Suggestions on IR thermometer?

[Beowulf]

Good People,

FYI... the HF unit is on sale October 1-3 for $25.99. Was $39.99 when I checked on 9/30. Just ordered one.

http://www.harborfreight.com/non-co...prospects&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3910B

 

[oldspark]

I will be in a HF store in the morning so I guess I will get that one, thanks Beowulf.

 

[Danno77]

THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP! after ground shipping and tax I got the IR thermometer and that Moisture Meter that I've been thinking about for just under 52 bucks. probably wouldn't have bought either if not for the sale...

 

[albertj03]

Beware on the shipping from HF. I paid $9.99 for "FedEx Ground" shipping on the IR Thermometer and stupid me figured it would take the typical 3 - 5 business days. I got an email saying it had shipped yesterday so I went to check the tracking number and it says it will be delivered on Oct. 12th???

Seems like a very long time to me so I called HF and the guy tells me that they ship Smart Post via FedEx and it's 5 - 7 business days. Would have been nice if it said that on the website since $9.99 seems like an awful lot to pay for 5 - 7 day shipping.

I had read about the sale here and since I paid $39.99 I mentioned it to the guy and he credited my card the difference which was about $14. Oh well, at least I was able to save some money.

 

[Beowulf]

Seems like a very long time to me so I called HF and the guy tells me that they ship Smart Post via FedEx and it's 5 - 7 business days. Would have been nice if it said that on the website since $9.99 seems like an awful lot to pay for 5 - 7 day shipping.

Yeah, have run into the "Smart Post" shipping thing with a few on-line suppliers. It seems that they use some combination of US Post Office and contracted Fed Ex delivery guys to scrape a few extra bucks profit off the shipping and handling charges. I have also found the actual time to vary considerably from what they say.

 

[albertj03]

This is my first and last purchase from HF. $9.99 for this Smart Post shipping that says FedEx Ground when you place your order is a rip off. Whenever I buy from other sites the shipping is far less and I get real FedEx shipping.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I've gotten Smart Posts from many vendors and never had a problem, usually when I buy through Amazon . Read the fine print...

 

[btuser]

My wife got me the IR thermometer. I friggin' love the thing. Anything from checking for drafts/cold spots in the walls to checking the temp of the top of the flue, to the pool water temp to engine temps. Hot outlets/circuit breakers is a big one. Checking the temp at the top of the wood stack, checking for gaps in wall insulation. Not as good as a thermal imaging camera but still much more usefull than I thought it was going to be. 4 years and the novelty hasn't worn off.

 

[albertj03]

I've gotten Smart Posts from many vendors and never had a problem, usually when I buy through Amazon . Read the fine print...

I went back to the site and went through the purchasing process again up to the shipping page just to see what it said. The only fine print says that the product will ship in 1 to 2 business days. It doesn't say anything about ground shipping taking 5-7 business days.

 

[Beowulf]

My wife got me the IR thermometer. I friggin' love the thing. Anything from checking for drafts/cold spots in the walls to checking the temp of the top of the flue, to the pool water temp to engine temps. Hot outlets/circuit breakers is a big one. Checking the temp at the top of the wood stack, checking for gaps in wall insulation. Not as good as a thermal imaging camera but still much more usefull than I thought it was going to be. 4 years and the novelty hasn't worn off.

Well now I am getting enthused about the arrival of mine. I ordered it, a moisture meter, and a cheapie pocket scale. Was really looking forward to checking some splits that I think are pretty dry with the MM.

Now I see I'm going to be running around the house measuring all sorts of stuff with the IR thermometer as well; just thought I was going to use it on the stove! :lol:

Getting ready to put new .29 U factor windows in the the place in a few weeks; it will be interesting to do some before and after testing on the old and new panes in the same openings the day of the install.

Never thought about checking outlets/breakers, etc. That should be fun, as well, since this is a pretty old house with a lot of other people's wiring :bug: done over the years.

 

[albertj03]

Anybody who ordered the IR thermometer from HF last week get it yet? I swear they must have put mine on a donkey and sent it off across the country. Ordered on 9/29 and given a delivery date of 10/12. If that wasn't bad enough the delivery date on FedEx now says 10/13. I wouldn't complain if it was free shipping but for $9.99 it's ridiculous.

 

[Battenkiller]

Getting ready to put new .29 U factor windows in the the place in a few weeks; it will be interesting to do some before and after testing on the old and new panes in the same openings the day of the install.

Must be triple-glazed, eh? Those will be nice. Bet you will see a huge difference between triple-glazed and single-glazed panes. What's the DP on those? You may need to open up a window now to start your stove. You can also go outside with the IR and see how much heat is leaking out around the casements.

I used mine the other day to see how hot my wood stacks got in full sun. I was surprised to see a 40º difference between the sunny side and shaded side, even with the weaker late summer sun. Now I'm forced to reevaluate the importance of sunlight in wood seasoning. Always something new to learn, which is what's so cool about wood burning.

 

[mellow]

I've gotten Smart Posts from many vendors and never had a problem, usually when I buy through Amazon . Read the fine print...

I went back to the site and went through the purchasing process again up to the shipping page just to see what it said. The only fine print says that the product will ship in 1 to 2 business days. It doesn't say anything about ground shipping taking 5-7 business days.

Standard Ground Shipping
Harbor Freight Tools uses FedEx Smart Post, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Home Delivery to ship your orders to you. Harbor Freight Tools makes every effort to ship items the next business day if ordered by 4pm PST. If authorization is delayed in order to confirm payment or prevent fraud, Harbor Freight Tools reserves the right to delay shipments, but every effort will be made to ship at the soonest possible time. Most non-overweight orders will arrive within 3-7 business days from the time they leave our warehouses.

 

[albertj03]

I've gotten Smart Posts from many vendors and never had a problem, usually when I buy through Amazon . Read the fine print...

I went back to the site and went through the purchasing process again up to the shipping page just to see what it said. The only fine print says that the product will ship in 1 to 2 business days. It doesn't say anything about ground shipping taking 5-7 business days.

Standard Ground Shipping
Harbor Freight Tools uses FedEx Smart Post, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Home Delivery to ship your orders to you. Harbor Freight Tools makes every effort to ship items the next business day if ordered by 4pm PST. If authorization is delayed in order to confirm payment or prevent fraud, Harbor Freight Tools reserves the right to delay shipments, but every effort will be made to ship at the soonest possible time. Most non-overweight orders will arrive within 3-7 business days from the time they leave our warehouses.

Not sure where you found that but it sure doesn't say it when you are making an order. Also, when I placed the order there was one option for shipping and it said "FedEx Ground" not FedEx Smart Post, which is what I ended up with.

 

[Danno77]

THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP! after ground shipping and tax I got the IR thermometer and that Moisture Meter that I've been thinking about for just under 52 bucks. probably wouldn't have bought either if not for the sale...

Mine just showed up yesterday. that's 12 days from order to my door. Whatever. They are cool toys to have. Glad I bought them. The maple I'm splitting measured in the high 30% range. Did you know that the sweaty forhead of my son measures as much as 10 degrees cooler than his nonsweating forhead? I'm sure I'll come up with better uses for the IR thermometer, but it's gonna be handy.

 

[oldspark]

"I used mine the other day to see how hot my wood stacks got in full sun. I was surprised to see a 40º difference between the sunny side and shaded side, even with the weaker late summer sun. Now I'm forced to reevaluate the importance of sunlight in wood seasoning"
I came to that conclusion when the south side of my wood stack was at least 5% dryer than the north side.