infrared thermometer

[angelo c]

So as usual I bought the cheap a55 Harbor Fright version thinking "well the others MUST be so much more expensive." heck I don't use it THAT much ( case separating, bearing R&R ect..)
and as usual that one crapped out quicker then I can say "price is what you pay, value is what stays "
so I googled up "best non contact thermometers" and quite a few came up that were similar priced to the cheap a55 HF one....ordered one from Amazon yesterday and "prime" shipped it to me this morning all for less then the HF one...its an EtekCity 1080 which is supposed to be good till like 800* F

case splitting again soon.. !!!

 

[PA Dan]

So as usual I bought the cheap a55 Harbor Fright version thinking "well the others MUST be so much more expensive." heck I don't use it THAT much ( case separating, bearing R&R ect..)
and as usual that one crapped out quicker then I can say "price is what you pay, value is what stays "
so I googled up "best non contact thermometers" and quite a few came up that were similar priced to the cheap a55 HF one....ordered on from Amazon yesterday and "prime" shipped it to me this morning all for less then the HF one...its an EtekCity 1080 which is supposed to be good till like 800* F

case splitting again soon.. !!!

Have been thinking about one of those for a lot of reasons! Mainly bearing install and checking temp of mufflers and my wood burner! Let us know how it does!

 

[Manofstihl661]

Just bought one today from tractor supply for $15

 

[angelo c]

Just bought one today from tractor supply for $15

this one was $18 delivered next day to muh door and was good to a few hunnerd more degrees...incase I ever finish the pizza oven of my back yard dreams.

 

[Manofstihl661]

this one was $18 delivered next day to muh door and was good to a few hunnerd more degrees...incase I ever finish the pizza oven of my back yard dreams.

Nice. I hope mine holds up. I've been wanting one for some time so it was an impulse buy. Seems to work decent for now

 

[Wilhelm]

eBay, ~10$ + free shipping, runs on two AAA batteries, features max temp, hold, laser pointer, backlit screen.
Has a nice soft touch surface finish.
So far a good buy from my point of view.


Maybe worth a consideration.

 

[Derf]

The big difference in price point seems to be the spot size that these measure. If you're only holding it up 12" from what you're measuring they are all pretty accurate, but if you're pointing it at a 3"x6" ceiling vent in a cathedral ceiling 20" over head to see what temp the AC is blowing, you want a small spot size to make sure it's measuring just the vent and not the ceiling as well. I think normal "cheap" ones have like a 12 degree beam, better ones have an 8 degree of spread. The best one i've seen has a 2 degree beam.

Most of the other functions are pretty much the same across the board. AliExpress has some good deals too if you can wait for slow shipping from China.

 

[GPX433Todd]

I have a Milwaukee one. $49.95 on clearance outta MSC. It's a 1:12 distance ratio. I love it. Works great.

 

[Manofstihl661]

 

[Wilhelm]

I forgot there is a sticker on the other side as well...

 

[Manofstihl661]

I forgot there is a sticker on the other side as well...
View attachment 60507

Looks like ours may be different brand but same instrument

 

[Wilhelm]

Looks like ours may be different brand but same instrument

Yours seems to have a narrower temperature range, -50°C to +380°C - if Google converted that correctly.

But other than that, yes the units look identical disregarding the plastic color and stickers.

How is Yours holding up, are You satisfied with it?
Mine works perfectly fine, I compared it to classic thermometers that go up to 100°C and it seems to measure similar temps +/-3°C. It tends to show a couple degree less than a physical thermometer.

It is an interesting gadget, just today I checked a 3/5th defective (only two of the five LED rows are glowing) 50 Watt reflector LED chip not being mounted to the aluminum reflector body, in under a minute of run time the chip exceeded 200°C and started smoking - needless to say that I "pulled the plug" out of the wall socket.

 

[Manofstihl661]

I just got it yesterday but so far it seems to be accurate enough. I haven't had a chance to really make it work too hard

 

[Wilhelm]

Is Yours turning off too fast?

Mine turns off within like 10 seconds of inactivity, that is the only thing that bothers me a little.
Though I do realize it helps preserve battery power, and it actually "boots" fairly quick , 2-3 seconds - so it's not that much of an issue.

 

[Manofstihl661]

Is Yours turning off too fast?

Mine turns off within like 10 seconds of inactivity, that is the only thing that brothers me a little.
Though I do realize it helps preserve battery power, and it actually "boots" fairly quick , 2-3 seconds - so it's not that much of an issue.

Yes it does go off pretty quick I noticed. But like you said it comes on quick again

 

[Grimmy]

eBay, ~10$ + free shipping, runs on two AAA batteries, features max temp, hold, laser pointer, backlit screen.
Has a nice soft touch surface finish.
So far a good buy from my point of view.
View attachment 60354 View attachment 60355 View attachment 60356

Maybe worth a consideration.

No way is that accurate. It looks like you are measuring a flashlite, and it almost 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the plastic would have melted.

 

[Wilhelm]

No way is that accurate. It looks like you are measuring a flashlite, and it almost 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the plastic would have melted.

It is a halogen 40Watt 220Volt light bulb, not a flash light!
And YES it gets extremely hot which is why no plastic is in direct contact with the bulb.

I got a SMD LED chip up to 220°C not being mounted to the spotlight aluminum body - I pulled the wall socket plug once it actually started smoking!
I am considering to intentionally burn the already partially defective LED just to see how hot it will get and how long it will sustain the heat before burning out - but I should do that outside, not in the house.

I have no reasons to make things up!
I compared the temp gun readings to readings from physical thermometers and got negligible deviations at temps up to ~100°C (boiling water).
I have no way to check accuracy at higher temps!