# Faulty Felicita ARC scales



## luke (Dec 7, 2016)

So I took the plunge and ordered some Felicita ARC scales thinking they'd be a decent upgrade from my trusty £10 amazon scales. However after giving them a go I'm pretty sure I've either A - Got a faulty set or B - They are rubbish.

Every time I try to use them (despite calibrating 3 times) the weight slowly starts to increase on its own.

See here -


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## luke (Dec 7, 2016)

Has anyone else got a set of these? Noticed this issue?

I've emailed the seller to process a return, just need to decide whether to get a refund or a new item


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

I get some creep on my Lunar scales. Think this may down to the Londinium's drip tray slats though. They don't do it when placed on a solid surface.


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## Jasetaylor (Jul 31, 2020)

I'm no expert on digital scales and I don't think you need to be to conclude those as being faulty, I wouldn't accept that.

I purchased a cheap set with timer, whilst they are not without issue they have not exhibited the behaviour as shown above.


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

There's a calibration menu to go through with sensitivity settings. I only got drift using the 0.00 resolution.


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## luke (Dec 7, 2016)

@Rob Interesting, how do you change that? is it through that menu you get where you press Tare quickly?


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

No, the manual should explain all the different settings. I think you hold down power on and tare simultaneously when the scales are off. Sorry just seen you've calibrated three times already you must already know how to get into the menu. There are different settings to look at there. If you've got any vibrations going through the table it's on, or if it's next to a microwave or something else you might also see interference like this.

The base may also have shifted. There are some hex screw on the bottom you can use to remove the top platform from the base or just straighten it out if it's off centre. Something may also have made its way inside the scale so worth opening it up and having a look.


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## DDoe (May 25, 2019)

If balances are sensitive they can drift due to air currents/disturbances in their area, although they usually tend to fluctuate up and down.

At work I sometimes use a 3dp balance, this needs a shield around the weighing platform to stop the fluctuations.

If you have a clear plastic box you can put over the balance you may be able to see if the drifting still happens.


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## Snakehips (Jun 2, 2015)

@luke I have, just this week, taken delivery of a set of Felicita Arc scales.

I am not seeing any drift in the displayed weight, ether while on my solid counter or on the drip tray of my Londinium

My experience so far is that, in respect of weighing and timing, they are performing perfectly and effectively, mimic my old set of Acaia Lunar which have recently decided to give up the ghost.

The fact that your drift appears to be a constant increase in displayed weight maybe doesn't bode well. However, as @Rob1 suggests, it might be worth checking the Zero Tracking Setting and, if it is low, then increase it and see if it helps. For reference, mine came set to 0.05g You can set it to between 0.005g and 0.095g

I did not find the Operation manual easy to follow, It is a virtual copy of the Acaia Lunar online manual. (On page 10 there is still a reference to Lunar that did not get edited) You want to access the Configuration menu. The manual will confuse as, unlike the Lunar, there appears to be no password in the Arc. So Ignore any reference to seeing display of F.0000. and needing to press and hold T , to step through it.

In plain English, this might help.

Configuration. (O = On/Off button, T = Tare)

Scales Off > Hold O while turning on. > Display = Felicita then SE. > Press T when is SEE

Display should then = SLEEP whch is the first of several settings / modes as per the list on page 17

Press T to cycle through modes. >. Zero Tracking is the second, after SLEEP

Press 0 to see the current setting > To edit setting Press T to toggle through available values

Press and hold O for 2seconds

Repeat for other Modes if requires. Eg switching off unwanted weigh / timing modes.

Then press and hold T to SAVE the changes.

Then O for back to normal usage.

I hope that makes sense and may be of some help.


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## luke (Dec 7, 2016)

Thanks all.

This is really useful @Snakehips. I'm gonna give this a go. One thing I noticed is that I could get the scales to act normally with solid objects, cups, the calibration weight etc. But as soon water is in the mix (especially hot water) then the scales start to creep. The video taken above was taken just after I'd been pouring hot water into a cup on the scales.


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## Snakehips (Jun 2, 2015)

luke said:


> Thanks all.
> 
> This is really useful @Snakehips. I'm gonna give this a go. One thing I noticed is that I could get the scales to act normally with solid objects, cups, the calibration weight etc. But as soon water is in the mix (especially hot water) then the scales start to creep. The video taken above was taken just after I'd been pouring hot water into a cup on the scales.


 @luke ^^^^^. That pretty much identifies the issue. The effect of temperature transfer to the scale!

Seeing as how the start of today's test match cricket has ben delayed, I have amused my sad self by doing a little test. It's hardly a robust and exhaustive experiment but, I think it is, at least, indicative.

I drew nominally 140g of water form the LR group, into a stainless jug. Scales were topped with their heat resistant pads. Placed hot jug on scale and tared. Then noted the digital readout at 15 second intervals. Two test were over a 6 minute period and the third was abandoned, apparently stable, after about 4 minutes.

I firstly used the Arc set at its factory set resolution of 0.1g Secondly the Lunar set at 0.01g resolution. Then finally the Arc, similarly set at 0.01g.









*Both scales displayed drift once the hot jug was in situ*.

*The Arc maximum drifts were +1.3 and +1.4 gram. The Lunar maximum drift was -0.85 gram. *

** Yes, Arc + Lunar - but all are shown as positive in the attached chart.*

*In all instances, once the jug was removed, the direction of drift reversed as the scale platen cooled.*

I would imagine that the timescale and volume of hot water used for some brew methods may incur the full extent of this drift error?

Personally, I'm not going to lose sleep over this in respect of my espresso weighing.

I'm off now, to see if the cricket has started 🤪


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## luke (Dec 7, 2016)

@Snakehips this is really interesting. I'm gonna give it another go to see if my drift is similar to what you get. I kinda feel like if you're paying for some premium coffee scales (I know felicita are basically a rip off) then they should have been designed to actually work accurately with hot liquid (coffee).

Ive run out of coffee so will have to test them again next week.

Really useful though so thanks! What settings have you got your scales on? Resolution and that zero setting? By default I think they are set to 0.50g


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## Snakehips (Jun 2, 2015)

luke said:


> What settings have you got your scales on? Resolution and that zero setting? By default I think they are set to 0.50g


 @luke My old Lunar came set at 0.01g resolution and I did not change it.

The Arc came set 0.1g I changed it to0.01g for the above experiment but have since changed back to 0.1g and am happy to leave it there.

My zero tracking remains at the default of 0.050g

If you are brewing, and not constrained by height limitations then, I would imagine that an additional 'insulating' layer of something like 3mm or 4mm thick cork would tone down the heat transfer and reduce drift?


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## lelite (Jun 5, 2021)

I have the same problem with my Felicita Arc regardless of the tracking setting.

It raise indefinitely. I stopped experience at +5g !

The solution is to drop the rubber mat and replace it with an Insulating polystyrene mat.

Felicita the coffee scale for cold coffee only


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## Dvv (7 mo ago)

I have the same problem. Opened the arc and the battery is swollen. The drift (negative grams count in my case) is because the swollen battery pushes on the weighting plate, lifting up the weight.


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