What The Two Digits Mean
The first digit describes protection against solids and the second against water. In weighing equipment the first digit is almost always 6, meaning dust tight. The second digit is where the decision lies: 5 covers water jets, 7 covers temporary immersion and 8 covers continuous immersion under conditions the manufacturer defines.
Pick The Rating From The Cleaning Routine
Ask how the area is cleaned, not how wet it looks. A bench that is wiped and occasionally rinsed is an IP65 or IP67 job. A hall where every surface is hosed at the end of the shift is an IP68 job. Buying IP65 for a hose down area is the most common reason a scale dies in its first season.
Where The Water Actually Gets In
Failures start at the keypad, the cable gland and the load cell seal, not through the housing wall. That is why the IP68 models in this range are specified as a system: stainless steel housing, waterproof rubber keypad, all sealed PCB design and a complete sealed design with a ventilated ring for the load cell.
Super-SS IP68 stainless steel platform scale →
Ratings Across This Catalogue
Aluminium single point load cells are rated IP65. The SQB shear beam family is IP67 from 0.25 t to 0.75 t and IP68 from 1 t to 10 t. The DEE and DEF S type cells are IP65 up to 1000 kg and IP68 above. The ZSF column family is IP68 throughout. On finished scales, the S29 is an IP67 stainless bench scale and the Super-SS is the IP68 washdown model.
S29 IP67 stainless steel platform scale →
Material Matters As Much As Rating
An IP68 alloy steel cell keeps water out but still corrodes on the outside in a salt environment. In seafood, brine and chemical areas specify stainless steel construction as well as the protection rating. The B8D shear beam and BM14C column cell are the stainless options in this catalogue.
Practical Habits That Extend Life
Do not aim a pressure jet directly at a cable entry, leave scales powered where condensation is a risk so the electronics stay above dew point, and rinse salt off stainless surfaces rather than letting it dry on. None of this is in the rating, and all of it decides how long the scale lasts.
