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Lasers! Thermometers?! Good?

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -0001 in EggHead Forum
Ok, shopping for thermometers as mine seems inaccurate. Question: is this one any good? The laserpointer idea appeals to me but will it work well for bbq?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B001G6ZIR2/bge-20
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Comments

  • Petunia
    Petunia Posts: 110
    Any laser thermometers I have seen before were used for surface temperatures. I don't see how it could give you an internal temp. Or are you just looking for a reading at the grid?
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  • uglydog
    uglydog Posts: 256
    Dover, the thermometer you cited is an infrared thermometer, which will only measure surface temperature. The laser is only an aiming device; the sensor on the thermometer measures the infrared energy released by the object it's pointed at. I have one very similar to the one you cited, and I use it to read the temperature of the platesetter, if I am cooking pancakes on it, or the pizza stone if I am baking.

    Of much more use for cooks is the Thermapen, which has a probe you insert into the food. This gives you a very quick reading of the internal temperature of your cook, which is the best way to judge doneness.The Thermapen probably has a fast reacting thermocouple inside the end of the probe tip, and electronics in the handle to translate that millivolt output into a degree reading.Get the thermapen first; the infrared thermometer is cool but of much less use for a cook.

    Uglydog
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    What do you intend to use it for? As has been stated, it is only for measuring the surface temperature of an object. You could use it to measure the surface temperature of a pizza stone, for example. That model has a fixed emissivity setting, so it won't give an accurate reading if you wanted to use it to measure the temperature of a shiny pan, for example. But for a simple IR thermometer, it is a good buy. It just depends on what you want to use it for.
    The Naked Whiz
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  • Weekend Warrior
    Weekend Warrior Posts: 1,702
    I've been looking at this one as an alternative to the Thermapen. Looks promising and infrared capability for about the same price.

    http://www.chefsresource.com/digital-super-fast-waterproof-dual-mode-thermometer-taylor.html
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,589
    its only good for surface temps and they are not too accurate going from one material to another. i use one at work and its good at finding hot spots more than finding an accurate temp reading and mine you can change settings for different materials
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    Let us know how you like it if you buy one. It does look nice.
    Darian
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    I got one for taking pizza stone temps. Has proven to be very useful around the house, finding places that don't have sufficient insulation and/or bad seals.
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    THey also have this one:

    http://www.chefsresource.com/digital-infrared-fast-dual-mode-thermometer-taylor-five-star.html

    for $15 less. A quick glance and the only thing I saw different was the fixed vs. adjustable emissivity.

    It's hard to believe the 1 second response time. I wonder if they really mean you have an accurate reading after only 1 second.
    The Naked Whiz
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Also, I used mine (a bit more fancy unit, albeit) to demonstrate that when the wife (yes, the wife who....) and I go outside in the winter to walk the dog, and she wears gloves and I don't, when get back inside, the surface temperature on her hands is 10 degrees lower than mine. It was worth the $200 just for that one reading, lol!
    The Naked Whiz
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    I don't buy the 1 second either.
    I guess you can say "response" might have multipe meanings. We are thinking time it takes to register true temp. They might mean 1 second to start reading a temp on the way to 5 more seconds to reach true temp.
    Who knows.
    Will stick to my Thermapens.
    darian
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    Funny...
    d
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,589
    mines pretty fast, its reading a lightbeam ;) not a slow responce like a therm with a linear style reading.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    I can believe the 1 sec for the IR reading, but having trouble believing the 1 sec for the thermocouple probe.
    The Naked Whiz
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,589
    didnt catch that, never seen one respond that fast unless its taking multiple repeated readings
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Ricklesss
    Ricklesss Posts: 391
    NakedWhiz,
    Man, that's weird, with the temperature of you and your wife's hands!
    I think you need to check the internal temp with the probe, before you jump to any assumptions though! :lol:
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Now, now.......
    The Naked Whiz
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