I found this thing while cleaning, what do you think??
shapelyJ
Posts: 57 Member
Ok so I found this scale while I was cleaning out some old stuff. I don't have a food scale and have pretty much been estimating how much I eat. What do you think? Is it reliable? I have no idea how old it is, this house was built in the 1600s (not that the scale is that old, lol) and it is just filled with random things.
Four medium size potatoes, the scale shows a bit over 200g
One small/medium potatoe, the scale shows around 40g
Four medium size potatoes, the scale shows a bit over 200g
One small/medium potatoe, the scale shows around 40g
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Replies
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It's probably more accurate than eyeballing.
Why not take an item of a known weight and weigh that and see how it compares to the scale reading? Then you'll know if it's well calibrated or not.
I would really recommend investing in a digital food scale though, they really don't cost much and will give accuracy to 1 g, which a mechanical scale usually cannot.0 -
it is beautiful. A great ornament, if it does not work.
As previous entry said, weigh a closed packet of butter or something, and try it out.0 -
Does not seems right. I've been using electric kitchen scale for long time now and one medium size potato is around 100 - 150 grams (depends what you consider "medium", but it's in that range). I've been eating potatoes quite regularly.
The thing with mechanic scales is if one little detail is damaged or bent the wrong way by only couple milometers it can show very large error, which I think is the case here.0 -
Ok so I found this scale while I was cleaning out some old stuff. I don't have a food scale and have pretty much been estimating how much I eat. What do you think? Is it reliable? I have no idea how old it is, this house was built in the 1600s (not that the scale is that old, lol) and it is just filled with random things.
Four medium size potatoes, the scale shows a bit over 200g
One small/medium potatoe, the scale shows around 40g
Whether it's accurate or not.. it's hella cool!0 -
Absolutely you can and should use this scale. As long as it is calibrated it should be as accurate if not more accurate than any digital scale. I have been weighing myself on a Health-O-Meter scale for 30 years.0
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measure against a tin or packet that has the weight printed on. it should give you a pretty good idea id its accurate or not0
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Get it re-calibrated and bobs your uncle. Put something on it that you know exactly how much it weights already to check. You might find that a clock/watch maker will be able to re-calibrate it, if it's a little bit off.
It looks awesome and, lets face, was built to last.0 -
what a beautiful object :happy: as others have said, if you weight something with a known weight and find out that way if it is working properly then no reason not to use it.0
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it is beautiful. A great ornament, if it does not work.
As previous entry said, weigh a closed packet of butter or something, and try it out.
Agreed with this and the post above it... I would definitely use it ornamentally, though probably not for actual accuracy, even if it does show proper numbers
A digital scale would be much easier to work with0 -
Weigh a bag of sugar or something where you know the weight but isn't in heavy packaging (which will obviously skew the results). If you have any weights or dumbells that would be your best bet.0
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Sell it and buy a digital food scale with the proceeds! 0
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You can use water. 100 ml is 100 g and 1000 ml/1 litre is 1000 g/1 kg. Put a measuring cup (if you use US cups, do the conversion math) on the scale and fill it with a known volume, then try with a larger volume such as a bowl to see whether the increase is linear or not. It should be linear for the scale to work properly, as water doesn't become increasingly heavy the more you add.0
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That's a fine piece of kit. Love it! Since it is that old, I think it may have lost its accuracy. Still great though.0
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I'd keep it as an ornament.0
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Love it, its fantastic!!0
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I weighed a tetra pack of chickpeas and noticed it was a little bit off. However, I found a little screw at the bottom where you are able to calibrate it! It works! I still don't know if I'll use it though, but it sure is pretty 0
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It's a keeper, working or not. Maybe find out what it's called or if there is a mark on it. You may be able to get it refurbished.
Antique dealer?0 -
You are so LUCKY! You just "found" this scales in your old house? Wow... talk about COOL!0
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Doesn't "medium" depend on what kind of potato? A "medium" russet might be different from a "medium" new potato...Does not seems right. I've been using electric kitchen scale for long time now and one medium size potato is around 100 - 150 grams (depends what you consider "medium", but it's in that range). I've been eating potatoes quite regularly.
The thing with mechanic scales is if one little detail is damaged or bent the wrong way by only couple milometers it can show very large error, which I think is the case here.0 -
As others have said: check it against a known weight, get it calibrated and use it. That's fabulous!0
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Its funny because you all believe that a packet of butter marked "500g" weighs 500g and a tin marked 400g weighs 400g but you want to use digital scales so you can weigh to 1g accuracy.
In Europe the weight marked on packaging is the AVERAGE weight. I don't know about the USA, maybe its the MINIMUM weight (as it used to be here) or the average.
The calorie and nutrient values of food, is also an average figure. The energy content per 100g of a potato for example will vary with its variety, how old it was when harvested, how long and where it was stored and several other factors, but you are quite happy to take the MyFitnessPal value as gospel.
The calorific value of food is worked out by drying out a sample of the food, and then burning it and seeing how much the heat produced raises the temperature of some water. Your digestion doesn't work like that, not all the calories in food are extracted. Different people will get different amounts out of the same food because their digestion efficiency is different.
Also people talk about having a deficit of a certain number of calories based on the activity/exercise and food intake and give precise numbers, but in reality its all an estimate. The amount of calories you burn in a day will vary by many factors, not only how much you move, but also what you are wearing, how hot or cold it ism your own personal metabolism, your mood etc. etc.
Its all just estimates and averages and having precise scales isn't going to make it all suddenly true and accurate.0 -
While your whole post is true in a sense, I'd still add the linear versus logarithmic stuff to it, too. If a scale is slightly off, I'm somewhat okay with that, but if it goes off in a logarithmic tangent when mass increases, I'd kiss it goodbye yesterday.Its all just estimates and averages and having precise scales isn't going to make it all suddenly true and accurate.0
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