Sometimes younger and better looking isn't best! (Salter 1200 CD Style Electronic Kitchen Scale)

Member Name: azana

Product:	Salter 1200 CD Style Electronic Kitchen Scale
Date:	09/03/09 (252 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good value, look good

Disadvantages: I hate using them

My old scales were a wedding present, so a little bit old now and the traditional sort, a bit like me! When I saw these electronic scales for a bargainous £12.99 in amazon (rrp £49.99 so according to amazon 74% off), I thought they would be worth a go. I have been updating my kitchen accessories of late, and with their stylish looks and stainless stell finish I thought they would fit in well.

What are the scales like?

The whole unit is quite thin (about 2cm, with the mount adding another 0.5 cm), and the diameter is 19cm. It fits on to the wall and functions as a wall clock with a temperature display (not shown on the picture with this review). I can see why it is called CD style, and it looks quite modern. The "cd" part unclips and is put on the work top to become the scales whilst the inner ring with the clock on it stays on the wall, there are three buttons on the clock unit to allow you to do the actual measuring. So far so good, it looks good and the design is clever.

Using the scales:

The manual that came with the scales was clear, though didn't mention anywhere I could see the 7 AAA batteries that were hidden in the box, and the operation of the scales is fairly easy. You put any bowl you like on the scales, press zero and then you can measure grammes, ounces or fluid by pressing the correct button. The new-fangled possibility of being able to add butter, press zero and then add sugar was a revelation to me, very clever. However despite all this I am still not convinced by these scales. Firstly the scales work by infra red so you have to keep the sensors more or less lined up - annoying. Secondly, and the deal breaker for me personally and I don't know if this is true of all digital scales, there is a slight delay on the measurements. If you are tipping in flour it takes a second or so to work it out - so you have to add really slowly or (if you are me) you add too much and then have to spoon it all back. I used to find it easy to measure with my old scales, I find these a bit too much of a faff at present, though I have used the a fair bit to see if I would overcome this and whether it is an "old dog new tricks" type of issue, but no, it still annoys me. I have owned these for over a month now and use them daily, so I think I have given them a fair go.
Apart from the time delay on weighing issue so far the scales have worn well so far and work well, and in a smaller kitchen would be good for not taking up work space.

Overall:

Overall they are a good buy at £12.99, less so at the full retail price, but I have yet to be convinced to get rid of my other scales and still find myself reaching for them when I am in a hurry. Maybe I am just the kind of cook not to need absolute accuracy - I do prefer to chuck things in - but these scales have turned an everyday task that I used to just do into a bit of an ordeal really - but like I said maybe I am just a bit set in my ways. They do look good though, so maybe they will grow on me, but I suspect our relationship is always going to be rocky and I might have to just accept that sometimes younger and better looking isn't always an improvement!

Summary: Scales that look good but that I am not convinced by