Salter 5-Pound Microtronic Kitchen Scale, White
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List Price: Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Salter 5-Pound Microtronic Kitchen Scale, White
Customer Review: Compact and useful
Summary: 5 Stars
I originally bought this scale because I was dieting and wanted to be able to weigh out exact portion sizes. Now that I am no longer dieting I find it extremely handy when cooking. Many recipes, especially those in professional cookbooks and bread making books, list ingredient measurements by weight so I find having a scale to be increasingly helpful. Even when a volume measurement is also given I prefer to weigh my ingredients because it is much more accurate. I also find it easier than using measuring cups or spoons because I can simply pour ingredients in until I reach the desired weight rather than having to ensure my measuring cups or spoons are clean and painstakingly measuring everything out.
One thing I worried about when buying this scale was whether it would have all the functions I needed. It looked so compact and simple that I was skeptical of whether it would fulfill my needs as my cooking skills progressed. A year after purchasing this, however, I find that it still works perfectly for me. It is very small, which having a tiny kitchen is appreciated. I don't have a lot of counter space so I enjoy that it easily fits into a kitchen cabinet. I also find that I rarely weigh out more than 5 pounds in ingredients so this weight maximum has been more than sufficient. However, if you find you are doing more bulk cooking that you may want a scale that has a higher weight limit. I also really enjoy the tare function. It is extremely helpful when I am measuring out multiple ingredients by weight into a single bowl. I also found that it had a pretty long battery life. I was able to go for a year using it multiple times per day before I had to change out the batteries, and doing so was quite easy. It is also durable. More than once it has fallen into the sink and after letting it sit out to dry overnight it has emerged just fine.
Overall I have been thrilled with this scale. It makes cooking and baking a breeze and stores conveniently. I highly recommend it.
Customer Review: I'm looking for something better
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this scale less than three years ago, and am somewhat disappointed.
On the plus side:
It's compact, sleek-looking and easy to hang on a nail over the counter or slide into a cabinet.
It's easy to switch between grams and ounces.
It has a 5lb capacity, which is higher than many.
The negatives:
The delay in turning ON after pushing the ON button is in seconds, but too many of them. It just seems slow.
The default weight is metric. If you're American or cooking from an American recipe, after waiting for it to come on, you then have to switch it from metric.
If you are using the tare function to add ingredients, you'd better have them lined up on the counter and ready to go before you start. The thing doesn't stay on for very long, and then you have to start over.
The batteries are not particularly long-lived (I've used it very little in the less than three years I've had it and they need replacing), quite expensive, and not likely to be hanging around the house when you need them. I keep a healthy stock of AA, AAA, C, D and 9-volt, but who's ever heard of CR2032 batteries? To replace them, it's not a simple matter of slipping in a new batter; no, you need a tiny screwdriver to disassemble the battery housing.
I bought this hoping to improve on the cheap-o manual scale I had, but I find myself reaching for that one more often than this one when I need a scale. There's got to be something better at a reasonable price.
Customer Review: Great Kitchen Scale for the price!
Summary: 5 Stars
This scale was a great buy for me. I paid 30 dollars for it and that was a great price for what I use it for.
I am a bodybuilder and nutrition buff and when I decided to beef up my nutrition plan by monitoring my food intake more closely, I chose this kitchen scale. The reason I chose the scale is because of it's ability to weigh and tare up to 5 lbs.
This scale has been very helpful in monitoring my food ingestion. Another user commented that the scale sometimes randomly jumps around producing random numbers. I found that this problem was caused by having a cell phone active too close to the scale. The radiation the cell phone emits produces a voltage to the weight sensor and the short spurts produce random readings on the digital readout. This is funny, but the cause is not the scale, but your high radiation phone (usually motorolas) A quick fix is to just move your phone to the other side of the room while you weigh. (This is the same kind of thing as when your screen flickers sometimes if the cell phone is ringing, except the screen flickering is a sensor inside the scale.)
The scale is not 100% accurate, as it is 30 dollars, but it is VERY close. a 1-2g margin for error is not that much, when you are weighing foods for calorie or sugar content. Also, I love that I can place my blender on the scale, nearly full to the brim of fruit, and still tare and weigh more.
IN SHORT: This is a good buy and worth the money!
Customer Review: Perfect combination of form and function, and versatile to boot
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this scale to replace a spring-loaded dial scale that had served me faithfully, but increasingly less reliably, for almost a decade. I know that there are dial scales out there that are as accurate and versatile as this one, but those cost a good bit more than this nifty little number does. And they take up precious counter space -- an important consideration when, like me, you live in a city apartment with a compact kitchen.
This scale is slim enough and small enough to store in a drawer or on a shelf, and it's handsome enough to hang on your wall from the built-in hook slot. Taring the scale is easy, and it resets itself when you remove the container. As other satisfied reviewers have noted, the kg/oz switch on the front panel makes it a snap to switch units on the fly, which makes it ideal for dieters and others who measure food in grams. I wouldn't mind it if it gave fractional rather than 1/8 ounce weights, but that is a minor quibble.
If you are considering an inexpensive dial scale, spend a few bucks more and buy this instead -- it will do everything you want and then some, and it will last longer than the dial scale will. If you are considering a costlier dial model, why spend all that money?
Customer Review: Now I know why it wasn't working - and it's great!
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this unit several months ago from a home store. After a few weeks it started acting up. I would turn it on and the numbers would start jumping around randomly before I put anything on it. I would have to remove the batteries and re-insert them to get it to stop, but even that didn't always work. I purchased new batteries, same problem.
I use it all the time and when it works I love it. But there have been times I've been so frustrated at it not working that I've wanted to chuck it against the wall!
I took it back to exchange it and my new one does the same thing. I read in the directions to hold the "on" button until the screen comes on, I do that and it still acts up.
EDIT: I learned it is the microwave that was causing my problem. If there is a microwave nearby running that somehow interferes with the unit and causes the problem I described above. If my microwave is not running it works like a dream. I think Salter should do a better job of informing the customer of this, like a little insert taped to the top of the item that alerts us to the issue, would have saved me time, frustration and gas. I'm taking off one star as it was a major PITA until I figured this out.