Salter 5-Pound Microtronic Kitchen Scale, White Reviews

• Great for cooking and Weight Watchers

  
  By ASB8HV1YQNSON on 2006-05-11
  I love this compact, flat little scale. Living in a very small city apartment with a tiny kitchen, I hang the scale on the wall when I'm not using it -- it has a key-hole shaped hole in the back so it goes right on a wall hook. That keeps it where I can find it in an instant and its low profile means it doesn't protrude when hanging.
  
  Especially great is its simple control design. One button turns it on and zeroes it out. I can put any container on it, such as a bowl, a cup, a measuring pitcher, or a sheet of waxed paper or a paper towel, press the on/zero button and then add the ingredient I'm weighing until I get the desired amount.
  
  One thing I really like is the other button that toggles between grams and ounces. These days, nutrition information on foods is given in set portions on the package -- and the portion size is always accurately given in grams. Therefore, when following the Weight Watchers program and I've decided how much of some dry ingredient I want to consume, I can determine the portion size in grams and weigh it accurately. That's true for something like a frozen dessert -- the weight of a portion of ice cream, for example, reduced fat or otherwise, is easy when spooning it into a bowl on this scale, but to measure 1/2 cup by volume is difficult, and approximate to begin with.
  
  Some other, similar, scales, have a grams/ounces slide switch on the bottom and that makes switching back and forth between grams and ounces a chore. This one does it with one touch.
  
  With recipes, if the weight of dry ingredients is given in ounces or grams, it's way easier and more accurate to weigh them than to try to measure them by volume and this scale makes that process a breeze.
  
  This scale also works perfectly for weighing outgoing mail to determine extra postage.
  
  The scale has a time-out feature that turns it off after a short period of non-use. So you don't have to turn it off when you're done -- in 30 seconds it will shut itself off. If you're weighing some ingredients, each addition of weight will keep it on, so rarely will it time out during use.
  
  Battery life is lengthy -- I've had mine for almost two years and the batteries are still working. I use it all the time and couldn't be happier with the product.
  
  
  
  

• Does the job perfectly

  
  By A2JCHK3D85YI8M on 2005-10-19
  I am completely satisfied with this scale. It turns on quickly, measures accurately and stays on long enough (I've never had the turn-off problem the other reviewer complains about).
  
  I will never go back to mechanical scales, the added precision and convenience is well worth the extra 15-20 bucks.
  
  

• A little too helpful. . .

  
  By A2NUK582CATU1Q on 2006-07-07
  Overall this is a fine scale. One "convenient" feature is an auto zero function. If the scale has been tared and the tare weight removed, rather than displaying a negative weight, the scale automatically re-zeros. This may be handy most of the time, but sometimes it's a pain. With my old scale, I could tare a partially filled bowl, remove the bowl from the scale, add more goodies, and place it back on the scale to determine the weight of the additional material. That doesn't work with this scale--it rezeros when a tared weight is removed.
  
  

• Now I know why it wasn't working - and it's great!

  
  By A143BDIVYAXBNN on 2008-01-16
  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.
  
  

• Didn't last long

  
  By AQI1990MUKI51 on 2006-01-06
  I was given this model as a Christmas gift and it did not last but 5 months before it started having problems. I do not like the oz. measurements in fractions as I prefer decimals so I will not buy this particular model as a replacement. When it was working it appeared to be measuring correctly.
  
  
• Wonderful Kitchen Scale!!
  By A3P5FPWVM6BGU9 on 2007-01-10
  I had a dial type scale before this electronic one and I just LOVE this one so much!! It switches easily from grams to ounces and the read out is immediate and accurate. The best feature is that you can put a bowl or cup on the scale and reset the scale to zero. Then you can add your items and measure just the weight of the item added! If you need to add more items to the same bowl, simply reset to zero again and it will only measure the additional items. No more measuring in one dish and putting it into another. Saves on additional dishes to wash! I am on Weight Watchers and it has made measuring so much easier and more exact. No more guessing if I have a cup of something, I can simply measure the exact gram weight and know I haven't "rounded up" with the traditional measuring cup! This item was definitely worth the money. I LOVE it.
  
  
• Works good, when it works...
  By A4SU8TF2Q1CBN on 2005-03-19
  I can understand one bad unit slipping through and into the hands of consumers.
  
  But I'm on my second one now, and it's about to be returned too.
  
  First unit kept turning off while I was measuring ingredients, about 15 minutes out of the box.
  
  Second unit also has a tendency to turn off WHILE MEASURING ingredients. Not good. Ever try fishing out baking powder from flour, since your scale turned off while watching the display INCREASE it's measurements?
  
  So, weigh ingredients seperately as a work around. But now the scale won't tare correctly. Goes from zero to 1 to zero to one on a flat surface. And finally it decided to really go bananas and start hunting and pecking all over the range!
  
