Jennings CJ-4000 Compact Digital Weigh Scale 4000g x 0.5g PCS JScale Black AC Adapter

I briefly thought I lost this scale and went into full panic mode and spent HOURS on the internet looking for its replacement, because I was convinced this was an OXO scale model they no longer manufactured. I’m a huge OXO enthusiast, so I buy their products when possible. I purchased this scale in 2014, and it’s by far and large the best scale I’ve ever owned. It is highly dependable and accurate, fast and very responsive, and performs better than any model I’ve found that is three times its price. I don’t even know if they make scales like this anymore, it is that good. Easy to store and clean, and I hope that this scale outlives me. If it were a man, I would consider marrying it.

Great scale for the money. I use it when I make bread. The accuracy is great, down to half a gram. I make about 4 loaves at a time, so I put about 3,000 grams on the scale weekly or semi-weekly. It's accurate with the small stuff too, like salt ( a pinch of salt is about a 1/2 gram). I also use it to measure out my coffee everyday, I make one cup at a time with the pour over method, and the scale eliminates all of the guessing. I can make a great consistent cup of coffee every morning. I love that I can weight instead of measuring. All the extra dirty dishes from tablespoons, and measuring cups are eliminated. There is an overweight indicator on the left side of the display. The manual says to turn on the scale before putting anything on the platform. So it will zero itself out and get the total capacity accurate for the over weight indicator. The cover is great to protect the scale too. I used the cover as a container, but didn't like having to clean it afterwards, I just use a mixing bowl or a coffee cup. The batteries it takes are 3 - AAA batteries. I have been using the batteries that came with it for the past 4 months now. The LED display lights up making it easy to see. The display stays on for 2 minutes, or you can disable auto shutoff. It hasn't timed out on me yet. My old scale did all the time, I hated that, I would have to rush to add anything. This scale does not have that problem. It beeps, I don't understand why there are so many comments complaining about beeps. It doesn't seem too loud or annoying. It also has a counting feature. I don't use that though. You use it by placing a sample of 10, 20, 50 or 100 pieces, the scale figures it out, empty off the platform and then you place a handful of on the scale and it tells you how many pieces are there. Very handy if you need to package/sort small items like nuts and bolts (any small item with a consistent weight).

Brief review: Works, accurate, stable measurements. Longer version: Having the ability to use the (included) AC adapter was what sold me on this scale. Surprisingly, the mfg still includes a set of batteries with it. First thing that I did was to turn off the auto-shutoff so that I no longer need worry about it shutting down between zeroing a dish and trying to weigh whatever I've added to it. Second thing was to check (using my 500g weight) the accuracy -- which measured spot on at 500.0. And, unlike a 5kg (by 1g) scale (EatSmart Precision Pro) that I have, the measurements seem to settle instantly and remain stable with time. Though I've only had it for a few days, I believe that I've finally found my "perfect" scale! I think that the only "Con" is that the On/Zero beep is kinda loud -- doesn't bother me but, based on some of the reviews, others find it a bit annoying. Oh, one extra little "Pro" that deserves mention is that, whenever the reading is not zero, the display lighting turns on, making it much easier to read the scale.

I am updating my review because I have now owned two of these and they were both very different. #1) I really only write reviews after I have had a product for at least a year or so. I have had this scale for 3 years, and I will never buy a different scale. The cord is not very durable and was pretty finicky before it completely flaked out after a year of use. I was pretty disappointed because I didn’t want to be changing batteries every month or so, but I was surprised and impressed by the battery life. I am a baker, and my husband is in coffee, so we do use it quite a bit on a daily basis. The batteries lasted approximately 2 years before I had to change them! In our experience this scale has been very accurate/reliable, easy to use, and hard to damage. I’ve never dropped it in water or anything, but it has definitely withstood it’s fair share of splashes and whatnot and it has never gone glitchy. I had originally had my eye on some fancier scales, but couldn’t justify the cost at the time so I thought this would be a good place holder. The only reason I could think of why you would want a different scale is if you were weighing large items like bags of produce or something. But for just regular kitchen use? This is it. #2) I owned this second one for about a year and it starting glitching. battery life is still good, but it spits out random numbers that don't change as you add or take away mass. I will try again because the first one I ordered was so good. Hoping it was a fluke.

