Hands On Review: Fast Weigh MS-500 Scale

The Fast Weigh MS-500-BLK by American Weigh Scale features a 500 gram capacity and weighs in .1 gram increments.  It has a backlit LCD display and is powered by 2 AAA batteries.  The protective cover that doubles as a weighing tray.  It has the requisite (in my opinion) tare feature that allows you to get a net weight of the item by subtracting container weight.  It displays in both ounces and grams.

Here’s a hands on look at the MS-500…


In the box.  A note on appearance.  The image on the product page is different from the item that I received.


Here’s the scale with a 10 g calibration weight.  Hey… it reads 10 g.


 Here’s the scale with a 20 g calibration weight.  Again, right on the money.


Here is the scale with a total of 28 g (very close to one ounce) and it’s reading right at 28 g.

For accuracy, I recommend weighing hops in grams.  For simplicity I recommend weighing Dry Malt Extract for starters in grams.  See the Tips Page for more information.

I am very happy with the accuracy of this scale.  In fairness, there were some combinations of of calibration weights that did not read out exactly.  With some combinations, I noticed a variance of .1 to .2 grams.  Very acceptable.

cln_purchdateThe Fast Weigh MS-500-BLK is part of my Brew Day Box.  I’ve used it for years and years.  This is great for hops, spices, starter DME and small amounts of specialty grains.  If you’re looking for a scale for water salts, I would recommend a scale with a .01 gram resolution like the AWS-100 [Review]

Fast Weigh MS-500-BLK Digital Pocket Scale, 500 by 0.1 G – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

A 600 gram capacity version is also available…
Fast Weigh MS-600 Digital Pocket Scale, Black, 600 X 0.1 G

Also Consider

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review:ms-500-gramscale

2 thoughts on “Hands On Review: Fast Weigh MS-500 Scale

  1. Anonymous

    I have one, and it reads 0.0 for anything under a gram, at which point it jumps to 1.0, which makes it somewhat useless for measuring out salts.

    Reply
    1. Noiz Boy

      This is apparently a common problem caused by the auto zero function in digital scales. The solution is to add a known weight so you are not starting at zero.

      Reply

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