Wood Stove Thermometers

I am thinking about trying to find the best Thermometer as mine are getting old.
I think Condars are the best. So I think I will cut to the chase and just get me a Condar Wood Stove Thermometer. I have a infrared one but I like having the Condar on the stove top and one on the stovepipe.
I use the infra red one as a double check. Sanity Check.

I am ready Old Man winter come get me.

I will say I bought cheaper SBI thermometers last time and didnt like them. So I went back to my old ones
which are condars.

So many Condars now I got to figure out which one is the best.

Then find a sale on them.

PS. We need a smiley of a stove thermometer pegged to super hot reading. Maybe flames coming out the top.

 

Here is my infrared device. Best part about this one is its a good price and still measures over 1000 deg F. Most ones this price range only measures around 700 deg F.

http://www.amazon.com/Neiko-Infrared-Laser-Thermometer-Non-Contact/dp/B005K1N7F4/ref=sr_1_77?ie=UTF8&qid=1409928637&sr=8-77&keywords=infrared thermometer

Here is a good review on it.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Great deal with many features not normally found within this price range.
By yeri63on July 18, 2012
Verified Purchase
Now I must admit, I spent quite a few hours investigating the many models out there, debating long and hard which one to select. This model initially caught my eye, because of it's clean look and color scheme, easily fitting within a kitchen environment, small workshop or lab.

I wasn't sold completely though, since I could not find the exact features this model provided. As a result, I strongly considered some of the other brands, but wasn't crazy about the red or yellow and black color schemes available, screaming high tech test equipment. Despite my misgivings, I purchased it anyways, with the intent of seeking a refund if it didn't meet expectations. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

During my research of IR Thermometers I found a number of features that kept popping up, and so concluded that while not absolutely necessary, they could definitely increase it's functionality, allowing me use the thermometer in more scenarios. I ended up creating the following to help narrow down my choices.

List of Parameters for the Ideal IR Thermometer

- Powered by AA or AAA cells, as opposed to a 9 volt battery. The AA or AAA cells would provide more current, giving many more hours operating before having to replace the batteries.
- Adjustable Emissivity from 0.1 to 1.00. Allow the unit be used for measuring temperatures of more materials accurately than those units fixed at 0.95 or 9.97.
- Laser pointer to indicate where the temperature scan is taking place. Ideally, activate automatically every time a temperature scan is taking place.
- D:S ratio of at least 12:1. This refers to the Distance to Size ratio, where the size of the circle being measured gets larger the farther away from the sensor within the unit. Higher numbers are better. In this case, a D:S = 12:1 means that at 12cm, the size of the circle is only 1cm.
- Max, Min, Avg, and Diff readings. Even though the unit is great for displaying surface temperatures, it would be nice to be able to multiple readings during the same session and determine the Maximum, Minimum, Average or Difference between Max and Min. This saves having to calculate this manually, or hope that the last temperature scan was one of these values by happenstance.
- Hot ALarm and Cold ALarm settings. With these, the unit can inform you when either limit has been met or exceeded using an audible beep and/or indication on the display.

The Neiko IR Laser Aim Thermometer Gun hits pretty close to these ideal parameters. Those areas where it's falls short, and the reason for one less star in my rating include the following...

- Powered by a standard 9 volt battery. This means the run time is considerably shorter than the non 9 volt battery models. The workaround would be building a small 9 volt battery eliminator running off of a couple of AAA or AA batteries. The resulting circuit would have to be no bigger than a 9 volt battery to still fit within the handle.
- The laser pointer requires a button press to activate. Fortunately, the laser remains on for the current power session.
- D:S = 10:1. The Distance to Size ratio is less than ideal, but still pretty good. At a distance of 10cm, the size of the area being scanned is only 1cm.
- No Differential temperature readings. Those would have to be calculated manually if required.
- The Hot and Cold ALarms do not generate an audible alarm, but do show an indication on the LCD screen that a limit has been met or exceeded.

Despite these shortcomings, this still is a great IR Thermometer, well surpassing the feature set of other brands costing up to 4 times more!

To same you some valuable time if you find yourself in the same shoes comparison shopping, here's the Quick Start Instructions (describing the feature set) and Specifications from the Instruction Manual which ships with the unit.

