Weight scales for AG.

Do most of you guys run one digital scale like this one for both grain and hops:

Escali Economy Digital Scale :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

Or do you get a dial grain scale like this one for your bulk grain

Grain Scale- Plastic :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

and a small scale for hops..

I use that Escali scale for both.

I use a digital kitchen oz/lb scale purchased at Target for about $25.

The Escali is a great scale for the price.

the escali weighs in lbs/oz and kg/grams. I just did my first one gallon batch, trying out a new recipe, and it was great for weighing small amounts of hops. You can weigh up to 11 pounds or as little as 1 gram.

I'm using a small scale for ounces that I got for $8, and a bigger scale that goes up to 11 pounds for grain that I found at Ross for $6. They're both analog, but they do the job.

I have a scale similar to the escali that was a gift. The only problem with mine is that it reads in fractions -- 1 1/8 etc.

I have seen some suggest that for weighing hops, espically high alpha hops, that a small scale with a resolution of 0.1 gm is nice plus a second scale for the larger task of weighing grain bills.

I just get by with the one.... for now.

The digital scale should be fine for both grain and hops. The analog scale is inadequate for hops. There's no reason to buy two scales.
A word of warning on the digital scale. If it's like mine it measures in Kg and g, Pounds and decimal, pounds and ounces, and ounces. Last week I weighed out what I thought was 7 lbs grain, but the scale was set to ounces instead of pounds and ounces, and I ended up with 70 oz instead. Check the units before you start weighing.

-a.

I use a Taylor digital scale from Target for ~$30. 11# max and 1/8 ounce or 1 g increments. I looked and don't see the exact model I have but they have several similar replacements (some from Escali).

You can get the Escali from amazon for 25 shipped. However I went with a different 25$ scale that according to the specs goes to lower increments and had almost 100 5 star reviews and 0 low ratings.

Postage scale from ebay 22$ shipped 0-70lbs .2oz accuracy.... Best money I ever spent

I use a Baby scale that I picked up at a yard sale of $3.00. Check it with some dumbells and it was dead on.

Kuglehaus said:

Postage scale from ebay 22$ shipped 0-70lbs .2oz accuracy.... Best money I ever spent

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Same here, I think it was 27$ but it's dead on accurate (I use it for shipping for my business) and doubles nicely for weighing both hops and grain.

Kuglehaus said:

Postage scale from ebay 22$ shipped 0-70lbs .2oz accuracy.... Best money I ever spent

Click to expand...

.2oz on a high alpha hop can make a noticeable difference.

Not on the size batches and recipes I've been brewing lately:rockin:... to each their own.

Kuglehaus said:

:rockin:... to each their own.

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Not really. It's the same for everyone

For a 5 gallon batch:
.8 oz of 15%AA for 60 minutes contribute about 25 IBU
1.0 oz of 15%AA for 60 minutes contribute about 31 IBU
1.2 oz of 15%AA for 60 minutes contribute about 38 IBU

This is just for one ounce of bittering hops.
+/-.2 oz could easily put you into a different style.





If your brewing by the barrel you won't notice,
but the rest of us and the OP might

I use a pocket size "jewelry" scale I got off ebay. Measures in .1 gram accuracy. Use it for hops and small grain increments. I measured out pound markers on a pitcher for my base grains.

I use an old dial scale that I got form who knows where. I never used it until las tyear when I really looked at it and found out that it read in ounces, up to 2 lbs. I could get it to measure 1/4 ounce easily. It's very big for a "small" scale.

Nugu said:

You can get the Escali from amazon for 25 shipped. However I went with a different 25$ scale that according to the specs goes to lower increments and had almost 100 5 star reviews and 0 low ratings.

Click to expand...

And now your going to keep the name of this wonder scale secret from the rest of us?

If you get on E Bay and search 'digital postal scale'...There is a bunch of them for $23+ del.

I bought an Ultraship brand scale. Used for shipping boxes and mail but it weighs up to 55lbs, has a detachable display for weighing large objects (a 5 gallon bucket with grain in it) and is less than $30 shipped.

The detachable display is the best feature. I've tried weighing a 5 gal bucket of grain on one of those escali's and you cant read the display.

ULTRASHIP 55 DIGITAL SHIPPING SCALE POSTAL POSTAGE e+AC - eBay (item 360146941809 end time Apr-16-09 13:14:59 PDT)

Thanks for the tip...I picked up the 55lb scale with remote display...

I got a cheap Taylor from Smiths for $17. It will only weigh up to 6.6 lb. My bucket big enough to hold five pounds about covers it anyway. I usually weigh out hops by the gram and it works great for that.

I have the 35# UltraShip scale. Definitely <3 the detachable screen, and works great for both grain and hops. When weighing under two pounds it's accurate to .1oz, and since I'm doing 10g batches that's more than accurate enough on hops for me. (Half the time I don't weigh them anyway, I just eyeball it)

Because I don't have a mill and have always had a LHBS, I rely on their scale for grains. I do have a cocaine scale (.01x100gm) for measuring hops and salts.

Brewiz said:

I use a Baby scale that I picked up at a yard sale of $3.00. Check it with some dumbells and it was dead on.

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You didn't use a baby?
: )

schristian619 said:

I use a pocket size "jewelry" scale I got off ebay. Measures in .1 gram accuracy. Use it for hops and small grain increments. I measured out pound markers on a pitcher for my base grains.

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I have a similar scale, bought it on ebay for I think $8 including shipping. I also have a 30 lb shipping scale I got for a good price (Probably around $20 shipped) there as well. The big one does nice to tare in a 5 gallon bucket and continue to dump grain in to hit the weight, tare in again and go with the next grain in the bill.