Digital Scale Needed --

[itsmeroro]

I thought I bookmarked the site -- darn -- I found a great site which had digital scales for around $50 for soaping -- I can't remember the name of the site, all I can recal is it was purple-ish blue (lol). I think they were going to be closed until the 7th... Can anyone point me in the right direction - I need a new scale badly!

Thanks! Cheers RoRo

 

[sassylady]

Don't know if http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=264 is the one you saw before, but the scale looks to be perfect for soaping and a good price, too.

 

[Neil]

SassyLady

Thanks for the link , Thats just what I needed.

 

[Soapmaker Man]

3 thumbs up for Old Will Knots!!! Great supplier and shipper to 3/4 of all soap makers I think! I have 2 of his scales. I use one in the soap room and one in the TOG shipping area. Never fails to work well.

Paul.... :wink:

 

[morsedillon]

Purchasing a scale can be more complicated than it looks... The choice of scale will depend on what size batch you are doing. If you can let me know the size of your batches, I can recommend what accuracy and capacity would be appropriate

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Roro, this is one of the scales I have from Old Will Knot and in the price range you are wanting. This is the most popular scale with soap makers I know. I cut this from their site;

My Weigh KD7000 - Black - Postal Scales / Food Scale / Candle and Soap Making Scale
Weight Capacity: 15.45lb x 0.1oz
Weighing Modes: g, kg, lbz, lb, oz

My Weigh KD-7000 Black Advanced Multi-Purpose Weight Scale has a 15lb 7oz / 7,000g capacity. This scale has a removable "gunk" shield to protect your display from acids that can make it unreadable, a programmable auto off, blue backlit display, and it uses the last unit used to display your reading.




(Larger View)
Today's Price : $45.50

It is a great scale, hands down the best I've ever used or seen!

ETA: Here is the direct link to his site and this scale;

http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/index ... ProdID=284

Paul...

 

[morsedillon]

My Weigh KD7000 - Black - Postal Scales / Food Scale / Candle and Soap Making Scale

That is a great balance (I own one as a matter of fact), but as I mentioned it depends somewhat on the size of the batch. Generally speaking, soapmaking measurements should be accurate to 1 part per thousand (+/- 1 ‰). Since the resolution of the KD7000 is 1g, it's suboptimal to use it for massing amounts less than 1000g (about 35 oz).

For amounts from 100g-1000g, you'd want a decigram balance (0.1g resolution) like the MyWeigh iBalance 2600. For amounts from 10g-100g a centigram balance like the MyWeigh iBalance 201 would be a good choice.

Keep in mind that the NaOH is the controlling factor, as it is the critical measurement of least magnitude. So when I give a range like "100g-1000g", consider that as your NaOH mass. Put another way, whatever range your NaOH mass falls into, that's the balance to use.


Here's a simplified guide* to batch size and balance selection:

1 or 2 experimental bars: centigram (0.01g) resolution
3 to 24 bars: decigram (0.1g) resolution
more than 24 bars: gram (1g) resolution

* Adapted from Kevin Dunn's most excellent book "Scientific Soapmaking".


Some may jump up and down at this point and say I'm splitting hairs, but proper measurement can take a LOT of the guesswork out of soaping. Ever wonder why a batch from the same recipe worked out differently than the last one? More often than not measurement techniques are the cause. If you make the effort to be consistent batch-to-batch, you'll spend less time figuring out what went wrong and will have more time for experimenting with the fun stuff!!

 

[Soapmaker Man]

morsedillon, I know you realize that 1 gram is 1/28.47 of an ounce. If a person even made a 1 pound batch, weighing it in grams, the accuracy of this scale you challenged is minimal when it comes to the sodium hydroxide used, literally a few beads! Exactly speaking, lets use a 16 ounce batch of coconut oil as an example. At a 5% lye discount or super fat, the amount sodium hydroxide needed is 2.785 ounces or 78.962 grams. Even though this calculator does not measure in the tenths of a gram, and rounding this off to the lower safer side of the gram measurement, we would use 78 grams! This .962 grams, since we lowered the number and have a safety factor of 5% less lye needed to completely saponify this coconut oil, this is a minuscule amount! :? This is a very safe scale when the user takes their time to ACCURATELY weigh all the ingredients! I do feel you are starting to "split hairs" a little now. :? There are many experienced soap makers who use this scale as the Old Will Knot site stipulates. This is a redundant issue..

