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Talking kitchen scale that doesn’t suck (self.Blind)
submitted by Laser_Lens_4
The title pretty much says it all. I’ve got one that works, but it only has a 1 g resolution, has an unpleasant voice, is quite fiddly, and has tons of idle battery drain. Anybody know a better scale? Am I better off just fiddling around with a Bluetooth scale? I want to measure coffee as well as other various ingredients
Marconius 4 points 1y ago
I use the Reflex 15kg kitchen/postal scale for all my coffee and measuring needs. There is an accompanying Baking Scale app that has a speaker function with a fully editable voice, tons of unit options, and is generally usable with mild button labeling issues in iOS. Here's the Amazon link: $1
Worth noting that the scale itself doesn't speak, it's all done through the app, and you will need some sighted assistance to add tactile dots on the Power and Tare buttons since they are placed in a touch surface rather than using tactile buttons. Once you have it set up, it's super fast and works so much better than all the blind-specific talking scales out there, and the fact that I can have the "speaker" in the app set to the same speed as VoiceOver really helps keep things quick and efficient.
Worth noting that the scale itself doesn't speak, it's all done through the app, and you will need some sighted assistance to add tactile dots on the Power and Tare buttons since they are placed in a touch surface rather than using tactile buttons. Once you have it set up, it's super fast and works so much better than all the blind-specific talking scales out there, and the fact that I can have the "speaker" in the app set to the same speed as VoiceOver really helps keep things quick and efficient.
Laser_Lens_4 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Hey. Thank you for the suggestion. I ended up going with the 3KG scale since it has a 0.1g readout. People on Applevis say the app is decent as well, at least the weighing part. Time to measure me some legal stimulants.
coarsing_batch 2 points 1y ago
legal stimulant. Sure. I believe you. Totally. :-)
Laser_Lens_4 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Coffee is a legal stimulant
coarsing_batch 1 points 1y ago
Man can't someone make a little joke? There are loads of them.
Marconius 2 points 1y ago
Nice. I know it also has Siri shortcuts, but the smart chef Talking Scale app is atrocious. They took all the crappy things about actual talking scales and basically built them into an app, like having to press a button millions of times just to change the units rather than making it a simple pop-up menu, and you can't adjust the voice or speed. Try your scale with the Baking Scale app, it works great for what I need.
Laser_Lens_4 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Oh my god thank you thank you thank you. I just used the scale and the baking scale app to make some cold brew in a hermetic jar. This is fantastic. I’m never buying a talking scale again
Marconius 2 points 1y ago
Awesome! I'm so glad it worked for you! So the smaller scale and the Baking Scale app gives you decimal precision?
MostlyBlindGamer 1 points 1y ago
That actually sounds pretty fantastic, except for the 1g resolution.
[turns up nose and holds espresso with extended pinky]
[turns up nose and holds espresso with extended pinky]
Marconius 2 points 1y ago
Hah, I'm not touching espresso since I'll have to put a lot of money into it and my wife will disown me if I go down that rabbit hole. I primarily do French Press and Aeropress, use a Baratza Encore electric grinder or my JavaPresse hand mill, and use my scale along with my HadinEEon temperature control kettle with tactile buttons as my full setup. Timing is definitely of the essence, and all those slow talking scales were frustrating as hell and didn't like water being spilled on them.
MostlyBlindGamer 2 points 1y ago
Absolutely. The trick is to get involved in each other's hobbies though.
How do you like the adjustments on the Encore and the JavaPresse? Tactile enough?
How do you like the adjustments on the Encore and the JavaPresse? Tactile enough?
Marconius 3 points 1y ago
Right, but to do espresso well, I'd have to invest at least $1500 for the full setup and I don't have enough space in my kitchen. Maybe in our next house...
The Encore is great! The hopper turns and has tactile stepped adjustments, I just have to turn it all the way to the left to zero it out, then count the clicks to set it to the grind size I want. It has a simple knob on the side that turns it on and off, and a pulse button in the front. I'm looking into upgrading it with a 3D printed single-dose hopper replacement.
The JavaPresse is super tactile as well, easy to take apart and clean, and has a stepped adjustment knob at the bottom of the burr. Just tighten all the way, then count and feel the clicks as you turn the nut.
The Encore is great! The hopper turns and has tactile stepped adjustments, I just have to turn it all the way to the left to zero it out, then count the clicks to set it to the grind size I want. It has a simple knob on the side that turns it on and off, and a pulse button in the front. I'm looking into upgrading it with a 3D printed single-dose hopper replacement.
The JavaPresse is super tactile as well, easy to take apart and clean, and has a stepped adjustment knob at the bottom of the burr. Just tighten all the way, then count and feel the clicks as you turn the nut.
bondolo 2 points 1y ago
We used to like the Vox-2 talking kitchen scale but the last one was a dud and died after six weeks. The manufacturer has been unresponsive about warranty so I can't recommend it. The resolution was also not great, \~3 grams though the display was 1g increments.
We did like the "Smart Chef" bluetooth scales for a while and they do have a precision model with 0.01g accuracy however the iOS and Android apps have been flaky lately and fail to read or just crash or can't find the scale. Not sure what changed, perhaps OS updates, but they aren't as good as they used to be. For the larger capacity Smart Chef scales the small footprint of the scale, 16cmx16cm is also an annoyance. You need a tall narrow container to make full use of the 5kg model.
We did like the "Smart Chef" bluetooth scales for a while and they do have a precision model with 0.01g accuracy however the iOS and Android apps have been flaky lately and fail to read or just crash or can't find the scale. Not sure what changed, perhaps OS updates, but they aren't as good as they used to be. For the larger capacity Smart Chef scales the small footprint of the scale, 16cmx16cm is also an annoyance. You need a tall narrow container to make full use of the 5kg model.
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