Digital Scale Test.

[zildjian]

you ever test your digital fishing scale? i was sitting in my house, and the thought came to me, to see just how acurate my Field & Stream and Rapala scales were.

well im ticked, because i took an 8lb weight, put it in a plastic bag and put my Field & Stream Scale digital scale on and it flashed 6lb 15oz - 7lb 0oz. then i tested my Rapala Digital scale and it flashed 7lb 15oz -8lb 0oz. how is this possible? a whole entire pound difference with the field and stream! and thats the scale i always use!

does anyone have any experience with this? i didn't think you have to calibrate these. im so frustrated right now.

-zildjian

[J Francho]

Try it again with fresh batteries. If it is still off, toss it and get a good spring scale like a Chatillon. No batteries to go bad, and IGFA approved.

[tomustang]

How do you know the 8lb weight is actually 8lbs. Now if you can verify the weight from a certified scale at least you be able to do a better home test

[zildjian]

i just put brand new batteries in both digital scales. retested and they both read my 8lb weight at 7lb 13oz. lol i feel better now. thanks guys

[zildjian]

How do you know the 8lb weight is actually 8lbs. Now if you can verify the weight from a certified scale at least you be able to do a better home test

i was thinking the same exact thing but when i tested it with both scales and the one just about read it perfect and the other was off a whole pound. i could make a good guess that its in fact an 8lb weight.

stupid me never changed the battery. it never showed it was low or acting up. sucks how inaccurate a digital scale can be if batterys start to go... so lessoned learned i guess. off to buy a spring scale....

[smalljaw67]

What I found surprising with these relatively cheap digital scales is they are all fairly accurate and when I say accurate I'm talking within 2oz most of the time. I used to be a technician testing material that goes into concrete like sand, and stone and I used to have the bureau of weights and measures in all the time to certify the scales I used and when they would get new equipment I would get the old calibrating weights which were still good but the state says new equipment new weights so it was a win for me. Anyway, I found that the most accurate of the digital scales was the Rapala lock and weigh, it averaged to be within less than an ounce based on 1 lb, 5lb and 10 lb weights, the next was a Berkley lip grip with was almost the same as the Rapala and the worst of the 3 was an X-Tools scale but it still was within an ounce and that is pretty good for digital scales less than 100 bucks.

[Marty]

How do you know the 8lb weight is actually 8lbs. Now if you can verify the weight from a certified scale at least you be able to do a better home test

Agree 100%. No way would I test a scale other than by weighing stuff that's already been weighed on a certified scale.

[J Francho]

If you weigh an item, even of it's mass is unknown and you get a pound discrepancy between two scales, it doesn't take the bureau of weights and measures to figure out something is off.

[Jig Man]

I am quite surprised that you found digitals that accurate. About 4 years ago I went through every digital that Bass Pro carried. The thing that drove me nuts is they would give me 3 different weights on the same fish if I weighed it 3 times.

I gave up and bought a Boca Grip. Maybe the mfgs have made improvements in the last 4 years.

[Goose52]

I think that perhaps in the past few years, the cost of quality, repeatable, and accurate load cells and associated digital circuitry has come down enough to make it into these lower-end digital scales. I can't say what the digital fishing scales were like a number of years ago, but the Rapala digital scales I've been using the past couple years are very accurate. I periodically perform load tests on them and they are usually accurate to an ounce or less at the lower weight ranges. Are they repeatable? Mostly - I can weigh the same fish 3 times and could get 3 different readings - but the readings will be something like: 3.18, 3.21, 3.16 pounds. The scale will usually eventually settle on one weight - could be a matter of getting the strain gages in the load cell warmed up a bit or something. Anyway, close enough for my purposes.

OTOH, they do have batteries that require replacement, are subject to damage from impact, etc., and are generally not as "bulletproof" as a spring scale. You pays your money and you takes your choice...

[smalljaw67]

I am quite surprised that you found digitals that accurate. About 4 years ago I went through every digital that Bass Pro carried. The thing that drove me nuts is they would give me 3 different weights on the same fish if I weighed it 3 times.

I gave up and bought a Boca Grip. Maybe the mfgs have made improvements in the last 4 years.

Goose52 summed it up perfectly, yes you aren't going to take 3 scales and get exact nubers but they are close enough for the purpose. If I catch a big bass and weight it on my Rapala digital scale and it weighs 7lbs. 8oz. on the Berkley scale it may be 7lbs. 10oz, either way I know the fish was 7.5lbs as I know it is within an ounce or 2. Now if catch a record you need to go to a supermarket or post office in order to get a reading on a ceriticed scale but that is a different ball game and the other thing is if you bang them around it will throw them off, I take care of mine and check the accuracy after every trip that I use it.

[zildjian]

wow lots of comments so soon! this is awesome! thank you all for giving your input on this. i'm going to go and buy a decent spring loaded scale. im done with these digital ones. but for now it's all i have. i'll continue to use them and carry them both for the time being.

thanks again everyone!

