Shopping for Industrial Scales

Felt good enough yesterday to resume blog duties. I hope you all enjoyed my music video; Brother Wangchuk was a good friend of mine back in my half-ton-and-under days and stayed with me in LA for a few weeks before heading out to New York, where we cut that video. Just remembering Brother Wangchuk curled up next to my waterbed on his rush matt in his orange briefs — the cutest little Buddhist you were every likely to see, and abs to die for —gives me the strength to go on. And Brother Wangchuk could cook up a mean plate of Salmon Penne when he wasn’t fasting. Which reminds me that I am! And shouldn’t be getting misty-eyed over lost friends and their favorite Italian dishes. Better take a moment here to thank Chatto too, who did a hell of job on yesterday’s post considering the language obstacle. Thanks, old boy.

Haven’t been doing much of anything, as you probably know, but I think I must have hit my second wind. Not even hungry. Haven’t even passed wind since Sunday. Which reminds me of a little joke I wrote late last night. Here goes: Knock knock. Who’s there? Food. Food who? Food food. I don’t want food. Food food food!

In weight news, my Dubson 400 industrial scale broke yesterday, a fine piece of Dutch engineering that’s lasted me for nearly a decade now. But, as always, there’s hope. My weight management therapist and good friend, Eric Schworsky, has been shopping around for a replacement and this is what Eric has turned up. Unfortunately, the Seca 770 is already out.

1) The Seca 770 heavy-duty digital floor scale was made for serious traffic. The platform's precision sensor activates the scale and the 20-second automatic shut-off adds extra convenience.

* Capacity: 440 lbs (200 kg)

* Weight hold function

* Crane option

* Anti-stress, glow-in-the-dark foot pads

* Power Supply: 4 AA alkaline batteries

* 2 year manufacturer's warranty

2) Heavy Duty Scale, DRS-Post offers an unbelievable 500 lb. weight capacity at a price you can afford.

* Construction: Heavy Duty Stainless Steel

* Dimensions: 13: X 13" X 2 1/4" Base With 35" Post

* Display: Large, Red LED 6 Digit Display

* Tare Function: Full Range Zero Tare Function

* Weight Options: Lb or Kg

3) Roll-A-Weigh Bariatric Wheelchair Scale, 1000 lbs. Whether it's multiple weighing locations at a single facility or a stationary location, Roll-A-Weight gives you portability, ease of use and accuracy.

* Designed for weighing "on-the-move", setup is simple and quick with the "Roll-A-Weigh's" self-aligning feet and topside EZ Level adjustment.

* The platform is a smooth deck with rubber mat and integral wheel stop.

* Power used: 6 "C" size alkaline batteries.

* Weight display: 7" high-contrast LCD for wall or table mount.

* Weight Capacity: 1000 lbs

4) The KGW Crane Scale is a robust model, protected against shock loading and constructed primarily for heavy industrial use. Commissioning is extremely simple: Unpack it - hang on hook - start weighing. Extremely simple to use. If required, the system may be expanded by using an optional wireless data receiver.

* Non-destructible steel housing

* German TÜV tested

* Foundry Crane Scale

* Shock loading protected

* Assured readability

* High accuracy 0.03% of weight to 3,000 kg [that’s over a ton!]

5) Ultrahawke Eight Deck Weighbridge was originally designed to provide axle group weights and total weights for the Mount Gibson Mining site at Tallering Peak (175km NE of Geralton). The Ultrahawke weighbridge is for weighing road trains hauling iron ore with gross truck weights around 160 tons.

* 53 x 3.5m weighbridge segmented into eight individual decks

* weighing operation is PC controlled and the vehicles [or persons] are identified by vehicle [person] mounted RFID tags.

* high quality Flintec stainless steel loadcells

* 32 loadcells of 30 ton capacity

* 8 Rinstrum R5000 digital weight indicators with Rinstrum D740 Daylight LED Large Digit Remote Displays (one for each deck and one for total weight).

As you can see, it’s going to be a tough choice. Personally, I’m leaning towards the KGW Crane Scale because I’d feel better knowing that if worse came to worst I’d have the option to be hoisted directly out of bed. Though, now that I think about it, the Roll-A-Weigh might not be a bad idea either. But (there’s always a but) the 1,000 lb capacity is bothering me. Anyway, we’ll see.

My Weight: XXX