What are you using for an ir temp prode? I am looking for makes and models of units any of you have had good luck with. I do not want to break the bank either. Thanks Erik B
I like this one. Truthfully its the only one ive ever owned and dont know how expensive it is because my wife purchased it for me for Christmas 4-5 years ago. Im pretty sure its below $50 canadian. The next year I got one for my dad who lives on Vancouver island and does not burn but liked the toy. I thought it would be fun for him to see how hot the pavement was in the summer when he walks the corgi, how cool his walls are etc. I gave it to him at Christmas one year when him and mom came out to the Rockies to visit me and the fam. We ran around lazering things with both of them side by side and they were surprisingly accurate. I love IR thermometers. One day we were on the phone together and I asked him to shoot the dwindling snow pile next to his driveway and I did the same (mine not dwindling). In case you dont know Vancouver Island they typically get two snow days a year if at all. My snow pile was -8 c and his was right around 0 c. Who would have thought. I work the poop out of mine and think its awesome.
Mine was an expensive one from many years ago. It works great, but I've got a feeling even cheap ones work well now.
Menards has a similar one to that, that I use. All grey around $10. Works great. Also check about parts stores or Harbor Freight. I also used it a lot to figure out areas in the walls and ceiling that were poorly insulated . Added bonus is that our smallest dog loves to chase the red dot?
I tried the dot with the dog thing but it didnt take long for Tundra (avatar) to get bored of it. I like the ir because I can check the temperature of what ever I want. Whats the pipe at? how hot is the stove at the collar? how hot are the walls behind the stove? How cold are the splits I brought in from the cold? etc, etc
Sean Thanks for the info. Looked it up on line and it seems to be available from Voit located in Champaign, Il for less than 40 which includes shipping. Good to hear there are good ones for the occasional user at that price point.
They are all close enough. The biggest difference being top and bottom range. I just got a cheap one from HF centech 69465. It reads -36 to 968F. For $20 I won't complain. The fluke or klien models go to much higher temps, and may have tighter tolerance, but within 2* is close enough for me.
One big variable is te area that is being measured. The measured area is a cone shape starting at the sensor. Some IRs have a much wider area that they are measuring than others and that can make it harder to get a decent measurement.
I bought this 1 several years ago. http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lase...1448808068&sr=8-1&keywords=ir+gun+thermometer Works fine for me.
They also are great at finding window jambs that weren't insulated, leaky door gaskets and how poorly the sill plate was built on your house.
I have the royobi model at work. It gives the min and max temps seen in the area being measured in little numbers. The big number is the average
Thanks for all of the replies to my question. I put one on my wish list for my boys to get one for me for Christmas. Good to hear it can be used on a multitude of different jobs. Erik B
