In Search of a Scale

[qjackson]

I am about to dive into my first brew with grains,flakes, and hops. I am splitting the recipe though so I will be splitting my dme bill which is easy, the tricky part is splitting the Hops and flakes. The recipe calls for .33 ounces of 2 types of hops. I am searching for a good scale that will allow me to do this regularly, I plan on doing test batches of clones and just new beers in general before I do a full 5 gal batch. Any advice on a solid scale would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Quintin

 

[adamelb]

I bought a small digital scale from a sketchy gas station that sold dope pipes and stuff for like $15. Checked it with various weights and it seems to work fine for small amounts like hops. I just use a small plastic cup to weigh them out in. Probably not the best scale but it's pretty accurate in small amounts.

For larger amounts like lbs of specialty grain I use a larger kitchen scale. Not as accurate in small amounts by any means. You can find both these types of scales for cheap online too.

 

[TonyG]

Check out Harbor Freight, they have some decent, cheap scales and you can usually find a 20% off coupon. I have a couple of the 11lb scales they sell, and they work fairly well, my only complaint is the auto off feature is just a little short sometimes.

 

[atoughram]

I just bought this one - looks like it will work out nicely.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131103848380?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

[IslandLizard]

Last year I bought one of those "glass top" Escali ARTI Kitchen scales off Groupon for about $22. Now they go for $16 or so. Pick your color. I had read reviews on Amazon and elsewhere and it came out to be very favorable.

It will weigh up to 15# and has 1 gram precision. Works great for grain, hops, etc. but not for brewing salts, unless you use your smarts.

Note:
Recently I ordered 2 more, for my wife and her colleague, and while one was fine, the other was defective and I returned it. It was very easy.

 

[SeeMont]

This is the Harbor Freight scale I use. It works great.
http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-scale-95364.html


I save large yogert tubs that are identical and set up my boil additions, Helps me to stay somewhat organized.

 

[greyghost]

You can't go wrong with this one. Been using mine for a couple years. works great for hops or grain.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007ICRFQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Dan]

I have two scales from Harbor Freight as well. One reads up to 11 pounds and the other much more accurate on the low scale, good for measuring fractions of an ounce up to a few ounces.

Sorry I dont have a reference for you. On my phone and the scales are stillb packed up in moving boxes. I

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Any old head shop will have something that will work nicely.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Buy this for $11

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012LOQUQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And a 100g Calibration weight for $3
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EG6T0A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Its only usable up to 100g which is 3.5oz but its got .01g accuracy(.0003oz). Its perfect for hops and measuring out water additions, all for ~15 bucks shipped with the calibration, doesnt get much better IMO.

Your either going to get a scale like this that's super accurate and has a low max weighing capacity, or your going to get a bigger scale with less accuracy that can weigh bigger things..if your not weighing your own grain there's no point in having a scale go past 100g anyways...everything your going to measure is in 1-2oz increments anyways...even if your measuring out 4oz hops its not that hard to put in 2oz, hit tare, and then another 2oz.

Its really great for water additions, where your adding only fractions of a gram.

 

[Dan]

Buy this for $11

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012LOQUQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And a 100g Calibration weight for $3
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EG6T0A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Its only usable up to 100g which is 3.5oz but its got .01g accuracy(.0003oz). Its perfect for hops and measuring out water additions, all for ~15 bucks shipped with the calibration, doesnt get much better IMO.

Your either going to get a scale like this that's super accurate and has a low max weighing capacity, or your going to get a bigger scale with less accuracy that can weigh bigger things..if your not weighing your own grain there's no point in having a scale go 100g anyways...everything your going to measure is in 1-2oz increments anyways...even if your measuring out 4oz hops its not that hard to put in 2oz, hit tare, and then another 2oz.

Its really great for water additions, where your adding only fractions of a gram.

Wish I could "Like" on my phone. Excellent post FW!

 

[63belair]

This is the one I use, and I really like it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N07KUE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Accurate to .05oz/1 gram, and I have verified its accuracy with some known objects (1 US Nickel is 5 grams). That scale that Fuzze linked looks great too, but it doesn't have a very large capacity. I find myself (and SWMBO) using our scale all the time for other things in the kitchen because it is good for up to 11 pounds.

