Digital Crane Scales
Crane scales hang in the rig and weigh the load while it is in the air, reading pounds or kilograms off a face you check from the floor. This collection runs from Vestil's economy digital hook scales, roughly 600 to 6,000 lb for a receiving bay or fab shop, up to the Crosby Straightpoint Miniweigher Plus, a compact wireless scale from 100 kg to 5 tonnes that reads to plus or minus 0.1 percent of full scale. Both do the same job: take the whole load in line between the hook and the top of the sling and turn it into a number. The choice between them comes down to one question, whether you need a weight you can believe or one you can defend on paper.
Compare Crane Scales
| Model | Price | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straightpoint Miniweigher Plus Compact Crane Scale | $3,469 | 1-5 ton | View → |
| Vestil Crane Scales | $902 | 600-6,000 lb | View → |
Crane Scales Buying Guide
What a crane scale actually does. A crane scale is a strain-gauged link with a hook or shackle at each end. It hangs between the crane hook and the top of the sling, takes the full load in line, and shows the weight while the pick is off the ground. Because it sits in the load path, it is a below-the-hook lifting device under ASME B30.20, so it carries a rated capacity you never exceed and gets the same inspect-before-use discipline as any shackle or sling. Weigh the load, not the rig: if you want the force in one sling leg or a guy wire rather than the whole pick, that is a load cell, placed where the force runs, not a crane scale.
Economy or precision: pick by what the number has to survive. The two scales here split cleanly. The Vestil digital hook scales are the economy path, four capacities from 600 to 6,000 lb at $902 to about $1,040, right when you need a believable weight to balance a load or confirm you are under the crane's rating. The Straightpoint Miniweigher Plus is the precision end, Straightpoint's most popular scale worldwide, from 100 kg to 5 tonnes and reading to plus or minus 0.1 percent of full scale, starting around $3,469. The gap is not a prettier dial; it is whether the reading holds up when it feeds a bill, a stress calc, or a lift plan. If the weight is just for you, the Vestil is plenty. If someone downstream trusts the number, buy the accuracy.
Size the capacity and the resolution, not merely the top number. Two numbers matter when you buy. Capacity is the obvious one: pick a scale whose rated load clears your heaviest pick with margin, and never treat the rating as a target. Resolution, the smallest division the scale can show, is the one people skip. A 6,000 lb scale that steps in coarse increments is useless for weighing a light part, so match the range to the loads you actually put on it. The Miniweigher's six capacities exist for exactly this reason, a 100 kg unit resolves far finer than the 5 tonne, so buy the smallest capacity that still clears your load.
Legal for trade is a separate question. If the weight settles a transaction, anyone buying or selling material by weight, the scale has to be legal for trade, which in the US means NTEP certified and checked periodically by weights and measures. High accuracy on its own does not make a scale legal for trade; that is a certification, not a spec. The scales here are industrial instruments for lift planning, load balancing, and internal record keeping. If your weight has to hold up in a sale, confirm trade certification before you rely on it.
Wireless or read it off the scale. The Vestil shows its weight on the scale body, simple and self-contained, fine when you can see the face from a safe spot on the floor. The Miniweigher Plus is wireless, sending the reading to a handheld or remote display so the operator reads the load from well clear of it, which matters on a heavy or awkward pick. Whichever you run, keep clear of the suspended load and let the scale settle before you trust the number.
Frequently Asked Questions
A crane scale weighs a load while it hangs in the rig. It installs between the crane or hoist hook and the top of the sling, takes the whole load in line, and displays the weight so you can balance a pick, confirm you are under the crane's rating, or record a shipment weight before it moves.
The Vestil digital hook scales are the economy choice, 600 to 6,000 lb from about $902, for a believable working weight. The Straightpoint Miniweigher Plus is the precision choice, 100 kg to 5 tonnes reading to plus or minus 0.1 percent of full scale from around $3,469, wireless to a handheld display. Buy the Vestil when the number is for you; buy the Straightpoint when the number feeds a bill, a calculation, or a lift plan.
Legal for trade means NTEP certified and verified by weights and measures, which is required only when you buy or sell material by weight. These are industrial scales for lift planning, load balancing, and internal records. High accuracy is not the same as trade certification, so if your weight settles a transaction, confirm the specific unit is certified before relying on it.
Yes. A crane scale sits in the load path, which makes it a below-the-hook lifting device under ASME B30.20. It carries a rated capacity you never exceed and gets an inspection before use, the same discipline you apply to a shackle or sling, plus periodic accuracy checks so the reading stays trustworthy.
Pick a rated capacity that clears your heaviest pick with margin, and never treat the rating as a target. Then check resolution: a scale sized far above your loads shows coarse steps, so a lighter part reads poorly. The smallest capacity that still clears your heaviest load gives you the finest, most usable reading.