In trying to maintain the best consistency I weigh the beans going into the hopper and espresso coming out of the machine. Unfortunately, as careful as I've been I've ruined two digital scales as they inadvertantly got some water/moisture inside. I was thinking of putting Saran wrap around it or putting it in a zip lock bag. Would it still work accurately after hitting the tare button if wrapped or put in a baggie?

How do you keep from killing your digital scale that lives near your espresso machine????

TIA

How are you getting them wet enough to fail? If you adjust the workflow/process a bit, you should be able to resolve the issue.

I use one scale, though I have two. And I single dose, prep the doses in advance, so that is not being done when anything is wet. That said, if you are weighing beans before each grind, you should not be getting the scale wet under those conditions, since you would taking reasonable care to avoid getting the beans wet.

So I'll assume you are getting the scale wet during the pull or clean up stages.

I have my scale on the drip tray, and it happens to fit well, not so large as to be in the way or easily bumped. The size of the weighing surface is larger than the diameter of my cups. I place the cup, turn it on (it auto tares when powering up). I pull the shot, remove the cup, and remove the scale immediately. Then I remove the portafilter, knock the puck out, etc, and I flush the group head briefly. When I flush the steam wand before and after steaming milk, the scale is not within range of the steam.

Occasionally, a drop or two of coffee will drip onto the scale after I pull the cup, but that is easily wiped off. On one occasion, I was distracted and sleepy, and I did a flush while the scale was still on the drip tray, and it still didn't hurt the scale. The scales that I have would almost require deliberate attempts to get them wet inside, or dropping into water, or maybe leaving the scale on the drip tray when flushing steam. That last one is the only thing I can imagine would be able to get up under the lip of the scale plate, and condense into the scale.

What scale are you using?

+1 it really depends on the scale you are using and how it was exposed to moisture.

They make scales specifically for espresso that are waterproof.

I currently use the brewista V2 and love it! I use it in my shop everyday and it is exposed to lots of water/moisture.

https://brewglobal.com/shop/brewing-gea ... le-ii.html

I also have the first iteration of this scale and it is currently 2+ years old and going strong. So I would imagine the new version to last a long time.

I have seen people putting their scale in sandwich bags/plastic bags to keep moisture out as well. If spending $90 on a scale isn't for you, then this is an option as well.

Good point on the actual scale -- I just assumed the OP has a scale suited for espresso.

Just a data point -- this is the scale I use:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RF3XJ2/

Not fancy or pricey, and (thus far) no moisture problems with it. If I had to put it in a plastic bag to use it, I probably wouldn't use it.

I did have the Hario (https://smile.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-D ... 009GPJMOU/ ) but it overhangs the drip tray on my machine by quite a bit, so too easy to bump for me.

I'd upgrade to a better scale, but so far this one does the job, is thin enough and has the right footprint for my needs. Some of the nicer ones are too thick or wide for my purposes.

Vindibona1 wrote:I was thinking of putting Saran wrap around it or putting it in a zip lock bag. Would it still work accurately after hitting the tare button if wrapped or put in a baggie?

Saran wrap and plastic bags will affect accuracy if the scale bed has a frame around the weighing surface (which is the case on my Amazon cheapie) and the plastic touches any part of the frame. And if you don't cover the gap, there's no real protection.

I keep my shot scale on my coffee tool rack in the clear plastic box it came in, take it out when I use it (which is only to check things on a few shots per week - I don't use it for every cup, and I have a larger one for dosing), and follow Bret's workflow.

Accidental dousing is a risk. I've pulled a few shots into the emperor's new cup over the years, but thankfully never onto the scale. Overall, though, a little care should keep the shot scale dry in slow paced home use. If I were pulling multiple shots back to back in a busy kitchen, I'd get a waterproof shot scale.

My two scales sometimes get accidentally splashed on and moisture gets inside somehow... then muerta. After my first one died I've tried to be extra careful but to no avail. I know I could spend $90 on a water resistant scale but that's kind of a gamble too as I could just as easily knock it off the counter top to the hard tile floor and splat, it too would be deal. These $11 scales are accurate as then need to be, but if there was a way that I could just help the next one last a little longer than 4-6 months.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XK ... UTF8&psc=1

Clear tape over the buttons and display would make them waterproof which might solve most of the problem.

Ira

I've found that the water ingress point is on the bottom when using the cheap scales from amazon. The battery compartment gets pretty nasty. Even the wet drip tray from a HX flush can be problematic. I'm probably getting a proper coffee scale next.

ira wrote:Clear tape over the buttons and display would make them waterproof which might solve most of the problem.

Ira

Yep, this is what I do with the American Weight scales I have + tape over the battery compartment like previously mentioned. It will still get drenched if you have a big spill, but for normal usage it keeps it in great shape.

I've had a couple of major issues where they've been drenched more than once but after letting them dry out in a bag of rice I have yet to lose one completely.