-Zildjian

[Goose52]

Just a follow-up. I caught a 37 pound carp yesterday (see Other Species forum) and weighed it on my Rapala digital scale. Today, as I often do after a big fish, I did a pull test on the scale - along with a new Rapala unit that I have as a spare (I actually use it to weigh eBay stuff for postage).

Calculated test weight was 38.83 pounds. The in-service Ralala weighed at 39.06 pounds; the new scale weighed the same load at 39.02 pounds. Note how close the two units are to each other.

The calculated weight was based on 3,000 pistol bullets in sealed 1K boxes (2K 155gr .40 cal and 1K 100gr .355). 20 bullets from the same lots were weighed on a laboratory quality electronic scale to get the average weight - then the average was multipled by the quantity to get the overall bullet weight. The cardboard bullet boxes were weighed as was the bucket the held everything - total = 38.83 pounds. NOW, the handloaders out there know that most bullet companies put a few extra bullets in a 1k box. If each 1k box actually had 1002 bullets, the 6 extra bullets would add .18 pounds - making the actual test weight 39.01 pounds.

Scary accurate scales...

[scaleface]

I bought a rapala digital scale when they first came out. It was off by about a lb. A four lb fish would weigh five.

[Dwight Hottle]

I bought a rapala digital scale when they first came out. It was off by about a lb. A four lb fish would weigh five.

That sounds like a keeper. Seriously though if you want a bullet proof digital get a Brecknell ElectroSamson scale about $80 bucks on line. The best of the spring scales is a boga about $120. I have both and they always weight the same dead on accurate. They are expensive compared to others but they are top quality and if everyone had one there would not be any more posts "How much does this weigh?"

[WRB]

Simply read what the manufacture advertise the scale to be; within 1% or 2% etc. Digital scales rely on battery power and batteries are not all equal in power or shelf life. 3 factors to consider; scale accuracy, battery type and life and temperature all affect what the weights your scale displays.

Tom

[ww2farmer]

I have two scales, a $300+ Equalizer scale that I use at the weigh-ins for the tournaments I run. I think every tournament I have ever been to, the guy/club putting it on had the same scale. I also have a $20 Berkley handheld digital scale. Fish weigh the same on both scales, just a tad light maybe on the handheld, good enough for me. The only time I ever had an issue with the Berkley handhelds is when the batteries go dead. This fish in my profile pic weighed 6lbs 10oz. on the handheld, and 6.68lbs/6-10 on the equalizer..like I said, good enough for me.

[tipptruck1]

I use digital scales to fill my co2 tanks for paintball. When I first got in to filling tanks. Digital was the way to go. It still is if you can find a place that still use's co2. Most tanks are now pressured air. Some thing like a scuba diving tank. But any way we fill oz's at a time. So a 1oz over fill is bad. All I use is the 30-50 dollar scales to fill them.

If I can trust a digital scale, with my face inches away from a pressurized tank. I think you can trust a digital scale for fishing. When I got my scale a few years ago. I was wondering how good it was. So I went out and filled a 20oz co2 tank. When it was full it read 20z even. It was also a cheap Berkley scale.

[merc1997]

an easy way for anyone to test to see if your scale is somewhere in the ball park is to use water for your weight. remember the old saying," a pints as pound the world around". very true statement. use a quart ziplock, dump in a pint of water, and you have a fairly accurate one pound weight. remember most of the digital scales people use only have stated accuarcy of plus or minus 2 oz. one other post stated about getting different weights each time on the same fish. that can be attributed in not keeping the scale stright up and down. when not straight up and down the chain coming out of the bottom on the scale is rubbing or dragging on the side of the hole. in doing so, it prevents an accurate hang.

bo

[zildjian]

After I made this thread I went out and bought a Boga Grip. Couldn't be any happier! Scary accurate to say the least.

[Dwight Hottle]

After I made this thread I went out and bought a Boga Grip. Couldn't be any happier! Scary accurate to say the least.

Congrats you will love it. Did you get the 15lber or the 30lber? Get a float for it in case you drop it overboard.

[OkobojiEagle]

I'd much rather compare length than weight.

oe

[zildjian]

Oh I do! I bought the 15lber with the float, I'm not taking any chances! Lol

[retiredbosn]

I've said it many times, the best scales IMHO are spring. The are easy to get certified, easy to adjust, do not depend on batteries, are water and weather proof and are accurate. FishChris a dedicated trophy smallmouth fisherman and member here is the one who turned me onto getting my scale certified, now if I ever get lucky enough to catch a state record I don't have to hunt for a certified scale. Next time you get gasoline you can get the number to your state's certification people as all pumps must be certified every year and they will certifiy your scale, anything for money, lol. I don't know about digital scales, but I would imagine everytime you change batteries or your battery gets low it would have to be recertified.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

After I made this thread I went out and bought a Boga Grip. Couldn't be any happier! Scary accurate to say the least.

You'll love it, once you get over the sticker shock. They're expensive, but well worth it. I've got one of each size and have never had an issue. Once a year I get them re certified at the IGFA. Who knows, I could stumble on something one day that'd make it worthwhile....