Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have been carefully comparing the various Amazon and Fleabay choices for a refrigerant scale. I have been surprised and disappointed by the overwhelming number of utterly inadequate, vague, and even fake reviews. Therefore I am going to try to provide some meaningful, precise, and accurate information about this scale. Like most reviews, this one contains opinions. Where facts are presented they will have dimensions, values and measurements which are not opinions...o.k? Great! 1. What is the overall build quality? I would call it "first rate China export". Most significantly, the body of the scale itself is diecast metal, not plastic. It feels substantial and is well finished in black powder-coat. The rubber coil cord appears to be of a type of material that will not rapidly decay. (Many folks buying imported items have experienced seriously inferior rubber products - which quickly fall to shred, even when merely stored away) This coil cord does not appear to suffer from that problem. The display / control module itself is injection molded plastic, but is sturdy and well made. The display is large and clear, and well backlit. Controls are basic and simple, but clear enough to make immediate sense to an average pro-sumer / handyman user. The injection molded carrying case is typical Chinese blow-mold fare, (again "A import grade"...so not quite USA grade 1, but not Harbor Freight ultra-cheap either.) 2. Functional issues? As I tried to find meaningful reviews on Amazon, one very important and basic dimension specification seemed impossible to find (at least in every review and item detail I could find). The unknown? Duh! It was simply the dimension of the scale platform! How big IS it? Can it even hold a standard refrigerant recovery cylinder? Absolutely no one seemed to post that information. This was maddening to me. So, for my fellow sufferers, here it is: This scale has a 9" x 9" platform. Yes I have checked and YES it definitely and comfortably fits the typical 30lb. refrigerant recovery cylinder. Of course any refrigerant container already stored in a typical cardboard carry-box is going to be fine. Most recovery tanks aren't. Consequently, I just REALLY didn't want to have to carry around a scrap board that was big enough to hold the refrigerant recovery cylinder. (Just one more thing to keep up with on the job site!) Glad to say this scale does not require that. Another functional concern for me was owning a device which auto shuts off too quickly. With the typical refrigerant recovery times that are in the real world...in my opinion, a scale that shuts off every two or three minutes to "save the battery" is virtually worthless, and a pain in the butt. This scale does not do that. I have read elsewhere that the auto shut off time is 15 minutes, which is still pretty short...but mine didn't do that. I will post the actual auto shutoff behavior in a future review - as I have not personally observed the actual auto shut-off behavior, except to say that it is more than ten minutes. 🙂 Accuracy: the scale seems to quickly and accurately settle on a weight. It selectably displays in oz., lb., and kilos. Yes, you can toggle between the various scales while weighing. Accuracy in ounce mode seems to be perhaps 2/10 of an oz., which is more than accurate enough for typical refrigerant work. IMPORTANT: Accuracy is highly dependent upon a firm stable and level base. Don't expect this or any platform scale to be accurate sitting on on unstable ground like gravel, piles of leaves, or a 15° angle on a tilted roof etc. Bottom line: keep it level and on a hard stable surface, it'll work just fine. Violate those best practices and it won't weigh worth a darn. Battery: typical rectangular 9v battery. No provision (that I can find) for an AC adaptor. No AC adaptor included in the kit. SUMMARY: Overall, this scale seems adequate for a journeyman/handyman/ non-master technician guy or gal who needs to monitor as he drops a few pounds of safe non-ozone depleting refrigerants into an R-410 or other ozone friendly hvac system. Is it for a seasoned pro? Probably not, but it is certainly up to the task for amateur/handyman/DIY homeowner. It is also portable and robust enough that it could double as a postal scale quite handily, and should be plenty accurate for routine use on packages over a pound or so. Overall, I give it 4.5 REAL stars. Pros: diecast metal body, simple intuitive operational controls, does not auto shutoff too quickly Cons: Chinglish instructions, no AC adaptor, cannot trim or preset a known tare weight. Best user: DIY handyman, Journeyman or occasional recharger of non ozone depleting modern refeigerants (i.e. Apartment maintenance crew) vending machine field service, high school or jr. high school classroom demonstration scale, etc.