Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Broken Scale

elementcollector1 - 8-7-2012 at 15:19

I ordered a 500 x 0.1 gram scale off of Amazon for about $12 (the price has gone significantly down since) and was happy with it for a few weeks. However, today when I got back from my vacation, the scale had broken! Is this just another shoddy product, or did I genuinely do something wrong here?
Linky: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058BHG62/ref=ox_ya_os_pro...
Should I get a more expensive scale?
Is this one fixable?
(If not, what can I recover from the broken device for electronics? Buttons, etc.)

Endimion17 - 8-7-2012 at 16:30

:D:D:D

It's a fucking piece of crap. I've got the same scale and it works only in the summer. "Works" = the numbers don't keep increasing/decreasing for a long enough time to allow some measurements.
Winter, spring, autumn, forget about it. It's a piece of shoddy crap I don't know what to do with. Waste of calibration weights I had to buy separately...

cyanureeves - 8-7-2012 at 16:52

i got one just like it and it has worked great for me i even bought another one.they are about half that price off ebay and free shipping you just got to wait a while.

elementcollector1 - 8-7-2012 at 16:56

So it works... seasonally? (WTF?)

cyanureeves - 8-7-2012 at 17:16

i dont know elementcollector1 maybe your batteries? i bought another one because i snagged the aluminum base when i pulled off the cover and thought it might not work properly. i even brushed it aside across the garage floor hard with my foot the first day i got it because i tried to weigh something and place it atop the cover. i didnt know i had to take the cover off (duh) i also put my fist on it and pushed down on the cover until it registered,thats when i kicked it aside thinking it was broke and was all a chinese conspiracy of sorts. whoooaa! hold your horses i thought i read the price at $ 16.00. i got jipped! i paid about 7 bucks,twice.

[Edited on 9-7-2012 by cyanureeves]

[Edited on 9-7-2012 by cyanureeves]

elementcollector1 - 8-7-2012 at 19:02

Replaced batteries twice with new, working ones (confirmed with multimeter).
I made the same mistake, but I pulled it off and it weighed absolutely perfectly. Until it broke, that is.

Endimion17 - 9-7-2012 at 03:28

It's the temperature and humidity thing. If I ensure the scale is in a warm (>25 °C) and dry place during the winter for at least one hour, its functionality is usually similar to the one during the summer. Huh... usually.
Batteries are fine.

I've heard several very similar stories regarding the same scale. Avoid this crap. Seems that most of them have a bug.

vmelkon - 9-7-2012 at 10:43

I had bought this just recently
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/270948303211?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT...

so it is 500 g 0.01g but it looks just like your amazon one.
Damn, it is summer for now. I'll have to see how it does during winter. If I have to turn the heat all the way up, that is going to be bothersome.