 

[itsmeroro]

Roro, this is one of the scales I have from Old Will Knot and in the price range you are wanting. This is the most popular scale with soap makers I know. I cut this from their site;

My Weigh KD7000 - Black - Postal Scales / Food Scale / Candle and Soap Making Scale
Weight Capacity: 15.45lb x 0.1oz
Weighing Modes: g, kg, lbz, lb, oz

My Weigh KD-7000 Black Advanced Multi-Purpose Weight Scale has a 15lb 7oz / 7,000g capacity. This scale has a removable "gunk" shield to protect your display from acids that can make it unreadable, a programmable auto off, blue backlit display, and it uses the last unit used to display your reading.




(Larger View)
Today's Price : $45.50

It is a great scale, hands down the best I've ever used or seen!

ETA: Here is the direct link to his site and this scale;

http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/index ... ProdID=284

Paul...

Hey Paul - Thanks! I think I will order this one... Gosh, I have a really nice one around here somewhere ... but I cant find it! Grr. For $45 I cant go wrong! Cant wait for my moulds to get here! I am like a kid in a candy store waiting for the mail man every day!

Cheers! RoRo

 

[Lane]

When I first started soaping (CP), I did only 1.5 to 2.5 pound batches (and most of the time, I still do...) While looking for a scale, I came across a JEWELRY SCALE! It was only $15-$20.00 and worked great as it had ALL the features of a postal scale, just in a much smaller format (It only went up to 16 ounces, which was fine since the highest number I ever needed to weigh out was 10 ounces). If anyone is just starting out and testing small batches, I highly recommend searching for a jewelry scale to help save a little money...we all know how spendy it can get when you first start collecting supplies for CP!

 

[Michelle1210]

Ive been looking at this scale for 43.00

http://www.quicksupply.net/p-45-my-weig ... cales.aspx

 

[Lane]

Ive been looking at this scale for 43.00

http://www.quicksupply.net/p-45-my-weig ... cales.aspx

That's a nice scale!!

 

[Soapmaker Man]

That is a cool scale. That company makes a great scale. They carry a 30 year warranty!

Paul...

 

[itsmeroro]

Hi From Soggy CA!

I thanks again for the links - I ordered the one paul reccomended... $45 is a drop in the hat when really it is the most important piece of equiptment to have - the accuracy I agree - if it is within a gram then I am not going to worry too much about it... I really needed one which would weigh more than 5 lbs - do ounces and grams - and plug into the wall - I really like the blue backlighting on this particular scale - also the warranty can not be beat! All in total it was aroung $60 including the adapter and shipping. The one that I do have which is MIA was over $100 - a very nice scale, but I advise against those items which tend to grow legs and walk away! I cant wait to get this scale - and make some soap!

roro

 

[itsmeroro]

Hi From Soggy CA!

I thanks again for the links - I ordered the one paul reccomended... $45 is a drop in the hat when really it is the most important piece of equiptment to have - the accuracy I agree - if it is within a gram then I am not going to worry too much about it... I really needed one which would weigh more than 5 lbs - do ounces and grams - and plug into the wall - I really like the blue backlighting on this particular scale - also the warranty can not be beat! All in total it was aroung $60 including the adapter and shipping. The one that I do have which is MIA was over $100 - a very nice scale, but I advise against those items which tend to grow legs and walk away! I cant wait to get this scale - and make some soap!

roro

I wanted to let you all know that I got my scale today!! Well packaged, and VERY SPEEDY SHIPPING!! The scale is so great, I really like the blue backlight feature -- I highly reccomend the link Paul gave and will do business again!

Rachelle (roro)

 

[NEASoapWorks]

Great Scale!

My first and only scale is the My Weigh KD7000. Great scale, and definately fine to get started with — like Paul mentioned, a LOT of soapers use it.

Pay attention to what you're doing — make sure that if you've chosen to measure in ounces, you have the scale set to measure in ounces, and not grams.