Scale recommendation

Morning, I need to get a new scale. I have a starfrit balance and it’s not consistent with weight. I can weigh myself multiple times and it gives me different answers.

Replies

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    How different? All scales have a margin of error. Some will artificially even out your weight so it gives you the same result every time, but that doesn't mean they aren't getting different readings.

    If your scale is showing large inconsistency, usually that can be fixed by getting new batteries.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    Most <$30 digital scales can achieve better than .5lb relative accuracy. You would be hard put to find their absolute accuracy listed anywhere. But, you can weigh yourself with and without a couple of 1gal jugs of water, each of which weighs 8.34 lbs.
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
    Is your scale on a solid hard surface and are you placing your scale in exactly the same place each time? If it isn't on a hard surface, find one. A scale on tile or carpet can give different read outs. Still inconsistent? Change your batteries to see if it corrects itself. If none of those work, any digital scale will be relatively accurate. I have a Renpho and really like it.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    Hope_bay74 wrote: »
    Morning, I need to get a new scale. I have a starfrit balance and it’s not consistent with weight. I can weigh myself multiple times and it gives me different answers.

    Get a food scale. J/K.

    Everybody's weight fluctuates throughout the day. If it's fluctuating by the minute, it could be as simple as batteries.

    I stopped worrying about the bathroom scale a long time ago. If I use my food scale properly and log properly, my body measurements move in the direction my diet and exercise tell them to - over time.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    The Tanita HD351 ($70) is shockingly accurate. It doesn't connect to the Internet, take your blood pressure, or make fruit smoothies, but it does give you a dead-on accurate weight to within 0.2 of a pound every time.

    I tested mine by rotating 10 and 25 pound dumbells, a cat, and myself, five times, and all five readings for each object were exactly the same, not even 0.2 of a pound off. When I went to the doctor, his scale was precisely equal to what my scale showed 10 minutes before the appointment.

    I'm on my 2nd Tanita. The first one lasted 10 years.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    lgfrie wrote: »
    The Tanita HD351 ($70) is shockingly accurate.

    You're doing your homework! The truth is that the underlying hardware for a digital scale has become really cheap. Unless your scale specifically says it has been calibrated, then it isn't (none of the consumer-grade ones are). But, you can test as @Igfrie did!

    BTW: I have this cheapie and it has been fine:

    Etekcity Digital Body Weight Bathroom Scale with Body Tape Measure, 8mm Tempered Glass, 400 Pounds
    by Amazon.com
    Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HI1W1V4/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_46s5DbQ4YG1GZ