Digital food scale interference

BecomingMoreAwesome

My beloved digital food scale is on its last legs. The buttons are worn through, and it’s going through batteries faster than it used to. Can anyone recommend a digital food scale that doesn’t have problems with interference from cell phones or microwaves? I prefer a digital scale for ease of use, but busy weekday mornings when I’m trying to listen to a podcast, microwave my oatmeal, and weigh my milk for my tea at the same time are frustrating when I have to move the phone across the room and wait for the oats to finish before I can measure the milk. It’s always gone haywire when the microwave is on, so I don’t think it’s just an age problem.

Tacklewasher

Ummm.

Never heard of this before and can't reasonably see how the interference would happen unless something is wrong with the microwave.

Try this. Put you cell phone in the microwave and shut the door. Don't turn the microwave on. Call your cell phone from another phone.

If the cell phone in the microwave rings, through out your microwave. Seriously, unplug it, don't use it and toss it out (recycle it properly).

Otherwise I've never heard of this issue and any digital scale should be fine.

steveko89

I agree with @Tacklewasher that it sounds as though you may have a shielding issue with your microwave.

That aside, I bought an Ozeri digital scale on Amazon years ago and it's still pristine even with daily use.

Maxxitt

+1 for the interference being a microwave issue. I have been using OXO scale (the one that weighs up to 5 pounds) for the last 5 years without a problem. It's a bit more expensive than some, but it also has a pull-out bar so that you can see the readout even when weighing with a dinner plate which is very convenient. There's another model that weighs up to 12# if you need that capacity.

CharlieCharlie007

I have the biggest loser from walmart.

CharlieCharlie007

steveko89 wrote: »

I agree with @Tacklewasher that it sounds as though you may have a shielding issue with your microwave.

That aside, I bought an Ozeri digital scale on Amazon years ago and it's still pristine even with daily use.

If there is a shielding issue, should she be wearing a lead suit around it?

kali31337

I have a food scale from Escali that I really like

steveko89

CharlieCharlie007 wrote: »

steveko89 wrote: »

I agree with @Tacklewasher that it sounds as though you may have a shielding issue with your microwave.

That aside, I bought an Ozeri digital scale on Amazon years ago and it's still pristine even with daily use.

If there is a shielding issue, should she be wearing a lead suit around it?

Per the previous comment, I'd suggest discontinue use and discarding it. Microwaves aren't all that expensive for a basic one. I've had a $35 GE countertop model that I used in college, been great in pitch-hitting duty for both myself and my parents have had their primary microwave crap out unexpectedly and/or during a kitchen remodel.

RelCanonical

Pretty common, wifi-enabled devices can interfere as well. http://escali.com/blog/digital-scale-care-10-pointers/ (See #3). They're electromagnetic waves, can't really stop them from moving about.

BecomingMoreAwesome

Tacklewasher wrote: »

Ummm.

Never heard of this before and can't reasonably see how the interference would happen unless something is wrong with the microwave.

Try this. Put you cell phone in the microwave and shut the door. Don't turn the microwave on. Call your cell phone from another phone.

If the cell phone in the microwave rings, through out your microwave. Seriously, unplug it, don't use it and toss it out (recycle it properly).

Otherwise I've never heard of this issue and any digital scale should be fine.

That sounds scary, but fortunately the physics department at UIUC says it’s just an urban legend: https://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=31466&t=cell-phone-microwave-test

The scale went haywire with a different microwave at a different house, too.