# I love my scales (they cost less than a tenner)



## davetucker (Apr 7, 2014)

While there is lots of love for the Acaia scales, I wanted to highlight this little champ

He's friendly









Perfect for Portafilters









Capital for Chemex









Excellent for Espresso









Wonderful for Wave (or Aeropress)









He's also calibratable and accurate to 0.1g up to 2Kg and only cost a mere £8.50.

I love my scales.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

I have a similar set i got off ebay for £5.... they do everything I need them to!


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Link? They are great


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## davetucker (Apr 7, 2014)

gman147 said:


> Link? They are great


 Should be at the top of the post

"This little champ"


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## jcheung (Mar 11, 2014)

Thanks for the tip, Dave.

Does it keep up with the shot pour?

I too have a cheap one from Ebay but the Tare can be a little erratic.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

They look really handy and friendly !


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Will they survive a good soaking? I've been through 4 sets of cheapies in a year....


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## Jon V (Feb 24, 2014)

Looks good. How long is the auto power off on them?


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## davetucker (Apr 7, 2014)

jcheung said:


> Thanks for the tip, Dave.
> 
> Does it keep up with the shot pour?
> 
> I too have a cheap one from Ebay but the Tare can be a little erratic.


Yes ! It's not lightning fast but fast enough in my book... Will see if I can video them in action



Daren said:


> Will they survive a good soaking? I've been through 4 sets of cheapies in a year....


They have 2 trays one of which is massive and great for wave. Soaked twice after forgetting to empty mug after rinsing filter and they are still working



Jon V said:


> Looks good. How long is the auto power off on them?


About a minute. Only switched off once when making Chemex and I think that was my fault for not paying attention


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

I've got the 500g/0.01g version and they respond nice and fast, survive drowning well and stay on whilst there's a weight on them, they were well worth the money.


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## davetucker (Apr 7, 2014)

davetucker said:


> Yes ! It's not lightning fast but fast enough in my book... Will see if I can video them in action











Timed the auto-off at about 3 minutes...


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Mine arrived today!!

I originally bought the On Balance branded version of these from LCF but wanted the 0.01g version so bought these ones on the bay.

They took almost two weeks to arrive from China but they are ace.

You can position the large tray to catch any ramdon spurts (I never have any







) so they don't soak the display and as shown, they are really verstile.

Highly recommended.

The 0.01gs are really fast (prob cos you see the extra digit) and keep up with espressos pretty well.

I had thought of doing a group buy on these...


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

After reading various reviews on the forum regarding which scales to get I got some off Ebay which cost around a fiver. Been working fine so far. I have checked their calibration with a pound coin (which is 9.5g) and they are only out by .1 or .2 of a gram which I suppose isn't too bad.

My only problem (which wasn't a problem with the scales) was my cups are a little too tall to fit under the portafilter when sat on the scales, so I have recently ordered some shorter cups which will fit better and mean I won't be spilling any more coffee into them.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Malc a bottomless portafilter is the answer to this when using a Classic.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Malc is the grinder there yet ?


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

When measuring anything that hangs over the edge of the scale, always make sure you hang it the same way every time.

Digital scales don't measure weight, they measure electrical resistance caused by the bending of a special gauge.

The gauge will bend a given amount for a particular weight and, just like a thermocouple, the electronics are calibrated to know the resistance for any given amount of flex - which translates into a number - or a weight.

When you hang something over the edge of the scale you are potentially over-bending the gauge due to the lever effect.

Try this - get quite a heavy object and put it on your scales - then move the object around the scales.

The weight will change ever so slightly depending on where the object is on the scales.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

My 'this little champ' scales arrived today - within a week of ordering them - so that was lightening fast in my book. Then had an interesting experience of the weight read out appearing to have a mind of its own. I had begun to think that maybe they were faulty... and then read on the box that they come with two weighing trays...ah! I had removed the larger tray but not the snug fitting smaller tray. Feeling more than a little stupid, removed it and, as if by magic, the scales then did what they are supposed to do (and do very well). A big thumbs up.


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## nvening (May 6, 2014)

Anyone had any experience with these? http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/371060070636


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Nope but it seems to me that they are all variations on the same thing - for the price you can't go far wrong - it's probably what 'this little champ' costs once you allow for postage from China.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Milanski said:


> Mine arrived today!!
> 
> I originally bought the On Balance branded version of these from LCF but wanted the 0.01g version so bought these ones on the bay.
> 
> ...


which ones did you get the 300g -0.01g ones or the 500g 0.1g ones. I just wondered if anyone knew if these were fast enough for espresso.

my first scales were 500g 0.1g which were too slow, drove me nuts.


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## davetucker (Apr 7, 2014)

urbanbumpkin said:


> which ones did you get the 300g -0.01g ones or the 500g 0.1g ones. I just wondered if anyone knew if these were fast enough for espresso.
> 
> my first scales were 500g 0.1g which were too slow, drove me nuts.


Mine are fast enough for espresso and they are 2kg x 0.01g.


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## leftism (Jan 5, 2012)

> Anyone had any experience with these? http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/371060070636


I have a scale like that one. I think it works great, it is pretty fast.

