and it has a (optional) AC adapter. I gave my previous scale to my daughter. It was way better than no scale at all so she was overjoyed to receive it. It was always turning off on me when I had to go to the cabinet for more flour. Sounds familiar eh? I'll bet. That scale ( a small Taylor) also ate batteries like I eat bread. Couldn't keep them in the house. The MyWeigh is several months old now, and has yet to require a battery change. If it starts eating them I'll buy the AC adapter.
The Myeigh is not as sleek and thin as the Taylor was, but it also does a much better job of weighing one or two grams, where the Taylor seemed to not sense much below two. It did fine getting from 11 to 12, but never seemed to go from zero to 1. It always seemed to start at 2, so I would weigh a larger-portion ingredient first. That is not necessary now with my MyWeigh scale.
I hope it helps you
OldWoodenSpoon
I chose the Jennings CJ4000 for 2 reasons and couldn't be happier:
1. It has .5 gram resolution. I am fairly anal when it comes to detail and this was the least expensive one I could find with that accuracy.
2. It comes with an AC adapter.
http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/jennings-jscale-cj4000.aspx
While some have noted 4000 grams (8.8 lbs) may be a smaller upper capacity than most scales, I tend to do the mise en place approach and rarely need to measure out more than 1500 grams of an ingredient at one time, so that is a non-issue for me.
After 4 years of heavy use, the tare button started failing me. I contacted Jennings and they sent me a brand new, updated model within 4 days.
I bought mine at Old Will Knott Scales online and suggest you visit their site. While you may not buy one there, you'll find it a great resource to compare brands, models and features. They provided great customer service for me.
Additionally, they normally have a scale on special every week at a discounted price. Nice ones included.
I too like our baker's percentage scal. I have a video of it on our site: http://fgpizza.com/store/page4.html#70
It's in expensive and does the job.
We are a family-owned company and we will provide you with excellent service.
Frankie G
www.FGpizza.com
Cooks Illustrated rated the Oxo scale the best. They like the larger of the two Oxo scales, the model with the larger capacity, up to 11 pounds, I believe. I have it and love it. I owned a smaller Salter, and it was fine but not cleanable except by wet cloth, and if you put a big bowl on it the display would be obscured. The platform of the Oxo is removable, so you can give it a good wash in running water. The pullout display is nice when you put large bowls on the scale, and the backlight comes in really handy at times.