# Hurry! - Reduced price scales



## Beemer (Jun 19, 2012)

I bought this today:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/micro-pocket-scales-256386

Probably well overpriced at their original selling price but now at under £10 and doing everything it says it can it is IMO a good buy.

Being only 200g max it will not weigh coffee in the Portafilter but this is no bad thing as digital scale accuracy is usually a percentage of full scale so using a 5kg (i.e. kitchen scale) max scale that reads to 1 gm resolution will have an accuracy and repeatability of a kids see-saw









Guy at the till was so unhappy when I declined his invitation to buy a large pack of Maplin batteries. I said that the scale already comes with batteries (I had looked) to which he replied "oh no it doesn't look here on the box". Sure enough the box said no batteries included but on opening the box there they were, a sealed pack of two AAA.

Nice feature is that the LCD scale has a backlight that can be switched off.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Good scales. Good price. I have some.


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

ah maplin, my old employer years ago! prices are sky high, unless on the monthly offers in which case they're actually quite cheap


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Beemer wrote: "Being only 200g max it will not weigh coffee in the Portafilter ..."

You can weight the grinds into the basket though, then pop that into the PF.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I have a 2kg scale with 0.1g display. Very accurate and can put the PF on it. Used daily when dialing in because I prefer a spring in my PF, which makes it impractical to slip a filled basket in. £20 from china


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

You'll find thousands of such scales on eBay for about £4


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

Just bought a similar one for £4 on the bay from a uk seller. Measures up to 1kg too.


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## Beemer (Jun 19, 2012)

MWJB said:


> Beemer wrote: "Being only 200g max it will not weigh coffee in the Portafilter ..."
> 
> You can weight the grinds into the basket though, then pop that into the PF.


Sorry, I thought it would be obvious that that was what I was now doing.


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## Debbie (Jun 24, 2012)

I really should get something like these. Thanks for reminding me.


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## rozz3r (Jun 22, 2012)

eBay have them even cheaper, £5. I just got a set from this seller:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170586803957


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## 2953 (May 1, 2012)

Aye, got a set off eBay for £5 the other week in anticipation of getting my new Piccino.










Makes me wonder why I never bothered before in all the years of owning previous machines as the advantages were instantly obvious. I always thought it was just a touch too far on the geeky scale but knowing now exact weight of beans in every shot helps tremendously.


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## Beemer (Jun 19, 2012)

Expobarista said:


> You'll find thousands of such scales on eBay for about £4


Yes you can. However i recommend that folk avoid buying scales whose maximum capacity is well above the typical basket grind weight. Digital scale accuracy is usually a percentage of full scale so using a 5kg (i.e. kitchen scale) max scale that reads to 1 gm resolution will have an accuracy and repeatability of a kids see-saw. Even a 1kg max scale with a reputed 0.1 gm resolution may not be as accurate as it seems. LCD Readout to 0.1gm is not the same as 0.1gm resolution or repeatabiltiy (I am an ex industrial control engineer)


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

I got mine from ebay. Measure to 0.1g accuracy and go up to 1kg if needed! They cost me £5.27 with a free carry case


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Beemer said:


> Yes you can. However i recommend that folk avoid buying scales whose maximum capacity is well above the typical basket grind weight. Digital scale accuracy is usually a percentage of full scale so using a 5kg (i.e. kitchen scale) max scale that reads to 1 gm resolution will have an accuracy and repeatability of a kids see-saw. Even a 1kg max scale with a reputed 0.1 gm resolution may not be as accurate as it seems. LCD Readout to 0.1gm is not the same as 0.1gm resolution or repeatabiltiy (I am an ex industrial control engineer)


Sorry, my original post was badly worded. What I meant was that the scales offered by Maplin for a tenner are the same as the £5 eBay ones.

I suppose if the scales give an inaccurate reading, it doesn't matter as long as it gives the same level of inaccuracy every time


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