Customer Reviews

Salter 5100 5-Pound Extra Precise Electronic Kitchen Scale, Satin Silver

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this scale with hopes that it would be great but no real information in advance except the manufacturers information. Right away, I found some things to like and some things not to like and I hope these help you decide.

First, the GOOD:

The scale was very attractive and took up very little space on the countertop. It seemed fast and responsive and the "weigh and add" feature came in handy on a number of occasions. It turns itself off after a short period which saves the battery life and the bowl that it includes is generous enough for most use. Additionally, the ability to zero the scale quickly was quite handy when using my own dishes as the base container for weighing ingredients.

Now the BAD:

The scale oftens turns off too quickly when using the "weigh and add" feature. I think it is something like 2 minutes, which I assumed would be plenty when I started using it, but I frequently would end up going back to the scale after digging something out of the fridge and finding it had turned off and I would have to reweigh everything. This probably a problem with any of the scales that turn off automatically and I wouldn't give up the auto off feature, but it would be nice if they either had even more time before turning off or let the user adjust the time individually.

The bowl that fits on top of the unit does not attach in any way, it just rests there. This means that it is very easy to knock it off when moving the scale or adding ingredients with any significant weight to them. The reason this is so annoying is because they put the lcd so close the the weighting platform on the scale. What happens is that if you want to use your own plate instead of the included bowl on the weighing platform, you can't see the display. LAME. You can put your plate ON the bowl which creates enough space that you can see the display at an angle, but it is hardly optimal. PLUS with the bowl being unsecured, it easily tips over if the plate and food are not carefully balanced.

This next complaint should be taken with a grain of salt as it is a self induced problem and I'm not sure it wouldn't have happened with any kitchen scale. My wife was cleaning the scale and ran water over it briefly. END OF SCALE!!! Nothing anywhere said it would be smart to run water over it, but nothing said plainly not to. I am suprised at how thorougly this ruined the scale, but after removing the batteries, letting it dry for a few days, it still wouldn't work. Then, I opened it up and dried any of the water that was still inside and it still didn't work. (Side note: You would be suprised at how little stuff is inside one of these scales...very simple) So, at least be warned, this little guy DOES NOT LIKE WATER. Like I said, you can blame the user for that one.

I did not knock the rating more than a small amount for it breaking, although it was irritating. I think overall, it was a good scale, but not a great one and the asthetics came before the funtionality. I am buying a new scale today, but will not be purchasing this one again. At the least, I will be getting one with a larger platform (this one's platform is really quite small without the bowl) and with a display that is farther from the platform and so can accommodate a plate without obscuring the readout. Good luck with your scale shopping, I hope this helps your search.

I got this for my Baking class for culinary school. It's good not having to use the old-fashioned balance scale but it has ups and downs. Good things are that it's lightweight, moderately priced, and comes with a bowl. I wouldn't recommend this for heavy duty bakers or for someone who will use it every day--the surface is too small to put other containers/measuring apprati but then I haven't seen an electric scale with a wide surface except for the commercial ones you see in supermarkets. Oh, I almost forgot--I use it to weigh my pet hamsters and rat--another good use besides for baking.

I have used this scale for 6 months to measure coffee beans before I roast them. It has done fine. The auto shut-off is annoying, but not unbearable. The shape of the weighing tray works great for loose objects like my coffee beans.

I weigh out food proportions with my scale. Cereal, peanuts, OJ, dinner tonight; I use it for everything. I haven't had any problems with it.

If you're weighing out food you have to make sure that the scale reads zero before starting. (may sound obvious, but apparently it's not)

You, obviously, can't wash it. I've never spilt anything in/on it.

Things that are problems to other people;

Screen shutting off- this has never been an issue with me. When I'm using it it's on and when I stop using it it will automatically shut off. I guess you have to be quick???

Weighing something like a dinner plate- the plate will protrude over the screen, but if done correctly you can still read the screen.

This scale meets all the needs for a kitchen scale and then some. It is accuate enough to weigh postal items and very easy to use to get net weights.

No problems at all since we have gotten it. I would recommend it to anyone needing accurate measurement of weights from fractional ounces to five pounds.

This food scale is perfect for me. It takes up very little space on the counter and looks nice enough that I leave it sitting out for daily use.

I love that it came with it's own bowl that sits on it. The bowl is the perfect size for measuring liquid or foods that might otherwise 'run away', but is easily removable for larger items that need to sit directly on the scale.

It is very user friendly. I would highly recommend it.

Great for those receipes that require weight measurements and not volume measurements.

This is a very nice scale. I used it at home and also took it to class with me in culinary school. The only complaint I have is that it shuts off automatically and sometimes it would shut off while I was still using it. But this is the only problem I had, otherwise it is a durable long-lasting pratical scale.

Its a scale. What can I say. It works. I bought it about 2 years ago and it still works. Gives measurement in metric too, which is great. So for those of you who are sick an tired of archaic measurement units this is good.