Looking for bathroom scales that actually ARE accurate!!

I have some Salter bathroom digital scales ( =A350 worth) that can vary at the very least by 6 kilos and sometimes more.

This is a common complaint - despite promotional material saying scales are accurate in practice they are NOT!

So anybody got an idea of how to get a set of scales that actually measure your weight accurately? Like you get on them 20 times and they record the same weight?

Andy

Reply to
Eusebius
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Avoid Tefal. I bought one of their electronic bathroom scales and ended up throwing it into the dustbin after a few months! It was complete crap. It was like doing step aerobics getting on and off trying to get a consistent reading - when it could actually be bothered to weigh me instead of harassing me about saving a previous weight in a memory or generally giving error messages or no reading at all. If I tried getting on the scales after my wife had just used them it used to give the DIFFERENCE in our weights - implying my wife had just put on a few stones. Those Tefal scales annoyed the hell out of me.

Wouldn't it be nice to have some simple bathroom scales that you could just step on to and get an accurate reading - and that didn't cost silly money. Doesn't sound much to ask for. Instead they insert bloody microprocessors into the damn things nowadays and a pile of crapware to calculate your BMI index and everything else - and make it downright difficult to get the one simple thing you want - your weight.

Reply to
David in Normandy

Dualit 87003.

I don't trust digital scales at all.

Reply to
Frank Erskine

What is it about digital scales that gets lost in translation?

I guess you know where you are with levers and pulleys....

Trouble with mechanical scales is you only have one dial to measure 20 or 25 stone or whatever. So you can't physically see the kind of small increments you want to see if you're on a diet and want to see what you've lost in a day or two.

I'm sure they have medical scales with digital readouts? These also have Class 3 and Class 4 categories whatever those are - is this accuracy or what?

The medical scales I remember (my dad was a doctor) had two weights you moved across a bar - one course and one fine. That worked!

andy

Reply to
Eusebius

What you are after is a set of bathroom scales that are consistent, not accurate. I have to keep an eye on what my weight is doing, not what I actually weigh. When I want to know the latter, I go and see the practice nurse.

Dave

Reply to
Dave

In message , Eusebius writes

Nope - currently in the same boat

euphoria displaced by dejection

Reply to
geoff

In message , Eusebius writes

We have some of Salter scales, and AFAICT they are fine in terms of accuracy. Just tried it to confirm, 10 weighings. most were the same, a couple 100g high, one 200g low.

With a weight of around 86kg gives an accuracy of around +- 2% which seems reasonable. (well I suppose - consistency really - I've no idea if I really do weigh that)

Reply to
chris French

This is a common complaint - despite promotional material saying scales are accurate in practice they are NOT!

So anybody got an idea of how to get a set of scales that actually measure your weight accurately? Like you get on them 20 times and they record the same weight?

Andy

In general terms, all measurement is approximate. Counting is exact, but all measurement (which will include the measurement of your body mass) is approximate.

So any bathroom scale can show you only an approximate result, though some scales are 'more approximate' than others. One manufacturer of bathroom scales says that "There is a weight tolerance on the scales of plus or minus one percent of body weight, plus one scale division". Another manufacturer says "The weight readings are accurate to plus or minus their graduation". The graduation on the particular scale I was looking at was 0.1kg.

This information is sometimes printed on the box in which the scales are packed. Otherwise you have to write to the manufacturer and ask for the information, though you can sometimes find it on the manufacturer's web site, e.g. Tanita.

Reply to
Anode

I've been reading reviews of scales, and it looks like the old beam scale - the one I remember from my Dad's clinic (he was a doctor) - is STILL the most accurate. I just finished reading the reviews on amazon for the Health o Meter Physician Balance Beam Scale. The reviews are saying what I want to hear:

"My strain-gauge bathroom scale as well as the more traditional spring- loaded one don't give me consistent readings. I could step on and off all day and never get three consistent readings. Even the range of readings fluctuates depending on the weather, positioning, stars and so on. Now about this one:

- This is a balance beam, so you're simply balancing your weight with the counterweight. There are no springs that get weaker or change with the weather, no strain gauges that vary based on your foot's proximity to the corners. Here's how good it is. I drink 24 oz of water after weighing myself. Step back on and I'm exactly 1.5 lb heavier. I've never seen a bathroom scale work as well."

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review also mentions that this model is the same as what I'm supposing is the Seca:

"This scale is IDENTICAL to the ones you can buy at *********.com for four hundred dollars more. The markings are the same, the weights are the same, everything is identical. This is a steal for a real medical scale. I am not kidding, this is the same one as the medical supply houses use."

Detailed comparisons -

"If you are looking at purchasing a physician's balance beam scale, you understand they are more accurate, repeatable, and durable than other types of scales and over the long run should be cheaper than replacing the regular strain gauge and digital bathroom scales every few years. You have three brand choices: Detecto, Health-o-meter, and Seca. Price isn't a consideration because careful shopping reveals less than a 15 dollar price difference between these three brands when one compares the equivalent models. Before choosing, I searched the net for reviews and information. Finding little, I contacted 7 companies which sell them (5 sold all three, 2 didn't sell Detecto) and 2 firms which calibrate & repair medical scales. I asked each which scale they would purchase for their own home and why. On to the review:

Detecto looked like a winner out of the gate. It is the only brand made in the U.S.A. However, looking at pictures I found on the net, the fit and finish did not appear to rise to the level of the other 2 brands. Additionally, no one I contacted recommended Detecto. The eliminating factor: Detecto has reduced their warranty from the industry standard 2 years to 1 year. Folks, this happens when the 2- year warranty is costing them too much money and it doesn't speak well for their quality.

