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Bathroom Scales
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:31 pm
by connorcream
Howdy,
I was thinking of upgrading my bathroom scale. Tanita seems highly rated but there are many models to chose from. What features do you find helpful? When changing the batteries, does the scale need to be recalibrated? Does the scale come calibrated or does one need to use a beam scale to set it first? I would like a finer measurement than 1# increments. Does the body fat/water monitors help?
Thanks,
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:05 pm
by ~reneew
I went through several this year... The first one died, so I went out and bought a new digital one. Our toilet really overflowed thanks to my oldest daughter who thought that if you flush really hard over and over, it would unclog. The "water" zapped the scale. So, scale #2 was meant to be a nice non-electric-dial one. Water can't ruin this one, right? Well, I had a scented oil thing on the counter and my youngest son knocked it over and it fell on the surface that covered the numbers and it etched it so it was unreadable... now I have another digital with tall feet and a glass smooth surface. I was going for water-and-scented-oil-proof. Now, I know you think, "glass? with 4 kids?" but it's holding up so far!
My parents have a tall old doctor scale with the weights and they've had it for probably 30 years and it's always acurate.
I hope you have better luck than me! 
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:52 pm
by Spudd
I think the body fat thing is just a gimmick. For calibration I think electronic scales are self-calibrating - they just show zero when they turn on and that's it. You could probably look at Amazon to find reviews to help you narrow down your selection.
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:42 pm
by wosnes
I like a scale that shows how much I weigh -- that's it -- nothing fancier.
I'm supposed to weigh daily (health problem), but I rarely weigh even weekly. Honestly, if I didn't need to weigh for the health reasons, I wouldn't own a scale or weigh regularly.
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:32 pm
by LadyCheshire
Because I'm as big as I am, one of the things I needed to look for was a scale with a wider base - standing on a standard scale tends to make the number jump around all over the place. I can't remember the company, but it's a digital-and-glass scale.
The best advice I've heard is to get a digital scale and test it by weighing yourself repeatedly about 5 times in a row - a scale worth having will show the same result or within a pound or so. If it jumps around more than that it's probably not going to be consistent enough.
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 1:16 am
by connorcream
Howdy,
I step on mine and have to wait for a minute or 2 before the numbers settle down to one, assuming it doesn't flicker between 2 weights. And if I stand on it in different places, I get different results. I want uniform repeatable measurements. Then I have a zero dial on the back. So if no one touches it or batteries don't need to be replaced it is ok. I have it on a piece of particle board which I slide it forward to weigh on. This keeps the the scale motionless.
Almost 10# down since Oct 7.
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:43 am
by wosnes
connorcream wrote:Howdy,
I step on mine and have to wait for a minute or 2 before the numbers settle down to one, assuming it doesn't flicker between 2 weights. And if I stand on it in different places, I get different results. I want uniform repeatable measurements. Then I have a zero dial on the back. So if no one touches it or batteries don't need to be replaced it is ok. I have it on a piece of particle board which I slide it forward to weigh on. This keeps the the scale motionless.
Almost 10# down since Oct 7.
Doctor's scales, which are supposedly the most accurate take a bit to settle down. The idea of "uniform repeatable measurements" is just that -- an idea. There's always a margin of error.