I bought it on aliexpress though. it's cheaper there. 6.40 usd with shipping, the shipping takes about a month so if you're in hurry you probably want to change the shipping to express. Here is the link

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Holiday-Sale-2000g-x-0-1g-Pocket-Electronic-Digital-Jewelry-Scales-Weighing-Kitchen-Scales-Balance-6773/1585791538.html


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

I got these through last week, they're the fastest cheap scales i've had yet.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390774951119?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649


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## Flibster (Aug 15, 2010)

nvening said:


> Anyone had any experience with these? http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/371060070636


They're what I currently use for weighing the coffee as it comes out of the grinder. Got a tamper bumper on top and then a metal pot on top of that directly under the funnel.

They're ok. Not great though. Not good to get wet. The weight displayed can change when nothing has been added or removed. I regularly watch the weight increase a few seconds after the grounds are in the pot by normally about 0.2g

For me, the best bit is that they are nicely transportable.


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## leftism (Jan 5, 2012)

> They're ok. Not great though. Not good to get wet. The weight displayed can change when nothing has been added or removed. I regularly watch the weight increase a few seconds after the grounds are in the pot by normally about 0.2g


Maybe yours is damaged. Mine doesn't behave as yours, the display doesn't change or increase for a few seconds after weight has been added. But for 6 USD, it's a good buy imho


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## nvening (May 6, 2014)

jeebsy said:


> I got these through last week, they're the fastest cheap scales i've had yet.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390774951119?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649


Cheers for the tip. Went for these similar ones http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/251183473936 will report back.


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

Finally got the 500 / 0.01g scales through from China, don't seem to be working though unless I'm being a muppet. Power on but not reading any weight at all.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Did you put batteries in....


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

Ofcourse







power turns on remember!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Just checking...

So you get a reading of zero when your putting stuff on the scale?


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Have you taken the plastic cover off? There are two if these are the scales in the original post.


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah its reading as zero before and after, doesn't seem to be measuring any weight at all.

Yep milanski, both off. Box was pretty battered so wondering if damaged in transit.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Before binning just crack it open and see if something simple inside is not right...


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

davetucker said:


> While there is lots of love for the Acaia scales, I wanted to highlight this little champ
> 
> He's friendly
> 
> ...


Hi can you do me a favour and measure how tall these scales are. .

Looking for a scale that I can so a split pour on ( will take two cap flat whites cups ) and with these on fits under by double spout with enough clearance to move them Without banging In the double spout ....


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Cherck to see if there's anything under the metal scale that might be preventing it from moving.

Otherwise sounds like a dud unfortunately.

Contact the seller, I'm sure they'll send you out another pair. Unfortunate though.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Milanski said:


> Cherck to see if there's anything under the metal scale that might be preventing it from moving


Even if a bit of something was under the plate, you would get some kind of reading, being so sensitive.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> Hi can you do me a favour and measure how tall these scales are. .
> 
> Looking for a scale that I can so a split pour on ( will take two cap flat whites cups ) and with these on fits under by double spout with enough clearance to move them Without banging In the double spout ....


...about 17mm


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

For the 500g its about 18mm I think without the tray, small tray 8mm and large tray 22mm. Think its the same for 2000g also.


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah I'll take it apart and have a look, cheers for the help anyway guys.


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## VJC (Apr 23, 2014)

Mine arrived the other day, but a) it's arrived before my grinder (Porlex from Japan) b) I haven't had a chance to see if it's working yet.

None of the customs etc. problems I was expecting though, and it looks and feels well made\pretty robust; also arrived faster than I was expecting, so it's off to a good start so far.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

welshrarebit said:


> For the 500g its about 18mm I think without the tray, small tray 8mm and large tray 22mm. Think its the same for 2000g also.


sorry and its width? looking to see if id get two 5oz cap cups on it too ...


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

2000g length * width)

Small tray size: 10.5 * 10.5 * 0.8cm / 4.1 * 4.1 * 0.3in

Large tray size: 11 * 13.1 * 2.2cm / 4.3 * 5.2 * 0.9in

Scale size: 10.6 * 12.7 * 1.8cm / 4.2 * 5 * 0.7in

Hope that helps.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

welshrarebit said:


> 2000g length * width)
> 
> Small tray size: 10.5 * 10.5 * 0.8cm / 4.1 * 4.1 * 0.3in
> 
> ...


yes ta

one more question if possible , does the scale size refer to the whole of the scale ?

Is the size of the weight pad area ( where the cups would go ) different?


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

Weight area is pretty much size of small tray with maybe a 1mm deviation.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> yes ta
> 
> one more question if possible , does the scale size refer to the whole of the scale ?
> 
> Is the size of the weight pad area ( where the cups would go ) different?


Martin they're the same size as the 500g/0.01g scales both I and Gary have they'll be fine for using like that on the L1 and as they don't seem to switch off whil theres weight on them work extremely well for brewed, they're fine with the weight of my Hario drip decanter on them and then tared so I would imagine will be fine with your chemex as well.


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