# Scale on Sale!



## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Hey Guys!

Just thought I would let you guys know, for those who does their own fertilizers or whoever needs a scale. Canadian tire is having a Starfrit Digital Scale on Sale from $29.99 to $9.99 right now. I just went and bought mine. 

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/8/KitchenBath/GadgetsAccessories/SpecialtyGadgets/PRD~0424076P/Starfrit+5-kg.+Digital+Scale.jsp?locale=en


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## Kan (Nov 12, 2011)

I ordered mine from Ebay recently and it's not here yet . Does this scale measure down to 0.1 g? According to the Q&A sounds like it only measure down to 1g.

For those who are interested, the one I bought from Ebay is this one http://www.ebay.ca/itm/DIGITAL-GEM-0-1-X-1000-GRAM-DIAMOND-POCKET-lab-SCALE-/250685063816?pt=AU_Business_Industrial_Medical_Scientific_Equipment2&hash=item3a5dfe8288#ht_5521wt_805


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

min 1.0g / 0.05oz


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

let me know when you get it. I'm curious to know if you would have to pay custom fees or import taxes.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

I have/had that scale. It's not precise enough to measure ferts or medicines adequately. Better off using measuring spoons or a more precise scale.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

manhtu said:


> let me know when you get it. I'm curious to know if you would have to pay custom fees or import taxes.


Alsways ship via USPS to avoid most of these.


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

That does sound cheaper then a scale + batteries...where would I find these " measuring spoons' you speak of?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

At work we have a couple of these scales and I can tell you from experience that they are by far the worst possible scales to use. We've gone thru 4 of them in a year because they always become inaccurate by about 5% or so. We had one that was 10% off so we just chucked it. 

They're cheap for a reason.


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

So I got a tub full of KNO3 white powder, a digital scale, syringes for spot treating algae and a 5lb Co2 kit...........Mighty hard to explain that all the equipment is for a fish tank 


This digital scale is not consistent at all, an alternative to this would be those baking spoons.


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## HOWsMom (Jan 3, 2012)

manhtu said:


> where would I find these " measuring spoons' you speak of?


WalMart, Zellers, Dollarama - pretty much any place that carries cooking / baking supplies.


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

i have measuring spoons but they are all measured in volume not weight. How do you guys convert? Or do you guys have any suggestions for a good scale worth buying?


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Yeah, try explaining this to the police 



FlyingHellFish said:


> So I got a tub full of KNO3 white powder, a digital scale, syringes ...


As far as scales go, you get what you pay for


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

manhtu said:


> i have measuring spoons but they are all measured in volume not weight. How do you guys convert?


If you are measuring EI ferts, then there are sites that display weight and there are sites that display fractional TSPs. some show both.



manhtu said:


> do you guys have any suggestions for a good scale worth buying?


Any scale that is precise to 0.1g or significantly better 0.01g.

If weighing things that are at least a gram, then the first is likely sufficient.

If you are measuring things that need to be prcise to fractions of a gram, the latter is needed.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

if you want precision I would just go with measurement by volume and use a knife or something to level it off. This would ensure every measurement is pretty close to exact. With digital scales they have a tendency to be very bad once used a few times. Unless you get a higher end scale.


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Kan said:


> I ordered mine from Ebay recently and it's not here yet . Does this scale measure down to 0.1 g? According to the Q&A sounds like it only measure down to 1g.
> 
> For those who are interested, the one I bought from Ebay is this one http://www.ebay.ca/itm/DIGITAL-GEM-0-1-X-1000-GRAM-DIAMOND-POCKET-lab-SCALE-/250685063816?pt=AU_Business_Industrial_Medical_Scientific_Equipment2&hash=item3a5dfe8288#ht_5521wt_805


Any updates on the scale you had purchased?


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## Kan (Nov 12, 2011)

manhtu said:


> Any updates on the scale you had purchased?


