My current digital kitchen scales (Brabantia) go through batteries faster than I would like. I use rechargeable batteries, but still.
I was looking for long-lasting mechanical kitchen scales or at least one of those kinetic energy scales (turn the knob to power it) to use in the kitchen. Any model that can measure in the ~1g to 5kg range with a tare function is more than enough.
Does anyone have any recommendations or experience with these types of scales (knob or mechanical)? E.g., does the knob thing break easily?
You must log in or register to comment.
I don’t know if this is available in the US, but I have one of these guys (Starfrit 5kg scale) which I’ve been using multiple times a day every day since I meticulously Calorie count. It’s been over three years and I have yet to replace the battery.
I’ve been really happy with the 5kg Oxo scale. I was afraid the backlight would make it eat batteries, but I use it several times a week and am still using the original pair more than a year later.
This is my go to, however I wouldn’t call it BIFL. The first one failed after 2 years after using it 6-7 times per day everyday. Second one has been good so far for about 1.5 with the same usage. It’s by far the best scale I’ve found feature wise and structurally, but I can’t see it living forever.
I think the only true BIFL choice is a beam balance but those are slow to use.
Or eyeballing it, accuracy could take a hit though /s
No recommendation or experience, but rather thank you for introducing me to kitchen scales with kinetic energy! This is such a great invention, I didn’t know exists.
I looked into the first brand I found for this, called CASO. Based on Amazon reviews and pictures, I would get the Kitchen EcoMaster for myself. But as said no recommendation or experience!
Watch out for the small flat ones, many containers are wide enough to cover the display
I have also never heard of this before, but these look really interesting! The battery usage is fine in its own right, but my scale always seems to run out of power at the worst moment. I usually cook without measuring, so when I take it out it’s because its services are needed, and I guess the battery tends to slowly drain in the cupboard.
I’ll keep this in mind for if/when my scale breaks - or if I need a Christmas gift idea some year! :)
Might be worth crossposting on !AskUSA@discuss.online or !yurop@lemm.ee depending on where you live
ooh, nice idea, on it. thanks!
This is digital not mechanical, but this OXO scale has done me well both in accuracy and longevity
https://www.oxo.com/11-lb-stainless-steel-scale-w-pull-out-display.html
Looks great! Have you had it for long? How’s the battery situation?
I bought the same scale off Amazon a year ago. I use it every single day for all my meals and it’s still using the same batteries; not sure if I’m using the original batteries that came with the scale. I bought two more of these for family/friends. I’d recommend it.
Over a year. Never had to replace batteries so far, it auto turns off to save energy and that works pretty well. I can also recommend rechargeable eneloop batteries; from what I looked into they are the best at keeping their max voltage long term
I have the My Weigh scale and haven’t had to change the battery yet, couple of years in. Love it. I think if you want an unpowered scale a balancing scale and weights are the lowest tech and accurate.
It would be nice to get rid of the batteries, but there seem to be downsides to each of the alternatives currently.
Solar scales like the one from MUJI seem to update measurements slowly. I haven’t seen one that looks like it is responsive and likely to work for a lot of weighing tasks. Seems like this may be the best option for a manufacturer to innovate - bigger solar array, and a super capacitor to hold a good charge.
Mechanical are pretty classic and durable, but you choose either capacity or precision. I haven’t seen even a 2kg model that has 1g precision. More like 20g. So not very useful for home baking. Perhaps fine for general portion control. If you go this route you will probably need one small precision scale for fine resolution and a larger one that can accommodate 5kg.
Kinetic scales from CASO seem like a good option. The main criticism seems to be a short usable time after charging. It would stink to be 5 ingredients into a baking recipe and lose power midway through the next ingredient. It would also be annoying to keep stopping to charg it. They also seem to have slow updates when the weight changes like solar models. This is probably to reduce power usage. I think these are fine for occasional use, but not if you’re using a scale 3-5 times per week.
My personal solution has been to use a commercial scale that has a rechargeable battery built in, as well as a power adapter. I keep it plugged in, on our kitchen counter, and I use it nearly every day. After 10 years now the battery doesn’t hold a charge, but it works fine while plugged in. I could replace the battery, but don’t need it.
If you really want BIFL then it’s probably best to check out restaurant supply stores to see what they’re selling. At least in the US the scales from Edlund are well built and reliable, and for digital you can get a good one priced under $100. Taylor are lower quality and not as reliable, at least for the affordable models.
For mechanical i would expect to pay $100+ for a good small one with 10g precision. To get more precision the dials need to be pretty large, so this would be a trade-off.
You laid it all out pretty nicely, thanks!
As per your tip I’m gonna check out a couple of restaurant supply shops that I found (which was not as easy as I thought). But I also would not mind scales that I could just power by plugging them in, so I’ll check it out as well!
I’d like an induction cooking plate with scales and temperature sensor integrated please.
