THE MAESTRO SCALE - 8000g x 1 g with AC Adapter

There was a small problem with the first scale I received. I sent it back and am waiting for a replacement. From what I saw the scale looked very nice. The shipper, aSavings has a great customer service. I will be updating this review when I get the replacement model. Update: I received a replacement unit a few days later. Now that I have had time to work with this scale here is my take: When I bought this scale I was looking for a semi-professional scale, but in the price range of a kitchen scale. This scale fits the bill perfectly. It has the capacity I need for all my recipes, as well as the fine accuracy I need for adding spices. Construction: The top of the unit appears to be real stainless steel. It goes very nicely with my stainless kitchen. The body is made of rugged plastic. The top is easily removable for cleaning. The display and buttons are very easy to read and press. It has a front panel that pulls out in the event that your pan is too big. I didn't need this feature because my largest pan is 10" and does not cover the display. Capacity: I filled my 10" pressure cooker with 6 quarts of water and came up with 16.33 lbs. The max is 17.5lbs so I decided to stop there. By the way, if I were making a stew of that size it would feed 25 people or a family of 5 for a week. Accuracy: With the pan full of water, I switched to the microscale which has an advertised accuracy of .1g. I measured out 2 grams. Then switched back to the top scale. After adding the salt, the display bumped up by exactly 2 grams. As far as the microscale is concerned, I added salt a grain at a time. The minimum reading I could get was .3g. This is about the same as 1/16tsp of salt. Upon adding more salt, it went to .5g, then .4g, then up to .6g. So even though the display can show measurements down to .1g, the practical limit seems to be about .2 grams with a minimum of .3 grams. Cons: The instructions claim that they include batteries. Upon receiving my first scale I thought it was a return since the batteries were missing. However, when the replacement came, it didn't have batteries either. Just plan on purchasing 3 AA batteries when you buy this unit. The only other trouble I had was getting the microscale pulled out without lifting up on the unit. My workaround was to pull the scale out slightly before starting to use it. This way I could easily pull out the scale to switch between the top scale and the microscale. Once you click in the microscale, you will need to pick up the unit to get your fingers underneath it to pull it out. Adaptability: This scale has a percent function that easily enables you to scale your recipes up or down. I have not checked this feature out fully, so I will say not more (perhaps on a later edit). It always weighs in grams, but has a secondary display which can switch from grams to oz, and to lbs. Conclusion: If you are looking for a semi-professional kitchen scale that will not break your budget, look no further! This is a well constructed scale which allows you to cook for large family outings but also give you the accuracy you need for delicate recipes which call for exact amount of spices. The customer service from aSavings is exceptional.

I've used and owned kitchen scales ranging from $10 Escali "teardrop" models to the KD-8000 before. I've had digital and analog kitchen scales. I've even owned a "cradle" type like old-school bakers use. None of them compare to the Maestro (at least, for 8Kg capacity). The main scale has a large, flat surface that's easy to remove for cleaning and has a great finish - easy to weigh out dough on. The display is illuminated, has large, clear digits, and is removable so you can even weigh on a full sheet pan or in a huge prep bowl or stock pot. The cord to the removable face automatically retracts, so you don't have to worry about any messy cord tangles. The mini scale is of utility mainly for spices and herbs, but the baker's math function translates flawlessly; if you want 1.5% salt, you'll get 1.5% salt. The UI is fast and responsive, and the buttons are softer touch than the KD-8000. It even comes with an AC adapter. The feature where it shows you how close you are to overload - surprisingly useful! It gives me peace of mind that I'm not going to damage my scale. This is it, folks. This is the best kitchen scale money can buy for anyone who doesn't need larger than 8Kg of capacity. The price is competitive when you look at the competition; you can buy a much less featureful scale for the same or more money, even from the same brand. Michael Ruhlman really knocked it out of the park on this one.

