ShotClock wrote:I think that the Timemore black mirror nano looks like the only real competitor to the Lunar, in terms of size, functions etc. If you take a punt on it (only $100), please report back, as there's frustratingly little by way of information on it.

Thanks, I'm checking it out now...

To the other replies (thanks) I charge using whatever MicroUSB I can find. I do leave it on the tray. I don't want to have to move it every time I steam. At this price I am going to be picky about not having to worry about that kind of stuff.

Somewhere I have a post or thread talking about my battery experience. It got to where it was discharging like every week or two. The battery life after being replaced is pretty long, several weeks at least, but the battery lo indicator leaves little warning and usually right in the middle of a prep (or I grab my cheapo scale).

That made me think of another feature a $300 scale should have -- inductive charging.

I got one of these scales at the beginning of my espresso hobby about 10 years ago. It still works although I poured coffee and hot water over it countless times. I use recharcheable batteries and they hold very long. The 500g version with two decimal places is very accurate.
They are about 10 dollars so I suggest you get one as a replacement until you find a successor to the Lunar unless you get to like it as I do (I like buttons ).

That's crazy you've had so many issues.

I've had my lunar for 6 years and 1 month, used 2-3 times a day, every day, and never once a single issue.

I've had my Lunar since I received it at the SCAA show it was announced at, one of the first 25, and other than one trip back home for some free upgrades, it's been rock solid.

Marmot, I have that jewelry scale too - it's on my grinder table. I use it as my backup espresso scale too.

I just looked up my purchase history, and I bought this Lunar on Amazon in April of 2017, so almost 6 years ago now.

I found a $15 coupon and got the Nano yesterday for around 90 bucks delivered. I might post an extended review later. It has a nice size, shape, and build, albeit plastic or acrylic, not metal. The tilted display is useful. The latest USB-C port is appreciated. The side buttons do take some finesse to operate but maybe that gets easier with practice. I am eager to try out the ESP (espresso mode), which is designed to auto-tare the cup then auto-time the shot. I like that it remembers this mode when it comes out of standby. I'll probably keep this, if nothing else to just make a change after 6 years of the previous scale.

I use this one. It's about $25 on Amazon. It is just a slightly over .75" thick. A thin design allows me to fit large mugs under the portafilter. It has automatic espresso mode and an automatic water ratio mode for pour-overs.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0923DMDWH

I used the same...although I have jacked them up pretty good. I'm clumsy...good scale though!

I have been using the same $15 0.1g scale for the past 8 or more years. An expensive, fancy hammer is still a hammer.

In the end, I ponied up the ~$85 repair/shipping charge to get my Acaia back. I have a newfound appreciation for some of its features after several weeks without it (and using the Nano). Maybe some of my gripes were attributable to user fatigue.

I really, really like the Timemore Nano, though, for what you get at under $100. Enough that I would recommend it over the Lunar to someone looking for lots of performance at a good value. They are very similar in terms of functionality and performance. Nano has the edge on display orientation. My biggest difficulty with the Nano was the awkwardness of placement of the touch-sensitive buttons on the side. I also liked the ESP mode (auto-tare + auto-start timer) when it worked, and cursed it when it did not (and stopped halfway through the shot). The Lunar has a similar feature that I started using again after virtually forgetting about it, and I think it works more reliably. On the Lunar, I also like that you can toggle modes to where you only get a very clean, simple gram-only read-out (no timer), and I don't think Nano has this option.

I appreciate everyone's inputs.

I've had a Lunar for around 4 years now and I've noticed that it has started to drift a little. I'll put my catch cup with grounds on the scale and watch as it goes from 14.5g to 14.4...14.3....14.2 over a period of 2 to 3 min. I've done firmware upgrades and recalibrations but nothing seems to stop it. Any ideas what's causing this?