Digital Scales

[Jonty]

Has anyone got any ideas on where you can source accurate digital scales from - I'm after some for measuring out cures etc. so I'd like some that go up in small weight increments and which are accurate. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Twoscoops]

I can't remember what make mine are but they are named after diet goddess Rosemary Conley. Very accurate and you can easily switch between metric and imperial. You can also zero it back to the tarre weight of the vessel, if you know what I mean, so you don't have to use only the glass plate to weigh stuff on.

[aris]

How accurate do you want? Argos do digital scales accurate to 1g - they are not expensive either.

[Jonty]

Thanks chaps

[Shaun]

Got the argos ones pretty good value for money and as far as i'm aware accurate. i'm still alive anyway

[aris]

The argos one is fine - except if you want to measure fractions of a gramme - in which case you are probably better off measuring by volume (teaspoon, half teaspoon - etc).

[Shaun]

Or visit your local drugs baron and ask if you can borrow his jewellery scales

[Robert May]

Aris wrote

The argos one is fine - except if you want to measure fractions of a gramme - in which case you are probably better off measuring by volume (teaspoon, half teaspoon - etc).

Can you explain that for me, thanks.

best wishes
RM

[aris]

Aris wrote

The argos one is fine - except if you want to measure fractions of a gramme - in which case you are probably better off measuring by volume (teaspoon, half teaspoon - etc).

Can you explain that for me, thanks.

best wishes
RM

Basically for a given volume, you will have a given weight. Granted, different things have different weights at the same volume - but if you know what this is, you can more easily measure out weights less than 1g.

[Selly]

The best way to deal with smaller quantities of ingredients that are required at less than 1g is to mix them with one of the bulk ingredients in a seasoning or cure mix. For example if you want 0.5g of something try mixing say 10g of the ingredient with 90g salt then you know the mix is 90% salt and 10% the ingredient in question, so 5g of this salt mix will contain 0.5g of the ingredient. This is the best way of reducing the margin of error which is pretty high in most digital balances unless you can afford to spend the best part of �1000.

Selly

[aris]

Actually this is a pretty poor way of measuring. You can never ensure an even mix. This is why the prague cures were developed. The nitrite/nitrate components of the cure are bonded with the salt. Essentially the nitrite/nitrate is disolved in water with the salt, then dehydrated, and crushed into a powder again (with some food colouring added). This ensure that when you measure a teaspoon of cure, it always has the right percentage of nitrite/nitrate.

If you mix it all yourself, then you can't do that with any accuracy.

[Platypus]

I just got round the problem in the same way that drug dealers do

I needed to measure 0.5g but my scales accuracy and resolution meant that the best I could get was 2.0g

So I put 2.0g on a plate and chopped it into four equal piles and used one of them for my mix.

Not perfect I know. But close enough, especially as it was only LS25 I was measuring.

[aris]

Yes I have that problem too. I've asked Franco to measure 0.5g of LS25 and then see how much volume it takes up. i.e. 1/4 or 1/8 of a teaspoon or whatever. Unfortunatley he said his scale which can measure parts of a gramme is broken (or needs a battery), so we'll have to wait.

[Spuddy]

Try a search on eBay for "precision scales" and you'll find loads of them, accurate to 0.1g for around �14 inc delivery. There are also a couple accurate to 0.01g for just over �20 inc delivery.

[Jonty]

Thanks Spuddy