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My Bluetooth Scale says the bottle/item is empty

How to troubleshoot if you place a partial item on the scale and is displays as empty

Nick Neale avatar
Written by Nick Neale
Updated over a week ago

Article Contents

Introduction

If you place an item on the Bluetooth scale and there is something inside, but the WISK app says it is empty, there are a few reasons why this may be the case:

  1. The density of the liquid

  2. Wrong item weight

  3. Weighing a different item than what was scanned

  4. Scale may not be on flat and level surface

Liquid Density

If the item doesn't have an empty weight on file, WISK uses the full weight of the item and the density rating of the item's category to calculate how much liquid remains.

For some types of alcohol (mainly liqueurs), this density rating can vary.

Note: You can view densities on the Families & Categories page of the WISK Web Portal.

The Families and Categories page shows the Density of each category

To get a more accurate measurement (particularly with items in the “Liqueur and Cream” category), you can either:

  1. Add a custom density to the item or

  2. add an empty weight to the item

Add a Custom Density

By default, the density of the item is based on its category. However, you can add a custom density to an item to get a more accurate measurement.

Note: You can only set this on the WISK Web Portal. This feature will be available on iOS in a future app update.

For example, lets say we are weighing a near empty bottle of Kahlua. Kahlua has a specific gravity / density of 1.15, but the Liqueur and Cream category in WISK is 1.06.

To add a custom density:

  1. Place your cursor over the item and click the pencil icon

    An arrow points to the edit button

  2. Scroll down to view the "Custom Density" field. By default it populates with the density from the selected family and category

    The "Custom density" field is highlighted for emphasis

    Note: If you change an item's category the custom density updates automatically to match the category

  3. Enter a custom density. In this example we put 1.15

    The custom density has been set

Now when you weigh the item it uses the custom density to estimate the empty weight and calculate how much remains.

In the example below, when the density was 1.06 it said the bottle of Kahlua was empty. When the density was updated to 1.15 it shows that just under an oz remains in the bottle.

Add an Empty Weight

By adding an empty weight you can get the most accurate measurement.

With a full and empty weight on file, it uses those values to calculate how much remains in the item. The density rating for the category or item is ignored.

To get an empty weight we recommend waiting until you have an empty bottle of the item. In the meantime you can use the custom density as outlined above.

To add an empty weight after scanning an item:

  1. Tap "Empty Weights" under the item

    An arrow points to "Empty weights" under the item image.

  2. Tap "Add weight"

    An arrow points to the "Add weight" button.

  3. Select the unit of measurement and enter the empty weight of the item. Tap "Done"

    The weight of the empty item has been entered and the "Done" button is highlighted for emphasis.

  4. The empty weight is added. Tap the back arrow to return to the item

    An arrow points to the back button.

  5. The empty weight displays under the item and you can re-weigh the partial item

    The empty weight now displays under the item image.

Wrong Item Weight

It’s possible the full weight of the item on file may be inaccurate. Item weights can change over time due to redesigns in packaging.

If you have a full bottle of the item on hand, place it on the scale and compare it to the full weight on file. If there is a large variance, you can delete the inaccurate weight.

Note: It's possible to have more than one full weight on file. In that case, it uses an average of the full weights to calculate how much remains.

To add a new full bottle weight after scanning a bottle:

  1. Tap the full weight that displays beneath the item

    An arrow points to the Full weight under the item image.

  2. Swipe the incorrect full weight to the left and tap "Delete"

    An arrow gestures to swipe left on the "Full weights" screen and then an arrow points to the "Delete" button.

  3. Tap Add Weight

    An arrow points to the "Add weight" button.

  4. Enter the full item weight in grams / kg / lbs / or Oz and tap "Done"

    The weight has been entered in grams and the "Done" button is highlighted for emphasis.

  5. The full weight is added. Tap the back arrow to return to the item

    An arrow points to the back button.

  6. The new full weight displays under the item and you can reweigh the partial item

    The new empty weight displays under the item.

Weighing the Wrong Item

Pay close attention to the volume of the item displaying in the app. For example, if you have called up a 1.75L bottle of Jameson, and you have placed a 750ml bottle on the scale, you won't get an accurate measurement.

This is most likely to occur when using the "List View" while taking inventory because you aren't scanning the item's barcode. 

Always check the volume of the item that displays when entering your counts.

Scale Use

Whenever you're using the scale, make sure you're using these best practices:

  • the scale is on a flat and level surface

  • zero the scale (press the tare button if it displays anything other than 0g if nothing is on the scale)

Related Articles
How does WISK know how much liquid remains in an item?
How to Add/Remove an Item Weight
My Bluetooth Scale/App doesn’t match the amount remaining in the item
Spouts (for Volume-Based Items)
Containers (for Weight-Based Items)
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