Scale calibration ensures accuracy. Commercial scales need calibration every few weeks or months, while home scales can go longer. Inaccuracies can occur due to wear or environmental factors. Calibration is done using known weights and adjusting the scale. Multiple weights are used to confirm accuracy. Tare calibration is used to weigh goods in containers without including the container weight.
Scale calibration is a process used to ensure that a scale provides accurate information. For commercially used scales, calibration may be required every few weeks or months, to confirm that the scales are still weighing accurately, whereas home scales may be left uncalibrated for longer periods of time
Scales start showing inaccurate weights for a variety of reasons. Sometimes components of the scale wear out, changing the reading, and environmental factors can also play a role. For example, many scales do not perform well in the cold, and a scale calibrated to perform in an environment such as a hot, humid bakery may fail if it is taken into a cool warehouse. The more you use a scale, the more inaccuracies are likely to occur.
The best way to calibrate the scale is to use a known weight to see if the scale returns the correct measurement. Several companies make specific weights to use for calibration, but it’s also possible to use something like a sack of flour, a set of barbells, or another object with a definitively known weight. To calibrate the scale, you set the weight on it and write down the reading. Afterwards, the scale can be adjusted until a correct weight measurement is obtained.
Some scales are adjusted simply with screws or levers that can be moved. Digital scales may have buttons used to calibrate them. A scale’s owner’s manual usually provides specific information on how this process is performed.
Most people use several weights when calibrating the scale to confirm that the scale is correct in multiple ranges. Some balances may be less accurate with lower weights, for example, in which case adjustments made with a low weight on the balance can cause the balance to jump at higher weights.
A special type of calibration is done when people want to weigh goods in containers without including the container weight in the measurement. First, the empty container is placed on the scale, then the scale is zeroed to set the “tare” or empty weight. The goods are added to the container and the container is weighed again. The measurement on the scale will reflect the weight of the goods only, not the weight of the container. Some scales have preset tare settings that people can program for containers they use all the time, so they don’t have to reset the scale every time they weigh something.
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