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Posted by jfmoore on November 22, 2002 at 15:48:25:
In Reply to: Infared temperature gun....advise? posted by Laci on November 21, 2002 at 22:54:23:
I have the Cooper Food Safety Infrared Thermometer, the one that LLLReptile is selling on closeout right now for $99.95 as “Slim Line Infrared Temperature Gun”. Its temperature range is –25 to 400 degrees F; its accuracy for targets between 32 to 150 deg F is +/- 2 deg F; above 150 and below 32, accuracy is slightly worse.
The temp gun that Pro Exotics sells for $75 appears to be the same one that Radio Shack sells as Model 22-325 for $49.95 (on sale at some of their stores right now for $29.99 – such a deal!). I don’t think it has the useful laser-sighting feature, however. Its range is 0 to 400 deg F; its accuracy is +/- 4 deg F or +/- 2.5% of reading, whichever is greater.
Raytek makes great temp guns, most of them way too pricey for me, but some herp supply places carry their low-end models (check out the Bean Farm - $79/$99 models).
You asked: “when you use them, are you going to get a higher reading than you would if you used regular thermometers?” Well, you won't be determining the same thing. This type of thermometer measures the amount of infrared energy an object emits. So, you’re measuring the SURFACE temperature of objects, not the ambient air temperature.
So, in practice how useful are these things? For me, this is one of those toys (like the TIVO digital video recorder) that I can’t imagine not having now, and want to proselytize about at every opportunity (you fellow TIVO devotees will get my analogy). Because the readout is essentially instantaneous (well, ½ second), I use it constantly to check snake and cage temperatures. It can be a revelation how cold the back of a cage on the floor against an outside wall can be this time of year. Its pretty interesting, as well, to find a female sand boa which just ate, cooking at 90+ degrees over a hot spot while a male in the same cage has chosen a 80 degree location to rest. I was interested to find that my Pro Products heat panels reached 170 degrees at full power. The Radio Shack web site lists a lot of non-herp uses for these temp guns, but I’ll stop now.
I seriously doubt you would regret buying any one of these infrared thermometers.
-jfm
:I am considering getting an infared temperature gun. I have seen LLLReptile's Pocket gun, for $45.95, and their Slimline for $99, and Radio Shack has one for $49.99, and I know there is another brand out there that has $79 and $99 models, but I can't remember who carries them. Anyway, can anyone recommend one in particular, or are they all about equal? I notice that all of them claim to be very accurate. And also, when you use them, are you going to get a higher reading than you would if you used regular themometers, and placed them an inch above the floor level, as I've seen recommended? And is this normal, or do we have to take this into account, and expect a slightly higher temperature, and it's okay? Anyway, any help would be appreciated.