It's not here yet  Usually it takes around 3 weeks when buying items with "free shipping". Let you know when it's here, I bought bunch of thing similar to this and never had to pay duty yet, usually they will be marked as really low value/gift. Now i'm thinking how I'm gonna test the accuracy of this thing l


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Just go to a hydroponics store or flea market and get one of the set weights they have for calibration.


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## Kan (Nov 12, 2011)

Ya I guess I can do that, just thinking if there's anything else (New Loonie/Cup of water for example) so I can save few bucks .


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Buy a pound of butter. A pound of butter is a pound...literally. I'm a chef and the items sold for baking are pretty dam precise. Other things that can be used are salt and flour. Although flour lately has been fairly off since the manufacturers are getting money hungry.

I'd go with a box of salt in my opinion.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*scales*

chk out head shops that sell drug parafanala .....i was at the variety store today and saw scales for sale ......oo boy cant believe they sell this crap
for the obvious reasons.
what is considered a good scale make 
cheers
tom


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## cliff (Aug 30, 2010)

this thread reminded me, need to go to my favourite store again, Lee Valley Tools (they also do mail order/online) if you aren't nearby. A little more $, but the stuff is of good/better quality then what you'll find at the big boxes.

Precision pocket scale $15.95 item 09A04.05 accurate to 1/10 gram.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=68352&cat=2,40725

Although it would be nice to measure down to the 1/100th, I don't think worth the price premium when dosing the EI method is needed, especially considering the variable plant species/loads/needs that most tanks will have.


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Awesome link! 

Thanks for the info. I'm definetely going to check them out next time i'm downtown.


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## Kan (Nov 12, 2011)

Finally got my scale today! It's been 5 weeks  The seller is suppose to refund if it's not here by 4 weeks but the person was nice and helpful so I decided to wait for another week. 

So far pretty satisfied with it, tested it with bunch of quarters and loonies. I know it does not give 100% accurate measurement but good enough for me . For less than 8 dollars total it's pretty well built and comes with decent case & English instruction. I'm satisfied


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Digging this one back from the grave...I found this one from Aqua Medic...seems interesting anyone ever bought this one before?

http://www.aqua-medic.com/product/aquaspoon/


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I got one of those as a gift and they are extremely terrible to use. If the material isn't right in the middle of the spoon you get a bad reading.


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Sweet! Thanks for the heads up!!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

There is a Canadian company that does scales and nothing but.. they stock good brands with 30 year warranties, My Weigh is one. They are great to deal with and have a big selection of pocket/small scales, and I saw a few that measure down to 0.1 g. If you want precision, look them up here, I've had very good experiences with these folks.
http://www.canadianweigh.com/scales/pocket-scales/list

As for Starfrit and other kitchen scales.. the batteries do not last very long, they break down fast and I've had two go wonky with just a couple of months use. Plus they only measure to the nearest gram and some only in 2 gram increments, which is nowhere near accurate enough.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

manhtu said:


> Digging this one back from the grave...I found this one from Aqua Medic...seems interesting anyone ever bought this one before?
> 
> http://www.aqua-medic.com/product/aquaspoon/


If you know of any head shops hit one up. Down town has a few still kicking. I have a few near my area ( north york ) as well. They usually have good prices on decent scales. They'll do exactly what you need and won't cost a lot. Then you can always go back if something stops working. 
When I bought the few I have they let me test them first with weights. Don't just test max capacity. Always test low and high. These things can be off at 20g but accurate at 100g or off at 50g and on at 2g.
Never buy one that does not have a calibration mode.

Edit- the ones I have are made by the company fishfur posted the link to. They're great scales. But I hate pocket scales I go for the big ones with power adapters. Much better and no batteries to throw away.


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

How much did you guys pay for your scale?


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

manhtu said:


> How much did you guys pay for your scale?


The most expensive one I have is roughly $200 but it weighs up to 10 lbs or 15lbs.
Cheapest ones are around 15-35 and they do a good job.


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