So I was at harbor freight and they had a laser temp gauge, 35 bucks not a bad deal. I have ran the stove off the stack temp, 500-575 . Fired the stove up and got up to temp, 500 on the stack, did a check with the laser 280 can a magnetic gauge be that far off ??
All infrared gauges are not equal,and they also do not read properly depending on type and color of paint on the pipe.The little spring ones are easy to check in oven.
Oh yes they sure can especially if it is a Rutland , if you want an accurate , stove top or flue thermometer buy a condar thermometer, both of mine are right on. http://www.condar.com/Stovepipe_Thermometers.html http://www.condar.com/Stovetop_Thermometers.html http://www.condar.com/Probe_Thermometers.html
Very true. The emissivity setting and distance can make a difference. Checking the spring type in an oven doesn't always work well.
I have had great results with the Condar magnetics but then again I have read in the past where different brands have been up to 200+ deg off. Mine are 5-6 years old now and they read 60-80 deg. to the high side vs spot on when new so possible they do get heat stressed ???(no thanks to me making them slide down the pipe a couple times) I have some good usable stuff from HF but then again I don't know how much faith I would put in their electronics so it could be possible you are getting wrong readings from both to make such a spread.
I have 2 IR guns a general tools one from Lowes, and a Can-Tech from harbor freight and they both read the same http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contact-infrared-thermometer-with-laser-targeting-69465-8905.html
Thanks for all the good info, whats the best way to tell if its not calibrated correct? Someone said oven wont be correct .
Thermometers are thermometers, plain and simple, there is no real calibration, the calibration they speak of is what's marked on the face of the thermometer, stove top thermometer, single wall pipe tthermometer, probe thermometer, or whatever. I can switch my magnetic mount thermometers, one designated for single wall pipe, the other designated for stove top, they will read the same temp in the different position
I have a condor..its about 50 degrees off untill it starts getting up to around 550 or so then it begins to read a little better..
My temp gun has been very accurate up to a month or so ago. I no longer have a stove top thermometer, but I can tell when the gun is off by a few hundred degrees by the feel of the heat output. At first I thought it was the battery because when I changed it, it seemed to work better. It was still giving me weird readings at times though. This morning on a fresh load I checked the ST temp and it read 350. I could tell it was way over 350 just by the feel of the heat. Went around the house and shot it at 4 digital thermometers and it was reading all over the place. Stuck my finger in the big hole and could feel something jiggling around in there. Took it apart and the lens had fallen off the tube sensor whatever it is thing inside. Fixed it and it works fine now. These things are really easy to take apart and put back together, not much to them. Just wanted to give a heads up that they can't always be trusted and to test them regularly. Here's the one I have. http://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Tempera...id=1423753332&sr=8-1&keywords=temperature+gun
I believe on the IR guns. Using ours, the most I've seen the temperature off is 20 degrees. Not enough to be concerned with. I also do not look at them as being exact but you surely can use them enough to make good judgements or decisions. We have 2 thermometers, one on stove top and one on flue. Both of these are into their 8th year and still very good. These are the thermometers from Woodstock. http://store.woodstove.com/product.php?productid=16283&cat=298&page=1
