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Post by JRinGeorgia on Apr 15, 2021 19:06:37 GMT -8
I got a cheapie digital kitchen scale off Amazon a number of years ago and it's been fine. Totally accurate (I have a set of reference weights). I think digital scale technology is pretty much dialed in at this point and personally I would trust any digital scale that has 4+ stars from at least a couple hundred people.
An easy way to test the accuracy and calibrate it: a US nickel weighs exactly 5g.
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Post by bradmacmt on Apr 15, 2021 19:14:01 GMT -8
Yeah.
That’s why my wife and I got the scales we have... 4.5 stars and over 72,000 reviews.
She got hers many months before I got mine. I have a standardized weight set that goes with my balance beam scale. Both our “cheap” $13 scales are spot on.
But you’ve got to hand it to the makers of the other scale with a Swiss sounding name and its “Swiss Quality” tag... even though it’s made in China 😀
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Apr 16, 2021 18:02:12 GMT -8
33 pound capacity, 1 gram resolutionI love this scale for cooking. I can put a large bowl on it and add ingredients one by one. It's large enough to easily handle unwieldy items, and the overall capacity is astounding. The one gram resolution is real, too. I tested it across a pretty wide range using measured volumes of water. (One easy way is to remove a known water from a larger amount with a measuring spoon and note the change).
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Apr 22, 2021 5:16:45 GMT -8
For me within about a gram is fine resolution ( Cuisinart scale here). Does anyone here feel they need higher resolution than that?
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Post by dayhiker on Apr 22, 2021 8:28:39 GMT -8
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Apr 22, 2021 9:13:22 GMT -8
For large items that might block my view of the read out display, I put a plastic mixing bowl on the scale, and a flat cookie sheet on top of the bowl. I then Tare it all before adding my larger items. Kind of like building a house of cards.
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Apr 22, 2021 9:56:33 GMT -8
I put the view-blocking item on the scale, reach under with a finger and hit the tare button, then remove the item and read the negative weight. Works with my Office Depot OD-ES11 postal scale anyway.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Apr 22, 2021 11:30:19 GMT -8
I think with digital scales the accuracy is related to the percentage of weight on the scale. Heavi things weight less accurate. If you tare something heavy to weight in your measurement may not be as accurate right from the start.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Apr 22, 2021 12:15:57 GMT -8
If routinely weighing larger odd shaped items a plan B I’ve considered is a digital hang scale they offer for luggage, or fish. Place the item in, say, a grocery sack and hang it from the hook. Probably a good choice for tents, sleeping bags and packs etc. Such as: www.rei.com/product/128465/eagle-creek-luggage-scale-alarm-clockOf course, Amazon has lots of them.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Apr 22, 2021 12:21:03 GMT -8
For larger, odd shaped items, I go to the USP office where there is a self service kiosk. The scales there are quite large, and accurate.
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Apr 22, 2021 13:01:02 GMT -8
I think with digital scales the accuracy is related to the percentage of weight on the scale. Heavi things weight less accurate. If you tare something heavy to weight in your measurement may not be as accurate right from the start. Do you have a link explaining that? I've always interpreted the percentage-based accuracy claims to mean percentage of the maximum load.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Apr 22, 2021 13:15:44 GMT -8
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Apr 22, 2021 13:22:21 GMT -8
The worst-case nonlinearity specification of ±0.018 percent is seen over the load cell's full range. The smaller the change in weight on your load cell, the smaller the error resulting from nonlinearity. Yeah, for any given sensor, the residual nonlinearity depends on how much effort is put into calibration and what processing auxiliary sensors might be used to assist it.
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Post by dayhiker on Apr 22, 2021 13:26:01 GMT -8
If routinely weighing larger odd shaped items a plan B I’ve considered is a digital hang scale they offer for luggage, or fish. Place the item in, say, a grocery sack and hang it from the hook. Probably a good choice for tents, sleeping bags and packs etc. Such as: www.rei.com/product/128465/eagle-creek-luggage-scale-alarm-clockOf course, Amazon has lots of them. For things over 7 lbs I just weigh myself w /wo the item on bathroom scale. But I have some items under 7 which I can weigh on the kitchen scale with the help of a tub, empty pack, tent separately
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Apr 22, 2021 14:37:32 GMT -8
Thanks, ErnieW . I *think* what that means is (a) unless you know the shape of the nonlinearity curve, you can't say whether the scale is more accurate in absolute terms for lighter or heavier loads, and (b) when comparing the weights of two items, the closer those items are to each other in absolute weight, the more accurate the estimate of their difference in weight. In other words, if both measurements are off by about 1%, the difference between them is pretty good, but if one is off by 1% and the other off by 5%, as might be the case when comparing something light with something heavy, the difference is less good.
My takeaway is that it probably doesn't matter whether I set the tare at zero, then weigh the item, or set the tare with the item on the scale, then look at the negative weight after removing it--either way I'm getting the same nonlinearity error between those two points.
Before starting to use my nega-weight approach, I did do a few random tests weighing things both directions and never got any difference within the precision of my scale, so I'm happy.
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