  It's being returned for yet another replacement, since I need something this weekend... but I believe I'll be ordering up a different unit and returning this one after I get it.
  
  
• Great Scale
  By AESBM119HGV5M on 2006-08-12
  I was using a cheap dial scale for a few weeks, and leaning down each time to see if I was at one or two ounces was very frustrating. I love this scale because there's no question if I'm at 1 oz or 1 1/4 oz. It give a very precise measurement.
  
  I also love that you can zero out the scale. I use this feature all the time, especially when making salads or wraps. It saves me extra dishes that I was using to measure each ingredient. Instead, after I add the turkey, I zero it out and add the cheese. It's so simple a child could do it. It's very helpful since I've been doing Weight Watchers and am trying to really watch my portion size and be aware of how much I'm eating.
  
  The sleek and small design is perfect. I hang it on a nail under my cabinet in the keyhole in the back of the scale so it's easily accessible but out of the way.
  
  Overall, it's a great scale for the price. I've had it for about a month now with no complaints. If I had to do it all over again, I'd buy the same scale.
  
  
• Great for Gourmets, Bakers and Portion Weighers
  By APA399O0OPCQ0 on 2006-11-13
  I've owned four different food scales over the years and this one is my favorite. It is easy to use and the display is large. You can change it from grams to ounces without having to reweigh the item. It measures small amounts accurately, something lesser quality scales have a hard time with. The only negative is that the plastic has some raised portions, making it harder to clean if you spill liquids or tomato sauce on it. If you are working with a messy recipe or a child who is learning portion control, you may want to put the scale in a plastic bag.
  
  
• salter digital scales
  By A19Y8G7ZQDZQ1C on 2005-10-05
  the perfect solution when baking with both u.s. and european receipes as i have learned to convert all measurements to weight and don't have to guess how many teaspoons of yeast to use, for i just do everything in grams. my products consistently turn out as designed and this scales have saved the day for me. the only improvement i can think of would be an on/off switch to enhance battery life. i highly reccomend this product.
  
  
• Battery Hog
  By A2XX8BASGO28OD on 2007-06-10
  I generally like this Salter scale. The accuracy, ease of use and ease of cleanup all are great. But I don't like price per measurement due to the costs and duration of a set of batteries. I don't use the unit too often, maybe once every week or two, but the batteries only last about six months. They are pretty expensive lithium ion button batteries--two of them. For the infrequency of use, I would expect the batteries to last several years. Otherwise it is a good scale.
  
  
• A Fragle Device!
  By A389KK46AH771B on 2006-09-14
  Digital kitchen scales are kind of like microwave ovens - once you experience them, you'll never be without one. And when this particular one is working, it's a wonderful thing. But I found it to be rather touchy. You must be very careful not to bang it around on your counter while using it - mine eventually went belly-up due to a drop of 8"! God forbid you should drop it on the floor.
  
  That said, mine did last the better part of two years, which I suspect is well above the average life, and that's just not right. But if you buy one of these, I'd advise that you not expect it to last a lifetime, or spring for a sturdier model. Perhaps the bugs have been worked out by now, and the technology improved - just be forewared, this is a fragle device!
  jm
  
  
• Major Upgrade from Our Old Scale
  By A59Y4G891E0BM on 2006-11-06
  This scale is small, inexpensive, attractive and fun to use. My old kitchen scale was total junk compared to this. Look no further, this scale is perfect for its intended use. Accurate to 1/8th of an ounce. Much better and easier to use and read then our previous scale which is going to the Good Will.
  
  
• Wonderful Kitchen Scale
  By A1HFGCMT8YSVSU on 2005-08-10
  I am very pleased with this scale. It looks good so I leave it out on the kitchen counter, which makes it very easy to use at any time. It is small, simple to operate, and accurate. The switch to change between grams and ounces is easily available at the front of the scale.
  
  
• Accurate and usefull
  By ADDBLG0CFY9AI on 2006-10-28
  I love this scale. It is thin and fits into a kitchen drawer on top of some utensils I don't use very often. It is accurate and easy to use. I like the fact that it turns itself off so I don't have to worry about turning it off after use or the batteries wearing out. I am truly surprised how many uses I have for this scale.
  
  
• To Small
  By A7ZT2L22YYYXC on 2007-03-28
  This is a scale that was purchased for use as a portion control device. Unfortunaltly, if you put a dinner plate on the scale the readout is almost impossible to see and the button to zero the scale is very difficult to reach. This is not so much a flaw in the design as a purchase made for the wrong use. For small bowl or small portion weighing this scale performs up to par, but if your looking for something to use with a dinner plate, look elsewhere.
  
  
• Great Little Scale!
  By A1FNXPTD8CMQNI on 2006-01-18
  I'm thrilled with this scale. I've had it for about 7 months now, and I've had no problems at all.
  
  It's a perfect size - especially if you live in a small apartment and never have enough kitchen space! It measures quickly and consistiently. I'll definitely purchase a Salter product again.
  