This is my favorite kitchen scale. I use it for coffee (pour-over) every day as well as for measuring ingredients in baking and sometimes cooking. It’s fast enough to measure and very clearly readable making it a great choice for pour over. It can be accurate up to 4000g which is also usually more than enough for measuring flower/sugar etc in large bowls for baking. It really hits the sweet spot that can do everything well (besides espresso). I’ve had no real issues with it over the years I’ve been using it though I will note a couple things. After a year or so my backlight stopped working. Not a huge deal but made it hard to real in dim light, I contacted Jennings and they sent me a replacement for free. My new one works perfectly. Secondly, some reviews mention weight changing by several grams if you leave things sitting on it. I do have this issue but only when brewing coffee on it. I’m fairly sure it’s related to the heat on the scale but it’s negligible for even 5-10g difference at the end of a pour over. When measuring out the coffee to begin with I don’t notice a weight shift. So while the scale is by no means perfect it’s imo the best option in this price range and easily worth the premium over many of the much cheaper scales you can find in the $10 price range.

I purchased this in 2015, and today, after 6 years and many many uses, it gave me an error code, the screen went haywire, and then it gave up the ghost. It was an excellent kitchen scale that was pretty easy to use and easy to store. This scale really got its use in the last year when I started working from home and began my sourdough starter. Sometimes the tare feature was a little angry from me changing it so much (also after 6 years I'm unsurprised), but the screen stayed on for a pretty long time which is good for when you realize you didn't measure the thing you thought you did and are rushing back before adding the next ingredient. It also held a decent amount of weight while still staying accurate. Many many loaves, pies, scones, etc were baked using this scale. Good night little scale, you were an excellent baking help.

Okay, so I bought this to weigh out food. It works great for that! But one day I was weighing out some hamburger I bought to make into patties and I discovered a great use for the lid. I make 1/3lb hamburger patties but finding a good press for them has been like looking for the Ark of the Covenant - even Indiana Jones struggled with that one! Note: This will work for any size patties. I was looking around the kitchen for the millionth time for something round that I could use as a press when I looked down at the lid for this scale. No, it's not round but.... Place a rounded ball of hamburger on a piece of wax paper, cover it with a 2nd piece of paper and then INVERT THE SCALE COVER and place it over the top wax paper sheet. Look closely and you'll see a small circle in the very center of the lid, it may also have a tiny piece of plastic (a little nub) from where it was formed in the die at the factory. Center that little circle on the center of your hamburger patty and press down evenly. Keep pressing until the patty reaches the edges of the lid and voila'! You'd got a perfectly formed patty and it's easily repeatable!! The key is to maintain equal pressure on the lid while pressing down. You can thank me later. :) BTW, great as a scale as well - accurate and the zero function works perfectly.

I read a blog somewhere that recommended this as being the best kitchen scale for home use. I have to agree. I've had an abnormal amount of digital kitchen scales over the years. This is the most expensive one I've purchased (but at $27 it is hardly "expensive") but it is easily worth the extra money. It has three features that I have not seen in any other digital kitchen scale (at least not all together. Some have one or two but not all three): 1) Choice of A/C adapter or battery! Other scales I've had got less accurate as the batteries got old, with no "low battery" warning suggesting any problem. I don't know if this is the case with this one or not, but having an a/c option is great! But its also portable with battery power; 2) REGULAR batteries! Not those stupid coin batteries that mean a trip to the store and half the cost of the scale; 3) Backlit display! Super easy to read. I didn't really care about that feature when I bought it, but now that I have it... yeah, it's awesome. But that's not all that's impressing me. It is incredibly fast and decisive with its weighing. By "decisive" I mean that it quickly settles on the figure and doesn't bounce around. Every other one I've owned will keep creeping up a gram every couple of seconds and you don't really know when it is finished weighing. It also has half-gram resolution. Every other one I've used has a one-gram resolution. Big deal? Not to me, but it could be to some. Finally, it comes with a hard clear plastic "shell" that goes over it, presumably to protect it when not in use and/or to keep dust off. The only thing I don't really like about this vs some other I've had, is that it is "big". Its not really big, but its not as sleek as some of the others. But after owning those slim ones, I have to say I'll now take function over form every day. It probably just isn't possible to fit the proper equipment into those thin ones because the difference in functionality and quality is immediately obvious. Good job Jennings.