[edit... got a replacement scale and that has been mostly problem free. occasionally a glitch happens where if you load something off center it will turn off. bad problem if you're weighing multiple ingredients and tareinf in between but problem is easy to avoid. I would buy again. love that it fits in my 3" tall workbench drawer and is easy to use right from drawer and doesn't take counter space.] dissapointed that small scale needed callibration right out of the box and didn't include a calibration weight. apparently the small scale often needs calibration where large platform doesn't. if large one ever needs calibration I'll be pissed because require 5kg calibration weight which costs more than the scale itself. thought scale was broken because instructions didn't show what would be displayed if needed callibraion. in general, instructions are pretty spotty with icons that display reads. some are peppered throughout instructions and some aren't addressed at all. a master key would be useful. so anyway...had to order 200g calibration weight at additional cost ($5.) and wait an additional week before I could use the small scale. followed calibration instructions and small scale worked. but once scale is turned off, small scale needed calibration again with next use. in looking at reviews, seems they have serious quality issues for the small side-tray scale with this model. if I return this one for a replacement, am I gonna always be stuck in a cycle of failing scale? or has it been fixed? should I return it to amazon seller or to them? or just be happy with the main platform and pretend it doesn't even have the small pullout, as I'm pretty happy with the main scale. I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because I'm happy with the large scale's function. I like the range of units of measure available, weighing capacity, bakers %'s, pull out display, included power adapter and overall size and would probably give it 4 pr 5 stars if didnt even have the small scale. I can't find a comparable sub $100 scale with all the features this offers ( disregarding small scale). the oxo is the only one that comes to mind but the oxo is so overly simplistic and dumbed down with it's units of measures, that it wasn't even considered. my second choice, myweigh's highly rated kd8000 is bigger and uglier and about the same price, so disregarding the pullout small platform all together and comparing maestro to kd8000, it's probably a win over the kd8000. but I just can't get over the frustration of them selling a product with such obvious quality control issues. they have an exceptional warranty, so I'll see how they respond and will update review accordingly.

I have a thing for scales. I weigh everything. My recipes--especially bread--turn out better when I use a scale than when I used cups and tablespoons to measure my ingredients, and my food diary gives me a far more accurate picture of my daily dietary intake. In addition to several standard digital scales, I own a milligram scale and another scale that weighs up to 100 grams. But this scale? The best of all worlds. The small platform accurately measures to the milligram, up to 200 grams. The large platform measures up to 8 kilograms (17 pounds 10 ounces). While you can use batteries if you wish, the ability to plug the scale into a standard outlet and not worry about battery death in the middle of weighing is a huge plus. The scale has two inconveniences. One is the need for weights to calibrate the scale. The 5kg weight isn't cheap, but it's worth it. The other is a minor design flaw in the way you access the small platform. You have to pull it out from underneath, which requires tilting or picking up the scale. A pop-out platform would have been better, but it's definitely not a deal-breaker. I agonized over buying this scale for nearly 4 months. It was in competition with three other scales, but in the end, it had every feature I wanted in one package, and I have never regretted the purchase. I use the scale every day, and it has never failed to produce perfect results.

Im sure the scale itself is amazing. i have heard and read great things about it. But this rating is for the seller who sent me an obviously "previously used" scale with a non-working gram scale. The package was opened and contained batteries.

The scale is accurate and has a lot of nice features and capabilities but the small pull out scale seems gimmicky and unnecessary. For the cost of the scale and the calibration weight I had to buy separately I would have gotten a better scale. The calibration requirement slipped by me when I was searching for the best value. It cost as much as the scale.

I LOVE this scale!!! I've got two and have been using them daily for years. I write my own recipes and use only grams for measurement. It has a small pull out scale for measuring small amounts (like yeast and spices) that I use daily as well and they are extremely accurate. I have calibrated weights I use to verify that came with my grains scale. It's never been wrong. I also enjoy the option for plugging it in or using batteries. I use batteries now for convenience and it lasts for a very long time before they need replaced.

Big fan of Ruhlman's books, blog, etc., so when he endorsed this scale I did not hesitate to purchase it. Everything looks great on paper, but in the kitchen, it fails to deliver accuracy/repeatability. If I weigh out an ingredient into a bowl on the scale, lift the bowl off the scale, and then place it back, the scale reads a few grams off the original reading. I have another scale from the same manufacturer the reads dead-on every single time. If I am doing something wrong, I'd love to find out and add more stars to this review.

Item received did not work. Retractable cord was broken and the little scale did not record anything. Very unhappy with this product. Also had no idea product was being shipping from US to Canada and as a result I had to pay for return shipping to the US in the amount of $36.51 which is one third the cost of the item I purchased. Amazon always provides free shipping label for returns. Not this time. It should be make clear where the item is coming from. Hopefully Amazon will make good on its free shipping returns and reimburse me the $36.51

Je l'ai offert à mon conjoint pour Noël (il est cuisinier) et il en est plus que satisfait. le fait que cette balance ne soit pas avec pile mais filaire est un plus et la précision est génial.

Just what I needed for serious bread making using bakers percentages, quite happy with it

Realicé la devolución debido a que nos se pudo calibrar, ni habilitar las funciones adicionales que la hacen más costosa, al oprimir los botones al mismo tiempo con los que activas la funciones nunca se pudo lograr y la mini báscula nunca funcionó, la verdad es que no contacté al proveedor por que es en Estados Unidos, directamente hice la devolución.

An excellent well priced scale.