  
• Great Kitchen Scale for the price!
  By A3GSJAJPFOMZUG on 2006-06-30
  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!
  
  
• Does the job!
  By AO5D9MCLBXV3N on 2007-05-28
  This is a fairly basic scale... it has one job and does it well. It seems quite accurate and is very small and convenient.
  
  I have found that it sometimes goes a bit nuts, displaying randomly changing numbers instead of the actual weight of the item being weighed, but if you remove the battery and put it back in to reset the scale it seems to be fine afterward.
  
  **** ADDED 7 October 2007 *****
  It seems you can avoid the bizarre behavior listed above by making sure the scale fully initializes BEFORE you put anything on it. If you put something on during initialization it really gets upset. This scale is still working great after 4 months of daily use.
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  Overall I'm quite happy with it.
  
  
• I am very happy with this scale, great for Weight Watchers...
  By A34SDZOECQX72J on 2007-06-24
  I have been using this scale many times a day for awhile now. It is right on the money. I do Weight Watchers and I love how you can measure in grams. The measurements match perfectly what the serving sizes on the package suggest. For example: Approx. 18 mini pretzel twists (or 28g) equals a serving. I just poured the pretzels in until it said 28g and then counted the pretzels and it was right on! I did this with cereal, shredded cheese, coffee creamer and it's always been perfectly right.
  
  Very simple to use, small, lightweight and I've mounted it easily on the wall under the cabinets. I'm very pleased with this purchase.
  
  
  
  
• Easy to use
  By A2YBJ3OANDQLWG on 2005-08-06
  It preformed as advertised, it makes doing a partial receipe a snap.
  
  
• Just what you'd expect right out of the box!
  By A3EGO2D0N8ZYKY on 2007-05-13
  This scale is small enough so it can be stored anywhere, is spot-on accurate (Verified with antique "calibration" weights) and doubles quite handily as a postal scale.
  Best $29.95 I've ever spent on a gadget
  
  
• Love this scale!
  By AEDF7MRBWVPF9 on 2006-07-28
  I really love this scale. First, it is so easy to keep clean in the kitchen. It is so easy to use; just one button to push. It is so lightweight and easy to store, too. Very happy with my purchase.
  
  
• coolest gadget for the diet conscious
  By A3TXSYT1B4NA9O on 2006-12-23
  i read all the reviews for all the kitchen scales here on amazon, and ultimately bought this one. am i ever glad. it is as lightweight as i someday hope to be, simple to use, convenient to store (i, too, hang it on the wall next to my food prep area) and, in two words, most elegant. after a little practice, you can begin to estimate the weight of things you regularly consume; for those new or less-often-eaten foods, it's right at hand. this is the scale to get if you're in the market for one.
  
  
• Died after 6 months of light use
  By A3QNCF3A07GXEB on 2007-03-08
  I used to own this scale -- not bought from Amazon, fwiw -- and it died on me after 6 months of very light use. One day it just wouldn't turn on. I bought replacement batteries, which didn't help. So now I'm the proud owner of 4 perfectly good extra CR2032 batteries (I salvaged the two packed with the scale before chucking it.)
  
  
• Great scale!
  By A1R5YN36BGMZC0 on 2007-05-09
  You don't realize how much you are actually eating until you start weighing your food. I have discovered how inaccurate nutrition labels are. I can always make sure that my calorie counting and portion sizes are kept in check now that I have this scale. I do understand the issue with the display and the buttons being covered up when you put anything on top of the scale that is bigger than the table, but, I just happen to have clear dishes, so it works out nicely for me. It's great for building dishes like salads, because you can easily switch back and forth from ounces to grams and tare out after you add each item. It also hangs on the wall when not in use to save counter space. It's great! Highly recommended.
  
  
• Good for everyday use.
  By A2ULZTEOATHMG7 on 2006-07-04
  I find we are weighing more now than ever before.
  With this handy scale right on the counter, it makes it easy to keep our portions in line.
  Great for the teenagers learning how to cook and not being able to tell what the measurement is just by looking.
  So far we haven't found anthing we don't like about it.
  Would (and probably will) buy again (for gifts).
  
  
• Worth thr extra few dollars.
  By AQ6HEX8XMQ9WJ on 2007-01-10
  When searching for a kitchen scale, I took the advice of other reviewers who had wished that they spent the few extra dollars for one like this. It was well worth the investment. This product is precise, small, easy to clean, and does not take up too much room to store. For small jobs, this is a scale worth buying.
  
  
• Love it
  By ASUR4I64UQ5V8 on 2007-04-11
  I bought this to replace my Thinner scale (which was so old, it was dying). This scale is light, accurate, consistant -- def. worth the money!
  
  
• It works
  By AD69XT86XG849 on 2006-03-07
  Nothing much to say about it, I needed a kitchen scale, and this one matched all my expectations, and I use it all the time.
  
  

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