How accurate is my scale?

bluecat145
bluecat145 Posts: 144 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a health-o-meter scale. I regularly use a 5lb bag I flour to see how accurate it is. The flour is partially used, but mostly full. It comes up as 4.6. I remember a few weeks ago I put a gallon of milk on it, and it came up at around 8lbs (I think that how much a gallon of milk weighs according to the internet). About two months ago I went to the doctor and they weighed me (I had on a t-shirt, jeans, underwear, but no shoes) and it said 117.4. The next day I weighed myself and it said 116.8.
Now, because my scale seems to never be on the dot, is it still accurate?

Replies

  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    It seems accurate if a nearly full 5lb bag of flour weighed nearly 5 lbs, a gallon of milk weighed 8 lbs (which is what it should weigh), and your doctor's scale put you about a lb heavier in clothes which is roughly what the clothes should weigh. Which of these things is making your skeptical? Also what difference do you think a fraction of a lb inaccuracy is going to make anyways?
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
    Home scales are notoriously bad ... they are often give different readings on different floor surfaces!! and vary depending on how you stand on them (lean etc..). Trying to compare readings with different scales (like at the Dr office) is problematic.. so try to be consistent.

    Maybe the best thing to do is use your scales but always in the same place in your house - on a solid UN-carpeted floor .. try to stand still and up right, wear as little as possible etc....
  • bluecat145
    bluecat145 Posts: 144 Member
    Someone pointed out to me that if it was off .4lbs on a 5lb bag, it would be off .4lbs for EVERY 5lbs of weight. That would mean if it told me 110 like it has recently, I would actually be 125. That's a big set back for me.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    Someone pointed out to me that if it was off .4lbs on a 5lb bag, it would be off .4lbs for EVERY 5lbs of weight. That would mean if it told me 110 like it has recently, I would actually be 125. That's a big set back for me.
    That's not how it works. Also I though you said the bag wasn't full. Plus it was very close to what your doctors scale said taking clothes in to account. If you are super worried get a new scale but I think you are worrying over nothing.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Someone pointed out to me that if it was off .4lbs on a 5lb bag, it would be off .4lbs for EVERY 5lbs of weight. That would mean if it told me 110 like it has recently, I would actually be 125. That's a big set back for me.

    So weigh something that you know should come out to 10lbs on the scale and see what it says. When I was determining the accuracy of a home scale last year I used 5lb dumbbells and 25lb dumbbells. I had one scale (which I no longer use) that read 30-40lbs with two 25lb dumbbells on it.
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
    Someone pointed out to me that if it was off .4lbs on a 5lb bag, it would be off .4lbs for EVERY 5lbs of weight. That would mean if it told me 110 like it has recently, I would actually be 125. That's a big set back for me.

    Most likely not ...they may not be linear.. so the error 'could' vary along its range.

    Try with a 'know' larger weight .... say a Kettle-Bell or weight training disk. Weigh yourself, then hold the known weight and weigh again.. the difference between the 2 readings should be the 'known' weight. Then you'll know the accuracy at around your body weight.
  • StrawberryJam40
    StrawberryJam40 Posts: 274 Member
    My home scale sucks. Any that I have ever had sucks. So, I just go by the one at the recreation center...weigh in every Monday evening and go with that. I used a different scale they had and it weighed me 2 pounds more....so yeah, went back to the original one lol.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Scales are trend tracking tools. Even if your scale accurately measures your weight, your weight is still a moving target because of water retention, food in your digestive tract, etc. As long as the trend is going the direction it should don't be so worried about whether it's accurate to the 10th of the ounce.
  • skinnyginny792
    skinnyginny792 Posts: 18 Member
    I'm going to point out something to you that my mom and i tell ourselves everyday. Who cares about the doctor's scales? If you are losing weight, feeling better and your clothes are looking "so fine" on you, then don't let the sun catch you crying! You're doing great! : ):drinker:
  • JazzFischer1989
    JazzFischer1989 Posts: 531 Member
    I have the same scale and though it's a little wonky at times (if I weigh myself with clothes and then just underwear, it'll say the same thing until it resets itself I guess, which sometimes takes a half hour), it's decent for what it's worth. When I weigh at the gym, I get the same results. You get what you pay for.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
    Unless you own a Legal For Trade scale then you can just assume that it is not very accurate. a common spring scale will have a +/- of about 3%
    However your scales tolerance for accurate weight isn't all that important for your personal body weight measurement.

    What is far more important to
    you is that your scales Hysteresis Error. That Refers to the condition of repeatedly weighing the same object, but obtaining different readings on the numeric readout.

    to keep the level of consistency you are probably looking for you should find a firm level surface and keep your scale in that location. Next is Cornerloading. Basically the ability of a scale to measure the load in various spots of the load surface. To keep that consistant try and always stand in the same spot.

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