seca 813 - High Capacity Digital Flat Scale for Individual Patient use

In my family we have used Seca mechanical scales for over 50 years, first in Europe (where I was born and grew up) and over the past 28 years in the US. This is my first electronic Seca (the mechanical one is still working perfectly 20-yrs on but is now in a secondary residence): after 6 months of use by the whole family, I must say it is a significant step forward over the mechanical one but still maintains the quality and accuracy that this manufacturer is known for. Specifically:- surface is extremely wide: while this makes the scale a little larger than usual, it is much better, especially for big people like me (I wear size 14 wide shoes): I do not have to keep my feet unnaturally close when climbing on or off. The very low profile of this scale also helps in this respect.- Legibility: very clear LCD display, with large digits and excellent contrast.- Measuring options: pounds or kg. This is a good option for me since I still think metric (even after 30 yrs in the US), though it may be a little confusing for American users because the scale defaults to metric when first shipped: there is a tiny switch on the back (bottom) of the scale (next to the battery receptacle) to change to pounds. This switch is actually quite small, and not very well documented in the one-page instruction sheet, so it is easy to overlook, as happened to a few reviewers who posted a complaint about "Kilograms only". Please note that this is absolutely not true: the scale measures in pounds as well, but is shipped defaulting to metric, so you have to adjust that before first use.- Accuracy: excellent: my reference is the Exacto professional scale in my doctor's office, and the Seca is exactly identical, except that it is much easier to read the decimals compared to the Exacto.- Durability: besides our own experience (4 months, and a family of four using it daily), I can add the experience of an identical scale in my health club, which has been in constant use in the men locker room for over two years and is still going strong.- Ability to handle carpets: this is a very nifty feature but, once again, not very well documented in the instruction sheet, so it's easy to miss: the scale comes with four extra plastic feet extensions that are meant to clip over the standard ones to maintain accuracy if the scale is on wall-to-wall carpeting instead of a hard floor. This attention to detail is typical of Seca, and very thoughtful.- Battery life: this was a concern of mine, going from a mechanical scale to an electronic one: so far (4 months), it is going fine, so I'm no longer concerned: even if it eventually turns out I have to replace the batteries (size AAA, commonly available pretty much everywhere) every six months or so, it's an acceptable, very minor inconvenience in exchange for the convenience and accuracy of digital.- Operation: here, again, the device is very thoughtfully designed but somewhat cryptically documented. There essentially two modes of operation: you either step right on, and the scale will automatically switch on and for a few seconds show you the previous reading, which will be replaced in memory by the new one in a few seconds. Now, this may be confusing if several different people are using the same scale, such as in our family or at the health club: for these cases Seca has provided another mode of operation: give the scale a light tap, then wait until the dial shows zero before stepping on. In this mode, the scale will not show the previous reading, just the current one.- capacity: this is one of very few scales going well beyond 300 pounds max. capacity, a feature important for some people (including me).The only negative of this product is the documentation: the "owner's manual", a single sheet, is affected by the (typically European) preference for multiple languages, saving paper and a preference for pictures over words. The result is a lot of information in tiny font with tiny pictures and symbols crammed into a single, small, sheet folded even smaller, accordion-like. But if you have the patience of decrypting the instructions, you will find you bought a great, reliable and useful tool for what is ultimately a very reasonable price.One final note: a couple of reviews refer, somewhat disparagingly, to the "Chinese" origin of this supposedly German product. After a very thorough examination, I could not find a clear "made in China" label anywhere on the scale itself: however, I could not find a clear "made in Germany" label either, so the jury is still out on this issue. Still, I like to judge products by their inherent quality and features, not by their provenance, and, in my view, there is nothing "cheap" about this scale: it is, in my view, in every way consistent with the excellent reputation and quality that, over so many years, I have come to expect from this company.

very easy to use and very accurate, learning to convey kg. to lb.

An excellent scale. Very accurate. I put a twenty pound weight on it and it registered twenty pounds. It’s wide so it’s easy to stand on.

The scale does its job. I'm a big guy and it handled me well—the load capacity is 550 lbs. I'm 440 lbs. Unfortunately, I forgot the instructions and placed it on a carpeted floor. One of the leg supports and it gives this error reading. Sadly, I broke it. A scale like this has to be on a tile or solid surface floor. It worked well up until that point.

This Seca 813 is our second one. We purchased our first one in 2011 through Amazon and both wife and I used it every day. It started to be slightly less accurate a short time ago, which isn’t bad after 23 years of daily use by 2 people. We purchased this 813 to replace the old one . After 23 years of no problems of any kind it was impossible for us to not buy Seca again.

Buyer beware! The tale of two scales! Tanita HD 351 vs Seca 813. About 5 years ago I purchased two high capacity scales to help encourage myself to lose weight and stay on track. One I put at home for the entire family, and the other I took to work. The Tanita I left at home, the Seca 813 I took to work. Just today I went to check myself on the Seca scale at work, I barely nugged it in to position as usual to weigh myself and the left front foot popped off. One minor catch sliding across floor and the load sensor foot is broken! It is only held on by two 1/8th inch plastic pieces. Flimsy! I called customer support! Sorry they say, it is more than 2 years and it can't be repaired! Trash it goes! I paid over $100. You got 5 years of use Seca customer support says. Sadly, I had hardly used the Seca scale. I use the Tanita 10 times as much and have had no issues. Further it is better built! The feet are significantly more solid too. It keeps on performing! Also the Tanita accuracy is surprisingly accurate and repeatable, while every time you get on the Seca it can vary by several pounds. Overall, the Seca is an inferior product for the money! I will never buy another product from Seca again!

I really like this scale. It's high quality, accurate, and EXTREMELY comfortable. I also like that it uses 4AAA batterys. If you're looking for a serious scale for home, this is a good choice. Although it seems marketed towards heavy-weight people, it's really great for everyone. There are a couple things I wanted to point out for anyone considering this purchase:1) The entire scale is basically a hard plastic (including the "rubber" top). In the description it says "Solid steel frame construction"...so I was expecting it to be metal. This isn't a bad thing since it keeps it light, durable, and comfortable. Just good to know.2) Once you step off the scale, your weight is displayed for about 18 seconds. Some may find this annoying if you want to double check your weight since you have to wait until the scale turns off before you can weigh yourself again. However, the scale is extremely accurate; no double-checking is required.UPDATE: Oct 2023Thirteen years after my initial review and this scale is still working perfectly. I’ve lived in multiple cities in several countries and it’s traveled with me everywhere. Great product.