Towel to the Rescue
Each week we sort meat to orders. As I sort I weigh up the packages for invoicing customers. The packages of meat are extra cold, super chilled to about 27°F to 30°F. Meat doesn’t freeze until it gets below 25°F. Keeping meat at a low temperature maximizes quality because it stops all bacterial growth so there is no spoilage.
But there is a downside, in the middle of the summer the air is humid so condensation can quickly form on the package. The condensation can cause the labels to run or bleed a small amount which doesn’t look good.
There are several solutions to this problem. The simplest is I put a rag on the scale and set the packages of meat on the rag. I tare the scale before hand so any accumulated water weight is accounted for. Periodically I change towels as needed. This has helped a lot and is a temporary fix. We have also started using towels like this on top of the packaged meat as it gets racked in iCutter before it gets put back in the coolers.
I have two more solutions to the label ink bleeding which attack the deeper problem – topics for other posts in a month or two once I have they’re fully tested.
Outdoors: 60°F/78°F Sunny, Light Rain
Tiny Cottage: 65°F/70°F
Daily Spark: Procrastinators procrastinate because they’re optimists.
Walter Jeffries Tinker, Tailor… A bit eclectic & a tad eccentric, polymath, quantum mechanic & Farmer. Also lucky at cards.
How does it help to tar the scale? – John with a smile
No. Taring the scale does nothing to protect the labels. I always tar the scale for accurate weights. Different issue.
I’m trying to figure out if you are serious or not. I suspect not, because you didn’t fix it, but I know you well enough to suspect you might be having a bit of fun at the expense of those of us who are a bit more pedantic than others. The word tare doesn’t have a verb form, it’s an adjective. ‘Tare weight,’ for example.
Now, I do happen to know that a lot of people who use scales for a living use it as a verb, and that’s fine, but if you want to go that way, it needs an ‘e’ after ‘tar.’
-grin-
*grin* Fixed! Thanks for spotting the tar.
I think “tare” is to set the weight of the scale to zero and “tar” is to apply a coat of substance (usually petroleum based) in order to waterproof or seal an item. Have I missed your humor?
Got it! Thanks. Fixed.
I think you mean “tare”… Unless of course your scale is on a hot roof? :)
Thanks for spotting that! Fixed!
Double check me on this but I think you mean tare not tar
Right you are. Fixed!
Do you feather it too? (tare)
Sounds like April 1st material!
Perhaps one of the other Jefferies will see this and make appropriate arrangements for next year. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of any of the rest of the family pranking Walter…