large outdoor analog Thermometer recommendations please

[goeduck]

They have them in places like Wal-Mart and the big box stores...unfortunately most of them display different temps while sitting along side each other on the shelves...

Barometers in stores reading wildly different numbers is what amazes me.

As far as my outdoor temperature goes, there is a weather station down the beach a bit so I have that page up all the time and just refresh on my phone. Has wind speed and direction too which I watch a lot during bad weather.

 

[teejk]

Well I gave up on trying to find an accurate ~12" thermometer. All the reviews indicated most had inaccuracies. So I just lined up a bunch of Acurites at Walmart and picked 2 that had the same temp and matched their little $1.50 "alcohol" thermometers (which all read the same), plus I bought one of the alcohol thermometers. The ones I lined up varied by 6 degrees.

Checking with other thermometers they seem to be spot on. I expect the alcohol thermometers will be accurate for their lifetime. But they are too small to put 20 feet away and read. So for the extra $1.50 I can check them easily when in doubt.

I forgot to mention that I was kidding about the "averaging" part. We went through a few that were just terrible. The 12.5" AccuRite seems to be pretty good although even their web-site says accurate to +/- 4 F at <0F (gets better as it gets warmer but still not zero tolerance).

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's kind of funny, because the expectation of "Digital" readouts is that somehow they are just more accurate, and this just isn't the case. Especially when it's an analogue to Digital circuit.

I have been looking at these remote, multiple zone, thermometers. It's all just your typical marketing BS for the dumbed down consumer. More information on the color of the case, grey, silver, black, and no indication of accuracy! Discouraging!

 

[/pine]

It's kind of funny, because the expectation of "Digital" readouts is that somehow they are just more accurate, and this just isn't the case. Especially when it's an analogue to Digital circuit.

I have been looking at these remote, multiple zone, thermometers. It's all just your typical marketing BS for the dumbed down consumer. More information on the color of the case, grey, silver, black, and no indication of accuracy! Discouraging!

The advantage of most of the digital stations is that you can calibrate (adjust) the temperatures...I used a lab thermometer (mercury) to calibrate my station...

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's not just about accuracy at a given temperature. It also encompasses linearity which might be a bigger issue.

 

[newbury]

Just bringing this up again because
(1) It's been warm. I'm getting readings of 94 degrees Farenheit INSIDE my shop. Very slowly cooling to 88 overnight.
(2) I ran across a pic I took of two of the large outdoor analog thermometers made by Acurite in Walmart.

Would you like it to be 72 or 76?

One or both are wrong. This is when I compared them to alcohol thermometers. That were another aisle away

It amazes me that these actually sell to the public. What does Mr or Mrs Dumbdum do ? "Let's see, I'd like it too be warm, I'll pick the one with the highest reading."

Or does everyone do what I do and find a reference thermometer and Walmart eventually throws the "bad ones" away?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

 

[plowhog]

A man with a watch knows the time. A man with two watches is never sure.

 

[ArlyA]

We have a larger dial type thermometer that's adjustable. Might be 10" across. I brought it off of Amazon because it got good reviews and it was adjustable. Of course it needed some adjustment before it was installed and I suppose wouldn't stay correct forever. Maybe overnight?:laughing:

 

[TnAndy]

They have them in places like Wal-Mart and the big box stores...unfortunately most of them display different temps while sitting along side each other on the shelves...

Yeah....I got two of them. A low reading one for summer and a high reading one for winter.

And people say you can't do anything about the weather.......