Which Compact Balance Do You Need? EK-610i, EK-6100i or HT-500 — for Shops, School Labs and Workshops

Start with two numbers: the smallest item and the heaviest item

Readability is the last digit the balance displays. Choose it from the smallest quantity you must tell apart, not from the heaviest thing you weigh. A gold chain, a reagent for a school titration or a small machined part needs 0.01 g; a parcel, a portion of dough or a bag of fasteners needs 0.1 g; a carton needs 1 g. Buying finer than the job requires costs more and makes the reading fussier, because a 0.01 g balance responds to the air-conditioning draught that a 0.1 g scale ignores.

Capacity is the heaviest item plus the container it sits in. A 600 g balance handles a 350 g bowl with 200 g of contents; it does not handle a 700 g tray. Where a job spans both — small items in the morning, cartons in the afternoon — the honest answer is two instruments, or the EW-i triple-range models described below.

The three configurations, side by side

The table below uses A&D's published figures for each model. Linearity is the maximum deviation across the range; repeatability is the standard deviation of repeated weighings of the same load.

For a shop counter

A general shop counter — spices, tea, saffron, dried fruit, small hardware — is well served by the EK-610i: 0.01 g settles a few grams of product convincingly in front of the customer, the round stainless pan wipes clean, and the RS-232C interface can feed a printer or a PC where receipts need a weight line.

For a gold and jewellery counter the order we recommend is the GF-3002A first, the FX-3000GD second and the EK-610i third: all three read to 0.01 g and all three can be connected to an external customer-facing display, which some markets require for trade use. The EK-610i is the right choice where chains, rings and coins are the daily work and 600 g is enough; the two 3,200 g instruments are for counters that also see bars and bulk lots. Our gold scale buying guide covers that decision in detail.

For a school, college or university laboratory

Teaching laboratories buy compact balances in sets, and the EK-i is the model we supply most often for the purpose: 0.01 g readability on the EK-120i to EK-610i, a stainless pan that survives spilled reagents, multiple weighing units, and GLP-compliant data output through RS-232C so a practical class can log its weighings. Choose the capacity by the largest beaker the class uses — the EK-610i covers a 250 mL beaker with contents, the EK-410i and EK-300i suit lighter work at lower cost.

Where the budget is tighter or the balance has to move between classrooms, the HT Series does the job at 0.1 g: the HT-500 runs on four AA batteries or its AC adapter, weighs from inside its stackable carrying case, and the HT-120 (120 g × 0.01 g, Ø70 mm pan) gives a 0.01 g option in the same family.

For a workshop or light production

On a workshop bench the question is usually capacity, not the last digit. The EK-6100i weighs 6 kg to 0.1 g on a 170 × 133 mm pan; the EK-3000i does 3 kg to 0.1 g in the same housing; the EK-12Ki reaches 12 kg at 1 g. All share the stainless pan, the fast response and the RS-232C interface for logging.

Where one bench weighs very different loads, the EW-i triple-range models change readability with the load: the EW-150i reads 0.01 g up to 30 g, 0.02 g to 60 g and 0.05 g to 150 g; the EW-1500i and EW-12Ki do the same over 1.5 kg and 12 kg. One instrument, three resolutions, no switching.

Calibration, data and displays

Neither the EK-i nor the HT carries an internal calibration weight; calibration is against an external mass. Our calibration service does it at installation or on request, with a certificate that records the instrument, the reference standards used and the results at each test point — ask for it when you order. A&D Gulf is not an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory; where your quality system requires an accredited certificate, tell us and we will say so plainly.

The EK-i carries RS-232C as standard for printers, PCs and data logging, and all three configurations can be connected to an external display — ask us for the option that matches your model when you enquire.