Digital Kitchen scale, gram accuracy. Really?

by FatFreek 2005 10 Replies latest social physical

  • FatFreek 2005
    FatFreek 2005

    I only have 2 cups of coffe a day but insist that it's fresh and strong. I pour the hot water thru a coffee-filled #2 cone filter held in a ceramic holder, a lid on top to keep things hot for the 1 3/4 minute it takes to go through. Yummmmmy!

    In the morning for my 8 oz cup I use a well-rounded Tbsp of grounds -- plus a 1/4 of that on top to make it robust.

    Enter my new digital scale. Supposedly accuracy to +/- 1 gram, I couldn't wait to try it this morning. I decided to convert my Tbsp quantity to grams and decided on 9 grams for a starter, figuring I would adjust that value depending on how strong or weak the concoction was.

    Well, at first blush, I was impressed. Put the ceramic holder with filter on the scale, turn the unit on and the value is zero (0) -- perfect. The holder's weight becomes the tare and is automatically subtracted. Next, place my usual Tablespoon fill of grounds into the filter, check it out. Not bad -- 8 grams. Time to put a bit more onto the pile. Ooops! 10 grams, 1 too many. Not a problem, says I. Scrape a tad back into the spoon. Nothing changes on the readout. A bit more. Nothing again. By the time the scale reading changes to my goal of 9, I've removed some 2/3 of the original pile. My ballpark math says that based on what I subtracted, the scale should read closer to 3 instead of 9.

    Go through the above scenario again but see no improvement. It appears to behave okay if all I do is add. However, in subtraction, the unit sensor seems flawed.

    Am I expecting too much from one of these digital kitchen scales? Or do I have a lemon? Yes, it's a cheapo unit that I bought and I'm willing to fork out a few more bucks for something that works.
    Len

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  • still thinking
    still thinking

    I think you are right...I have noticed that with baking...as soon as you start to take it off...no reading change unitil a large quantitiy has been removed...I normally start again.

    Maybe I have a temperamental scale like you...I dunno

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  • cofty
    cofty

    Give the scale a tap to get it to recalculate

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  • talesin
    talesin

    I have a digital scale.

    When you want to subtract, remove the container from the scale, take out the coffee, then place it back on. You should retain the 0 factor (tare), and it should work properly. (same procedure for adding)

    My scale works best if I follow those steps. For some reason, it's doesn't easily recalculate the weight if you do not remove the container to 'reset', for lack of a better word.

    tal

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  • FatFreek 2005
    FatFreek 2005

    "Give the scale a tap to get it to recalculate" -- Cofty. Hmmmm ... that seems to work.

    I just took a handful of quarters, about 6 grams each, and played with addition and subtraction. After subtracting one, I exerted some finger pressure on the middle of the stack and the display then appeared to correct itself. I can't wait until my first morning cup.

    Thanks to you, Cofty, and all. Len

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  • ohiocowboy
    ohiocowboy

    Even thought the tare is automatically adjusted, there should still be a tare reset somewhere on the scale for things that you are describing. I use an electronic gram scale for Gold and Silver and have never had any problems. I do however have to reset the tare when I add a separate dish to collect the PM's so that it compensates for it. Check the instructions for your scale.

    Cofty has a great suggestion too! I always tap mine a couple of times to make sure the values end up the same as a safety measure.

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  • still thinking
    still thinking

    who'd of thunk such an old fashioned method would still work so well!!!!

    giving things a tap/bang....used to work for so many things LOL

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  • clarity
    clarity

    Geez Len ..... how do you go thru all this so early? I thought the coffee was to wake you up!

    So let me get this straight ... first you wake up fully in order to deal with a scale, make the coffee, then you drink the coffee! lol

    I like your guess method better.

    clarity

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  • FatFreek 2005
    FatFreek 2005

    I like your guess method better.

    Hi, Clarity. What always precedes the coffee is sleep till I wanna get up. That's the beauty of 9 years of retirement.

    And I always love your wit and sense of humor, my friend.

    Len

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  • clarity
    clarity

    Len

    I understand the difference between wanna & haveta.

    But the line ... "What always precedes the coffee is sleep "

    ... is a little disconcerting

    c

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