Quick Start Instructions

1. Press battery door clip, and install the battery. Pull the trigger, and the LCD will display the reading and battery icon. Release the trigger and the reading will hold for 7 seconds.
2. Locating a hot spot, aim the thermometer outside the area of interest, then scan across with up and down motions until you locate the hot spot (turn on the laser to assist with accurate measuring).
3. Buttons/Switches
a) Trigger switch - Press to turn on, and then display the test result. It will hold data 7 seconds automatically after releasing the trigger switch, and turn off automatically after 10 seconds with no activity.
b) Laser Pointer button - Press it to turn on the laser pointer. Press again to turn off.
c) Back light / Up button - In "Alarm Temperature" and "Setting Emissivity" mode, use to raise the value up one digit. Otherwise, use to turn on the back light while the trigger switch is held. Press again to turn off.
d) Mode button - Press MODE button to cycle options (MAX, AVG, MIN, HAL, LAL modes).
MAX - Measure maximum temperature within the current data.
MIN - Measure minimum temperature within the current data.
AVG - Calculate the average of all measured data.
HAL - Alarm of high temperature. While in HAL mode, press the UP or DOWN buttons to set the alarm temp. The LCD display will display an "H" when this alarm temperature has been exceeded.
LAL - Alarm of low temperature. While in LAL mode, press the UP or DOWN buttons to set the alarm temp. The LCD display will display an "L" when this alarm temperature has been exceeded.
e) T/DN button - In "Alarm Temperature" and "Setting Emissivity" mode, used to adjust the value down. Otherwise, used to select C or F temperature scale.
f) SET button - Press to set emissivity. Then press "UP" or "DN" buttons to adjust from 0.1 to 1.0. Press the SET button again to exit this mode.

Specifications

Temperature range: -30 to 550C (-22 to 1022F)
Accuracy: +/- 3C or +/-3% of reading -30 to 0C (-22 to 32F)
+/- 2C or +/-2% of reading 0 to 100C (32 to 212F)
+/- 3C or +/-3% of reading > 100C (212F)
Display spot size: 10:1
Repeatability: 1% of reading or +/- 1C
Response Time: 500ms
Spectral Response: 8-14um
Emissivity: 0.1 - 1.0 adjustable
Relative Humidity: 10-95% RH non-condensing
Operating Temperature: 0 to 60C (32 to 140F)
Storage Temperature: -20 to 60C (-4 to 140F) without battery
Power Supply: 9V 6F22 battery
Battery Life: 12 hours
Product Size: 165 x 80 x 41mm
Product Weight: 155g (without battery)

 

Here is another good deal on an infrared thermo that goes over 1000 deg f.
I dont have any experience with this one. It has free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products...937645&sr=8-9&keywords=wood+stove+thermometer

 

I bought this condar last year for the stove top, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SC323K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Much better than the Rutlands , still have one of those on the pipe, but I know It's 100 degrees off so it works out
I check things out sometimes with IR

 

I use condar here, works well on the stovepipe for me
This will also be a testing kind of year with a new stove
on the hearth.

 

Here's the one I have and it's seems to be good.
https://www.lehmans.com/p-3086-magnetic-stovepipe-thermometer.aspx

 

I have been considering one of these
Thermometer for Stove Pipe, Chimney, Optional Remote Alarm
Starting at: $65.95

 

It looks awful familiar to the Condars, I wonder if they produce their own or contract it out?

 

I almost put that in my post IS, I'm guessing they are made by someone else because as far as I know Lehmans does not manufacture their own products although they have a lot of nice stuff.

 

I got one of those last year with a probe for my cat. Works great and you can see it from across the room.

 

When I saw that one, I thought 'Re-badged Condar.'

 

I think I jinxed myself, my probe seems to be messed up, its reading all over the place. I wiggle the wire and it jumps up and down hundreds of degrees.

 

How old is your probe Todd? With what your telling us, it sounds like it's not in good shape. Have you burned with it yet this year?

 

No bends or kinks. I ran it all of last season with no problems. I'll probably just go back to monitoring flue and stove top temps and use the thermocouple with different probe for beer brewing.