Cheers!

 

[satph]

Here's another option. MS-600 for $7.

 

[RichBrewer]

Buy this for $11

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012LOQUQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And a 100g Calibration weight for $3
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EG6T0A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Its only usable up to 100g which is 3.5oz but its got .01g accuracy(.0003oz). Its perfect for hops and measuring out water additions, all for ~15 bucks shipped with the calibration, doesnt get much better IMO.

Your either going to get a scale like this that's super accurate and has a low max weighing capacity, or your going to get a bigger scale with less accuracy that can weigh bigger things..if your not weighing your own grain there's no point in having a scale go past 100g anyways...everything your going to measure is in 1-2oz increments anyways...even if your measuring out 4oz hops its not that hard to put in 2oz, hit tare, and then another 2oz.

Its really great for water additions, where your adding only fractions of a gram.

I think I might get this scale. My 11 pound scale just isn't accurate for anything under an ounce. Now that I am brewing 3 gallon batches, my hop additions are anything from a quarter to a half oz. I was thinking about getting the 50g weight since it would be in the middle of the scale's range.

 

[RichBrewer]

This is the one I use, and I really like it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N07KUE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Accurate to .5oz/1 gram, and I have verified its accuracy with some known objects (1 US Nickel is 5 grams). That scale that Fuzze linked looks great too, but it doesn't have a very large capacity. I find myself (and SWMBO) using our scale all the time for other things in the kitchen because it is good for up to 11 pounds.

Cheers!

I am far from an expert on this and I have never dealt with grams but I was using a gram to ounce calculator located at http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/ounces-to-grams.htm and it shows .5 ounce as 14.175g. One gram calculates to 0.035274oz. It could be that I am misunderstanding what you are saying. I have been known to do that.

 

[63belair]

Sorry, I made a typo in my original post, I have edited it to hopefully avoid future confusion. The scale I linked to (and still enjoy very much) is accurate to .05 oz or 1 g

From the product description:

Easy to use multifunction home scale - Perfect for cooks, dieters and families
Max weight 11lbs; Displays ounces/lbs/grams/kgs; Graduation .05 oz / 1 gram
Includes FREE EatSmart Calorie Factors guide - Portion control and calorie counting made easy!
Tare feature eliminates the weight of a plate; 3 Minute Auto-Shutoff lets you prepare ingredients while maintaining battery life
2 AAA batteries included; 100% EatSmart Guaranteed Satisfaction

Hope this helps.

 

[rlmiller10]

If you need to go even lighter for things like brewing salts or small amounts of hops I use a reloading scale. Mostly because that is what I had but they have accuracy down to less than 1 grain which is 1/15 of a gram. For an example: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/17...50-electronic-powder-scale-750-grain-capacity

Besides it might even get you into a new hobby.

 

[rlmiller10]

If you need to go even lighter for things like brewing salts or small amounts of hops I use a reloading scale. Mostly because that is what I had but they have accuracy down to less than 1 grain which is 1/15 of a gram. For an example: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/17...50-electronic-powder-scale-750-grain-capacity

Besides it might even get you into a new hobby.

 

[63belair]

I haven't used or had any experience with this scale, but I just stumbled across this one at Newegg. Says it has an 11lb capacity and is accurate to .05 oz / 1g

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...61014-Index-_-KitchenGadgets-_-96268007-L029D

$9.99 with code EMCPDWP86 (+$0.99 s&h)

 

[Stealthcruiser]

28 grams in an ounce.
I remember that from my High School, ....ahem, "entrepreneurial" days........

 

[RichBrewer]

This is why I love HBT!

I ended up getting the American Weigh 100g x 0.01g Digital Scale.

This tiny thing is awesome. It seems to be more than accurate enough to weigh small amounts of hops.
I also purchased the set of weights shown. It has one 5g, one 10g, two 20g, and one 50g weight. I think all I really needed though was a 100g weight for calibration.