Health o Meter Physician Balance Beam Scale

by Health o Meter

Product Features

• Scale is just like the one you'd find in your doctor's office
• Heavy gauge steel base and platform for professional accuracy
• Silent slide height rod measures from 30-78 inches
• Weight capacity 390 with optional counterweight to bump up to 490lb

Product Description

The 402KL/402KLSB Physician Balance Beam Scale with built in height rod features a large heavy-duty steel 1/4 lb platform with raised balance beam for increased foot room. With accurate readout and easy weight reading,the weight capacity is 390 with optional counterweight to bump up to 490lb.. The 402KL Physician Balance Beam Scale also features easy to read double beams with slide poises and a 30"-78" measuring rod to help monitor growth. The rugged zinc die cast beam is constructed with copper, nickel, chrome plating with protective rolled edges, rounded corners and filled with durable white baked enamel finish.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 6.8 x 59.2 inches ; 30 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 43.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0009MFUZY
• UPC: 892076002565 022319408254 892076002015 027045642354
• Item model number: 402KL/402KLSB
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,130 in Health & Personal Care (See Top 100 in Health & Personal Care)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

176 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Begone, bathroom scale., June 13, 2006

By 

Manish Laxmikant - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Health o Meter Physician Balance Beam Scale (Health and Beauty)

My strain-gauge bathroom scale as well as the more traditional spring-loaded one don't give me consistent readings. I could step on and off all day and never get three consistent readings. Even the range of readings fluctuates depending on the weather, positioning, stars and so on.

If your scale tops out at 250 lb and you weigh 245, expect to see inaccuracies. If you're 180 lb, the scales are more accurate and precise for that sweet-spot weight (for this example)

Now about this one:

Assembly is required. But it's minimal and well worth it.
- The four-nut install is simple if you place the column as the instructions suggest.
- Make sure you tighten and retighten with the provided tool so you don't have to do this again later. Don't use any more force than this tool allows, the nuts seem to be designed to firmly lock the base to the column.
- Even hooking up the assembly from the column to the base was designed for consumers, there's a convenient thumb-pull that brings the hook out of the column so the base can be functional. It sounds more complicated than it is.

Accuracy:
- It's easy to zero-adust with the big cylindrical weight on the left. Turn the screw one way or the other to get the indicator to float between the constraining ends.
- This is a balance beam, so you're simply balancing your weight with the counterweight. There are no springs that get weaker or change with the weather, no strain gauges that vary based on your foot's proximity to the corners.
- Here's how good it is. I drink 24 oz of water after weighing myself. Step back on and I'm exactly 1.5 lb heavier. I've never seen a bathroom scale work as well.
- If you're over 350 lb, prepare to do some math. Placing the supplied counterweights in the notches is easy, adding 88 lb or 150 lb as appropriate isn't that easy, but there is a handy table supplied for easy lookup, in 1-lb increments.
- You can measure 500 lb, not 450lb as the information suggests.
- An additional benefit here is that you could weigh suitcases before flying so that you don't have to dump stuff at the airport when airlines get testy about keeping the weight down. Bathroom scales don't do a good job of this and they are harder to read.
- I'd trust this more than a bathroom scale for parcels, say of 5lb or more.

Extras:
- Keep the weights safe and around if you're going over 350lb.
- There's a vertical scale in the middle that lets you measure heights up to 7 ft (I think). Great if you have growing kids.
- If you have a baby, you can simply get on the scale, measure your weight and then get back on with the baby. The difference will be consistent enough to yield the baby's weight. With bathroom scales, your balance change while holding the baby will cost you accuracy.

90 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Which scale?, January 31, 2008

By 

C. Pruett (Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Health o Meter Physician Balance Beam Scale (Health and Beauty)

If you are looking at purchasing a physician's balance beam scale, you understand they are more accurate, repeatable, and durable than other types of scales and over the long run should be cheaper than replacing the regular strain gauge and digital bathroom scales every few years. You have three brand choices: Detecto, Health-o-meter, and Seca. Price isn't a consideration because careful shopping reveals less than a 15 dollar price difference between these three brands when one compares the equivalent models. Before choosing, I searched the net for reviews and information. Finding little, I contacted 7 companies which sell them (5 sold all three, 2 didn't sell Detecto) and 2 firms which calibrate & repair medical scales. I asked each which scale they would purchase for their own home and why. On to the review:

Detecto looked like a winner out of the gate. It is the only brand made in the U.S.A. However, looking at pictures I found on the net, the fit and finish did not appear to rise to the level of the other 2 brands. Additionally, no one I contacted recommended Detecto. The eliminating factor: Detecto has reduced their warranty from the industry standard 2 years to 1 year. Folks, this happens when the 2-year warranty is costing them too much money and it doesn't speak well for their quality.

The Health-o-meter brand is owned by Sunbeam and is made in China. Fit and finish are very good and it has a 2-year warranty. My parents and my brother both own Health-o-meter beam scales and highly recommended them. Additionally, none of those I contacted had anything bad to say about them. One put it best when he said the Health-o-meter vs. Seca was basically a Ford vs. Chevy argument. I do not believe one could go wrong purchasing the Health-o-meter model. They are great scales and should serve the needs of anyone for many years to come. If you buy a Health-o-meter make sure to get the 402kl or the 402lb since they are the best of the line (the EXP is not as sturdy and the CERT model is not worth the extra money).

Seca is a German company and the 700 model is made in China. Fit and finish are excellent and it has a 2-year warranty (the 5-year warranty listed all over the web is not accurate, call Seca if you don't believe me). All 700s have integrated wheels (optional and costs extra on the other 2 brands). Additionally, everyone I contacted chose Seca over Health-o-meter. Most chose on the basis of its modern, less clinical appearance, several felt it would be more durable in the long run because it outweighs the other 2 brands by at least 10 pounds, and one said she had never had a Seca returned.

I purchased the Seca 700 'pounds only' model with integrated height rod (5 bucks extra and I liked the looks) and have had it for over a month. It arrived well packaged and took 20 minutes to assemble. It was perfectly balanced out of the box and the weight was dead-on. It is highly repeatable; the weight will remain the same no matter how many times you step on and off. The heavy extra-wide cast iron base and the inherent strength of the round column design speak well for long-term durability. The balance beam is constructed of thick aluminum and is very robust. The beam has 1/8 of a pound graduations (the other brands 1/4 of a pound), is easily read, and the design of the beam `pointer' makes it very easy for one on the scale to tell when the beam is level and the weight is accurate. I also like the sleek appearance. Bottom line: I prefer the Seca 700 and recommend it without reservations to anyone. I'm very satisfied with my decision.

70 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop wasting time, January 15, 2006

By 

Pam (NE PA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Health o Meter Physician Balance Beam Scale (Health and Beauty)

This is an extremely reliable scale just like the kind in the doctor's office. It is easily assembled & set up. The results are consistent & the scale is sensitive to 1/4 of a pound. Stop getting on and off those digital and analog scales to get a reliable reading - this one is worth every penny. I should have gotten it years ago.

Update: 6/13/2008: I am still happily using this scale without any problems at all. It is still a good match for the doctor's scale & also for my veterinarian's scale when we weigh our dog. This has helped me lose 65 lbs and keep it off.