Recommendations for IR gun

[janice_m14]

Hi, friends! (Whenever I’m trying to learn something, I tell my husband, “let me see what my Hearth.com friends have to say,” and I search for all your wisdom.)

I’ve searched out here for IR thermometer recommendations, but most of what I see is just to get one. Can anyone recommend specific models? Google returns so many results, and I have no basis to judge.

I’ve been getting the hang of my new Kuma Ashwood, and I think all is going really well. I’d just like an IR thermometer to confirm temps. (Plus they sound fun!)

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

 

[stoveliker]

I have a cheap one.
What's important is what the lowest temperature is that it can measure. The lower the more expensive the thing is, generally. Different classes though, so a cheap one with a low limit may be less than an expensive model with a higher minimum temperature.

I have a simple etekcity laser grip 1080.for $20. It works great. Just for fun. For serious measurements I would not trust this thing. The absolute scale may be off by 5 degrees or so. That's fine with me.

It goes from -58 F to 1130 F. Sufficient for my use. You can even go outside and measure wall temps of your home when it's freezing, to see where heat losses are largest. (It's not an infrared camera, but I did get some useful measurements this way )

 

[kborndale]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DMI62HM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I bought this one in 2017 and it has worked flawlessly. It's range is -58 to 1382.

 

[MongoMongoson]

I use the cheap one from Harbor Freight and it works just fine for the stove top. It has been dropped on concrete several times, and it keeps going.

I almost never use it now. The stove pipe probe is a better measurement.

They all have limitations. You get the most accurate reading from a flat black surface. Back when I had a highly radiant stove, I could point the gun at the shiny sheet metal wall protector and read 600+ degrees even though the sheet metal was cool to the touch. It was actually measuring the stove temp.

Just be aware of that when you are reading temperatures on more reflective surfaces.

 

[begreen]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DMI62HM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I bought this one in 2017 and it has worked flawlessly. It's range is -58 to 1382.

That's the same unit I have been using for several years.

 

[janice_m14]

Thanks, folks. I'll get the one from the amazon link--appreciate your input!

 

[fao1989]

Follow up - same subject.
When you shoot an IR gun at a fireplace insert glass front into the firebox, does it read the glass temp or the interior temps?
Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Glass has a different emissivity so the unit would need to be calibrated for an accurate reading. It will be the temperature at the glass and not the stove interior.

 

[fao1989]

Thank you!

 

[stoveliker]

Not so sure about that. These are infrared thermometers and glass is mostly transparent to infrared. So this'll affect the measurements.

 

[begreen]

At best its' going to be an inaccurate representation of the actual temp in the firebox. The window doesn't allow for 100% transmission.

Infrared Temperature Challenges - Viewing IR Through a Window

Infrared Temperature Challenges - Viewing IR Through a Window In the next series of articles we’ll be discussing some of the common challenges of using infrared temperature measurement devices. In this article, we’ll focus specifically on the challenges of infrared temperature through a window...

www.iothrifty.com

 

[Prof]

My kid came home the other day and said that her science teacher said that wood fires can get up to 600 F. We waled over to the stove, I opened the door and used the IR gun to take a reading at the base of the fire--a little over 1200 F. I'm not sure what model I have, but I was glad it has a high max so I could show my kid that dad knows something. Without direct evidence she thinks I am a complete idiot! On a side note, the IR gun is most useful to me to make sure the iron pan is around 250-300F for cooking eggs in the morning.

 

[stoveliker]

I remember that transmission is near 100% below 10 micron.
I had to adjust emissivity by 0.1 for measuring around 1.4 micron through (vacuum chamber) viewports. Still pretty accurate.
If you work with 20 micron wavelength stuff gets troublesome.

 

[begreen]

I'll try to remember to test this empirically when we start burning again. Note that some wood stove glass has an IR coating that should also affect the reading.

 

[bigealta]

That's the same unit I have been using for several years.

Me too, been good for me as well.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes, I don't have the transmission data from pyroceramic - but my skin says lot of IR goes through.
Depends on the wavelength of the ir gun...

 

[30WCF]

-40 to 1022F

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Non-contact-Lcd-Infrared-Thermometer/5005517423?store=508&cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-ggl-_-CRP_SHP_LIA_TOL_Online_E-F-_-5005517423-_-local-_-0-_-0&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD2B2W8RG4j7MmlvoPnCR6AJr_7o6&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[BillBurns]

That Kobalt is what I have too. It is fun to check the temps with it. Just not for Humans it says in the directions.

 

[begreen]

I'll try to remember to test this empirically when we start burning again. Note that some wood stove glass has an IR coating that should also affect the reading.

@fao1989 I tested just now and got a reading of 631ºF pointing to the hottest part of the fire through the door glass. With the door open and pointed at the same location the reading exceeded the IR gun's top end of 1,022ºF.