IR temperature gun (whats the best one?)

[Threepoint]

I have one made by Fluke. It is fantastic. It is rated for 3 meter drop test. I haven't ever dropped it 3 meters, but it has survived dozens of drops.

Would be interesting to use your Fluke to test accuracy on some of the inexpensive versions sold at HF, Northern, Princess Auto, etc.

 

[4570Man]

Would be interesting to use your Fluke to test accuracy on some of the inexpensive versions sold at HF, Northern, Princess Auto, etc.

My Fluke wasn't super expensive at about $100. Anyone want to send me a cheap one to test?

 

[oldpilgrim]

i found the one i got. it was 29 bucks on sale when i got it. it does what i need.

Ironton Infrared Thermometer | Vehicle Monitoring| Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[BukitCase]

Next time I'm using mine, I'll compare the $100 fluke to the 1 and 2 button HF's - on a few different surfaces/temps.

What I'd really like (but not enough to wanna pay for it) is one of the Fluke recording infra-red CAMERAS - we had one at work, but they were watching it too close IIRC, it was around $1800.

If I ever get bored, I may look into the menus on my Nikon - seems like I remember seeing something about IR photograpy, and it'll do short movies - if that works, it'll give me an excuse to spend that $1800 I "saved" on another shop toy ...Steve

 

[DFB]

We talked about these quite extensively in the past and both Raytek and HF units are pretty popular.

Fluke..big name.

Using them as general diagnostic tool most all work fairly well comparing things like wheel bearing temps or heat zones, locating air infiltration etc

I've tried a few different ones a lot depends on how critical an accuracy across the range your using it at you can be satisfied with. I have a really cheap one that reads good at general room temperatures but found out it is quite a bit off at 32 degrees the temp we set for the apple coolers at work.

I have had this CEM 30:1 for a few years now had gotten a really decent price on Amazon. I really like the long optical ratio and there is a multitude of other features like the adjustable emissivity, averaging etc. and I have always been really happy with it but I want to keep at home it for reading my radiant heat lines etc.

And at first I thought it could be good to share the same battery platform as my Milwaukee 12V tools for one but no way I could I justify the price. (FYI here there have been some closeouts available as of late on certain AA battery powered models some for as little as $30 as the old line is being replaced with new models.)


So I still needed something for on the job double checking all the refrigeration units plus the display cooler against all the varying cheap thermometers they always have around and to have accurate readings for our GAP records and I was leaning towards an Amprobe seems a lot of technical supply places sell them and in my search I discovered that UNI-T one of my personal favorites for electronics is what it really is.


Long story short I tried the very least expensive UT300C and found it good. Very accurate across the entire range and matches up with the CEM on everything I tested from oven temps to freezer and the price is really great. I got two now and they were both shipped direct from China too :laughing:


Amazon reviews are usually all over the board on these things seems a lot of people really don't understand the limits or how to correctly use them

 

[Redneck in training]

I bought IR gun at autoparts store for about 16 USD. Have it several years. It doesn't have adjustable or automatic emissivity so I either spray black paint on the surface or put black electrical tape on it. There are several outfits that will convert your digital camera to IR for about 100-450 usd. Infrared Camera Conversion Service - Digital to IR Conversion

 

[Sodo]

Ok so none of them measure distance. Dang that would make a handy device. I picked one with a 16:1 ratio for $25 on Amazon.

 

[dragoneggs]

IMO one does not need to spend a bunch of money on one of these things unless you are doing some special work. More importantly understand the distance to size of measurement area. This is where your accuracy comes. I have measured fairly inexpensive models using a thermocouple to prove them out. This also helps to understand how they are reading.

 

[newbury]

IMO one does not need to spend a bunch of money on one of these things unless you are doing some special work. More importantly understand the distance to size of measurement area. This is where your accuracy comes. I have measured fairly inexpensive models using a thermocouple to prove them out. This also helps to understand how they are reading.

I've seen prices lately for $16 for an off name brand. Each of my $19 HF units gets tested against a water/ice and boiling water (at about sea level) and comparison with other thermometers and they seem accurate.

 

[MHarryE]

I have several HF units, cheap, can leave in machines to check bearing temps. I also have an 8 channel recorder with thermocouples that I can record data for days. Accuracy outstanding but not instantaneous; however, the HF are not far off in most things. If accuracy was important I would ditch the HF but if a bearing that has been running at 90 jumps to 150, I'm going to find it before it sets the machine on fire.