One of the biggest benefits of our waterproof scales is that many of the scales are NSF Approved. Many of our washdown products meet strict standards for public health protection. You can use them when dealing with food and beverages safely.

The Aqua stainless steel scale lineup offers check weighing, percentage weighing and parts counting, while the Gladiator range offers those as well as check counting, dynamic/animal weighing, and a helpful Hold function.

These applications can be exceptionally helpful in the food and drink industry. Dynamic weighing and the hold function on the Gladiator can be particularly useful when dealing with cans, bottles or barrels filled with liquid. Since it’s moving around inside, you don’t want to have to wait for the liquids to settle before weighing, so the dynamic weighing feature takes an average weight to solve this issue.

Checkweighing can be used to help make sure that each completed product, such as peach pies, are within acceptable limits and not under or over filled. Parts counting can help pack bags or boxes with the same amount of product – bags of candy should have the same number of pieces in each!

#2     Full Protection from Water Ingress

Some customers and scale companies like to use the term waterproof scales. We prefer washdown scales. A waterproof scale is generally a scale that has an ingress protection (IP) rating of at least 68 (IP68). This means that it’s fully protected against solids (6) and liquids ( 8) getting inside and messing up the hardware.

Technically, you can immerse a waterproof scale with an IP68 rating in depths of water over one meter for an extended period. For more information about IP ratings, check out our past entry how much does a waterproof scale cost? 

Many ingredients are made of liquid and if there are any spillages, there’s no need to worry about the safety of your waterproof scale. Dry or wet, it will operate exactly as it was designed.

One note about scale enclosures and ratings… If you’re a food processing facility and you have internal maintenance workers who can do basic scale work…  Remember, you can have the highest IP rated equipment ever made, but if your maintenance department either leaves screws loose or completely off the equipment, water will get inside no matter how great your IP rated equipment is.   

#3     Durable and Easy to Clean Weighing Equipment

Another benefit of waterproof scales is that when spills happen, they’re very easy to clean. IP68 rated waterproof scales can handle low temperature water jets. If you need to take your scale out back and hose it down, your washdown safe scale is capable of handling that.

Cross contamination can also become a real issue, especially when dealing with perishables like meat, fish, or dairy. Scales used for weighing these items should be cleaned thoroughly with soap or gentle cleansers every day to maintain hygiene standards. This way, you’ll protect consumers from the threat of food poisoning or unhealthy bacteria caused by build-up on a dirty food scale.

We’ve established that waterproof scales are protected from water, which obviously makes them pretty durable. However, most of our selection of waterproof scales are constructed from high quality Grade 304 stainless steel, which has quite a few benefits as well. 

Many components of the foods and beverages we eat and drink are acidic, and could cause damage to a less durable scale over time. Grade 304 stainless steel is highly resistant to corrosion, so frequent contact with corrosive liquids will not be a hindrance to your operations.

In general, metals like mild steel or cast-iron rust easily when left in contact with liquids for too long. Stainless steel is much less susceptible to rusting. For example, the Adam Equipment Aqua ABW-S features stainless steel housing and pan, making it durable top to bottom. Also, the Gladiator series is constructed from a stainless-steel platform as well as the stainless steel IP68 AE 403 indicator, both of which can be purchased individually or combined in one scale system.

#4    Scales That can be Used Outdoors

Many waterproof weighing scales include rechargeable batteries. This can be an extremely helpful feature when harvesting fruits and vegetables at a farm, orchard, or wine vineyard. Harvesting staff can effectively organize produce by weight, which any grocery store or farmer’s market will appreciate.

If many of the boxes of produce weigh about the same, or if you organize the produce from heaviest to lightest, this makes it easier to calculate prices later. We offer a wide variety of NTEP approved scales so you can legally use them to set prices for your products according to weight.

The durability of waterproof scales, with their protection against water, dirt, and corrosion, make them perfect outdoor tools. Is it starting to rain? No need to pack up your scale. Are the vegetables dirty? Get as much dirt off as possible, since dirt weighs something too. But, best of all, if the scale gets dirty, just wash it off when you can. 

Don’t forget about washdown floor scales and/or floor scales that can be placed outdoors and can handle the elements such as rain and snow. 

#5     Overall Great Value for Your Investment

Waterproof scales are convenient, improving operational efficiency with less effort and fuss. They have superior longevity, preventing you from needing to frequently replace your scale. These days there are cheap scales everywhere, with little to no quality control. Be sure to trust the buying advice of your trusted scale company and reputable scale manufacturers. 

A slightly higher price is worth long-lasting peace of mind (see value vs accuracy). And many of our washdown safe scales come with high quality components, longer warranty periods, and impressive weighing accuracy.

Do you need some help deciding on a “waterproof” scale? Contact our sales team for assistance.