The Health-o-meter brand is owned by Sunbeam and is made in China. Fit and finish are very good and it has a 2-year warranty. My parents and my brother both own Health-o-meter beam scales and highly recommended them. Additionally, none of those I contacted had anything bad to say about them. One put it best when he said the Health-o-meter vs. Seca was basically a Ford vs. Chevy argument. I do not believe one could go wrong purchasing the Health-o-meter model. They are great scales and should serve the needs of anyone for many years to come. If you buy a Health-o-meter make sure to get the 402kl or the 402lb since they are the best of the line (the EXP is not as sturdy and the CERT model is not worth the extra money).

Seca is a German company and the 700 model is made in China. Fit and finish are excellent and it has a 2-year warranty (the 5-year warranty listed all over the web is not accurate, call Seca if you don't believe me). All 700s have integrated wheels (optional and costs extra on the other 2 brands). Additionally, everyone I contacted chose Seca over Health-o-meter. Most chose on the basis of its modern, less clinical appearance, several felt it would be more durable in the long run because it outweighs the other 2 brands by at least 10 pounds, and one said she had never had a Seca returned."

Reply to
Eusebius

In message , Eusebius writes

Do not use spring balance scales on carpet and make sure the feet are all in contact with the floor when calibrating.

regards

Reply to
Tim Lamb

Every analog dial scale in the US ive ever seen has a calibration dial somewhere, to know your weight get on a good scale, like when you see the doctor.

Reply to
ransley

But don't forget your weight fluctuates quite a bit over a day, so comparing weight at the doctor's to bathtime at home isn't going to be that helpful.

Reply to
Clive George

In Wilkinsons there was a digital scale that was, IIRC, about £9 - £10. It had none of the fancy crap (blubber-watchers etc.) and, for that price, would at least be simple and probably no more inaccurate than the £50 version.

Reply to
PeterC

I'm doing ongoing research and talking to sales and service people about medical scales. Seems that Class 3 is the key to this - it is required for any NHS scale. If my information is correct this means a repeatability of +- 100g. I'm a bit cloudy about that since one Seca model recommended to me was said to be +- 200g which is a range of

400g. That's not too much better than what I have now. I weighed myself on my present Salter scale about 10 times and the range was 400g.

One model which is generally recommended is the Seca 877 at about =A3199 inc VAT. That's Class 3. Supposed to be better repeatability through better construction and parts. Forsprung durch teknik.

Salesmen and service engineers generally thought the modern digital scales were better over time than the mechanical beam scales whichj eventually wear. But reviewers still praise the accuracy of those old beam scales.

What I'm actually wondering is whether the cheap solution is to take

20 readouts of the scales I have and take the average. Trouble is they kind of "stick" at certain weights rather than giving a range. Like you get 5 readings of xxx.2g and then another five at xxx.5g. REally impossible to know where you are. Maybe the Seca 877 is a big improvement - it's Class 3 after all.

andy

Reply to
Eusebius

Good point, and I've done that. But accuracy has 2 aspects - absolute accuracy and repeatability. It's the repeatability that's the problem. If your repeatability is only accurate over a 400g range, how do you know where in that range it corresponds to the medical scales?

andy

Reply to
Eusebius

Eusebius :

I've got no complaints about our digital scales, which we've had for about six years. I've just carried out a test for you (on, weigh, wait for auto power-off, repeat) and my patience ran to only six weighings but the results were consistent: 80.05 Kg every time. The brand is Soehnle and they were bought from John Lewis.

Funny how we still say "they" when there's nothing plural about them.

Reply to
Mike Barnes

That's better accuracy than I'm getting for sure. Just talked to some more medical salesmen and they all recommend the Seca 877. That's the Class 3 version. There's a "Health" version - the 876 - which is apparently identical but just hasn't been put through the Class 3 validation.

andy

Reply to
Eusebius

In article , Eusebius writes

Yes. Make sure they are placed in the same location each time. I was plagued with this until I worked out that it's necessary to position them accurately.

Put them on a hard floor. Carpet wrecks the reliability.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

In article , Eusebius writes

It's silly to try and get accurate readings using cheap scales at that kind of resolution. It's too affected by different factors - the scales, the surface they're on, whether you've been for your morning constitutional or not, the phase of the moon, etc.

My view is that you should set a target weight and as long as your weight is within a range (say +/- 2kg of the target), get on with your life. For instance, I aim at 75kg; if I'm a bit lower, I know I can have a treat, if it's high, it's time to knock off the ale for a few days. Seems to work for me.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

In article , Mike Barnes writes

Mine are Soehnle too,. I bought them half price in Munich. Comes with all sorts of bells and whistles (measures body fat, BMI etc) but I only use the basic weighing function.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

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