Scale recommendations? - Page 2

March 20th, 2017, 11:17 am

ira wrote:You must be a young one, my old chem lab scale doesn't have batteries.
Ira

Old enough to list my age as a multiple of "score". I did chem' late in life.

#12: Post by **rand** » March 20th, 2017, 11:58 am

pcrussell50 wrote:First, in case you are tempted to buy something cheaper than an Acacia or even a Brewista, and IMHO there is a very good "bang for the buck" reason to do so, remember that not all scales depict to the tenths of a gram. Make sure whatever you get, does that.

Now to the "bang for the buck" consideration. I've tried several low budget scales over the past 10 years, way back before the benefits of weighing were as widely accepted as they are now. Back then, I hadn't even heard of Acacia or Brewista. I also knew that jeweler or "drug dealer" levels of precision are not required for dialing in and repeating excellent espresso. As with the watch hobby, "maker-minded" people have come to know that there are certain standout, "cheap Chinese" products that perform way above their price. In watches, Invicta brand gets and deserves little respect. They rarely are any better than their $100'ish price tag dictates. Rarely, but not never. There is one, that has the movement of a much more expensive Seiko, and it's still only $125. This is the kind of thing maker-geeks figure out. The cheap scale I've come to like is this one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-po ... 93543.html

I've got one in each home.

It used to be $20 regular price and $13.99 on frequent sale. It only weighs out to 500g (half a kilo) where most of the really cheap scales weigh out to a whole kilo, suggesting more granularity in the stroke of its load cell. It's way more stable and of higher quality than some of the other cheap scales out there, even ones with fancy metal platters and blue backlit displays.

The drawback of this type of scale is that its platter is not big enough to put a whole portafilter on. No matter to me as I have a super low/zero retention grinder and weigh into a yogurt cup before grinding. And it's perfect size to put your demitasse on it, under the group for weighing your extraction.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. I understand why you would want something more blingy. I'll probably get an Acacia just for the fun of it, if I don't find some other fun frivolous coffee thing to buy this summer. But I don't have any illusions that it will improve my espresso in any measurable (pun intended) way.

-Peter

Keep in mind though, that a scale with less than 1000g maximum load will not be able to have a portafilter on it. The portafilters on my NS aurelia 2 at work weigh about 650g and that seems pretty standard for all NS machines I've dealt with. This means you will have to dose into a separate doser or funnel and then put the ground coffee into your portafilter. I don't hate that method, but I'd much rather dose directly into a portafilter (just my opinion).

#13: Post by **rand** » March 20th, 2017, 12:03 pm

Bret wrote:I've been using this one for a couple years, works well for my needs:

https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-S ... 001RF3XJ2/

Price is very reasonable. I also use it on the drip tray to measure the pull. It fits nicely on the tray, and is not thick so it doesn't interfere with getting my various size Not Neutral cups under the portafilter.

I can measure the dose in the portafilter by carefully placing it diagonally on the scale. I did that for a bit, but have long since moved to single dosing. So I still use this for weighing the dose, basically, but I am weighing out the beans ahead of time.

The Hario looks to be too large to fit on my drip tray. The Brewista looks terrific, but I'd have to measure a bit, since it looks pretty thick and might prevent me from using it to measure the pull with certain cups.

These are great scales for about $15. The only issue I have is that they are fairly sensitive to water. Most cafes that i've worked in that use these scales have 4 or 5 in the backroom because they'll go through 1 a month. Mistakes happen in a busy environment and if water gets under the scale platform in the screen, they are essentially ruined.

I use the case that comes with the AWS scales to balance the portafilter on. Diagram:

March 20th, 2017, 12:13 pm

rand wrote:Keep in mind though, that a scale with less than 1000g maximum load will not be able to have a portafilter on it. The portafilters on my NS aurelia 2 at work weigh about 650g and that seems pretty standard for all NS machines I've dealt with. This means you will have to dose into a separate doser or funnel and then put the ground coffee into your portafilter. I don't hate that method, but I'd much rather dose directly into a portafilter (just my opinion).

I'm good without the portafilter. I grind and weight into a plastic cup before dosing using a canning funnel into the portafilter. Upper weight limit for me just needs to include a blown glass tumbler that I pull shots into.

#15: Post by ***sigh*** » March 20th, 2017, 1:03 pm

rand wrote:These are great scales for about $15. The only issue I have is that they are fairly sensitive to water. Most cafes that i've worked in that use these scales have 4 or 5 in the backroom because they'll go through 1 a month. Mistakes happen in a busy environment and if water gets under the scale platform in the screen, they are essentially ruined.

I use the case that comes with the AWS scales to balance the portafilter on. Diagram:

Yeah, they definitely are sensitive. A little packing tape goes a long way to help out though, particular around the front plate and the battery compartment. Still have to be careful but it helps with minor sprays and whatnot.

I also keep mine in the case when on the drip tray to help reduce water exposure from splashes.

It's probably not the scale I'd use in a commercial setting, but cheap enough to replace occasionally at home.

#16: Post by **username?** » March 20th, 2017, 1:11 pm

The only issue I have is that they are fairly sensitive to water. Most cafes that i've worked in that use these scales have 4 or 5 in the backroom because they'll go through 1 a month. Mistakes happen in a busy environment and if water gets under the scale platform in the screen, they are essentially ruined

I've used an AWS scale for about two years now, with only one issue with water. I accidentally spilled water on the display, which caused it to show random numbers. I thought my scale was gone so I went and bought another one, but when I got home, I found that the old scale had dried out and was functioning properly again. I think that in a home environment, sensitivity to water won't be much of an issue since it will only be used once or twice a day.

That packing tape idea is a good one though, I may have to do that to mine now

#17: Post by **Charlene** » March 20th, 2017, 4:58 pm

RockyIII wrote:The nicest scale I've used is the Acaia Lunar. It is small enough, well made, fast, and accurate. The auto off setting can be changed.

Rocky

I concur on the Lunar. The $220 price was off-putting... for a while. After I finally decided to go for it, I have no regrets. In fact, I followed up with buying the Pearl for grinder dosing. I would buy both again if I had it to do over. Let your money bring ya happiness, as they say on that car auction TV program with those cool vintage cars.

#18: Post by **Bossman** » March 20th, 2017, 7:53 pm

I just ordered the Brewista II, I was tired of my scale turning off on me. I figured its a good compromise between a cheap scale and an Acaia.

#19: Post by **mikemaddux** » March 22nd, 2017, 12:57 pm

My Clever dripper weighs about 260 grams. I then add 18 grams of coffee and then about 300 grams of water, for a total of 578 grams.

My question - doesn't that require me to look for scales with a max weight of at least, say, 600 grams? Or does the tare feature reduce that requirement, since the max readout will always be less than 500 grams?

In other words, does "max weight" refer to the total real weight sitting on the scale or does it refer to the weight that appears on the LCD after using the tare feature?

Thanks, all!

#20: Post by **RockyIII** » March 22nd, 2017, 1:25 pm

mikemaddux wrote:In other words, does "max weight" refer to the total real weight sitting on the scale or does it refer to the weight that appears on the LCD after using the tare feature?

It is the gross weight without regard to tare. The tare function is only for convenience and does not affect the scale capacity.

Rocky