IR Thermometer: Fluke vs ??

[catalytic]

I'm in the market for a new IR thermometer. Fluke seems to have the best name (except perhaps for Flir), but I believe their new stuff is made in China. Can anyone comment on the quality of the new stuff or recommend a good alternative IR thermometer (or a thermocouple thermometer -- I need one of those too...)

 

[TheMadMech]

In my experience Fluke is THE name of quality when it comes to testing equipment. They are the one brand I trust my life to for electrical testing equipment and when I pick up an IR gun in the near future it will be with them.

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[catalytic]

OK, you sold me. I was mostly wondering if this was going to be a Wilton Drill / Harbor Freight situation (where a good company moves to china, and suddenly all of their models are the same part-number-for-part-number as the cheapo import version)

 

[rcjoy]

Also consider a Flir 165. Combines an IR with laser pointer, and a low resolution thermal imaging camera.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I've been using the Fluke 62 for a while now. No complaints, no problems. Wasn't so thrilled when I saw China on the box (same with my Phase Rotation Meter) but it's been great.

 

[ambenz]

My company bought me a Fluke in a combo kit that also has a meter...they got me taking care of the HVAC in our office. So this Jack of all Trades loves it and it is pretty accurate after 2 years of service so far. It is great for measuring discharge air temps in the lobby atrium louvers, 10 feet up on the ceiling.

 

[engineer2]

What Fluke model?
Yes, their low end stuff is made in China.

You have to decide if you need adjustable or fixed emissivity. Fixed is for general-purpose ballpark measurements, adjustable lets you be more accurate for different materials, but you have to set the emissivity. Forget about doing aluminum.

A popular misconception is that the IR thermometer shoots beams at the target and reads what comes back. In reality is just reads the infrared radiation that the target emits.

Any Fluke unit is really Raytek. Fluke bought Raytek in 2002. I knew all the Raytek people in the 90's. They are the leaders in industrial infrared. The Chinese came out with a low-cost IR sensor in the late 90's and that opened the market for the inexpensive stuff you see today. Raytek got on board right away and began to sell inexpensive IR thermometers.

Omega Engineering had the first laser for targeting, but it use a motor to spin a laser pointer in a circle. Raytek hired a Russian optical group to diffract the laser into a circle of dots. Big lawsuit followed that was thrown out. The Fluke units and many inexpensive ones use a laser pointer to identify the center of the target.

 

[Schurkey]

Mastercool 52225
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OCKHGQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

VERY wide temperature range, narrow field-of-view, variable emissivity, comes with a "bead" thermocouple and a regular thermometer. It pretty-much doesn't get better than that.

 

[catalytic]

What Fluke model?

You have to decide if you need adjustable or fixed emissivity.

I'm thinking about the Fluke 62MAX.

I definitely need adjustable emissivity, since this is mostly for use on (sometimes shiny) metal.

 

[brownbagg]

the cheapy at lowes or HD for $26 are just as good, within a half degree

 

[nick2510]

Having access to the calibration standards for IR and having calibrated all sorts of brands I'll just say fluke. The key to a longer life of accurate readings with any brand is keeping the lense clean. Don't leave it on a shop floor not in a case etc. Pay attention to the ratio of the "field of view" also.

 

[engineer2]

The Fluke 62MAX looks to be a good unit for the price.
Specs are OK at about ±2°F or ±1.5% of the reading, I assume whichever is higher.
It's amazing that in the 90's specs like that would have cost you $500+.

mostly for use on (sometimes shiny) metal.

Might be hard to get accurate readings on shiny metal. See this Fluke link and advice on stainless steel As I mentioned, aluminum is a strange animal when it comes to IR measurments.

 

[unslow1]

the cheapy at lowes or HD for $26 are just as good, within a half degree

Sad but true. I probably have 6 of them. Two are over $100 then several other brands including one that was $8 bucks. They all read within one degree. I feel like a sucker for buying the expensive ones. I used to do some HVAC work. They come in really handy for quick automotive diagnosis. We also use them at the track to temp slicks, track surface, trans pan temp and other various.

 

[BCreekDave]

Its a step up on cost, but if you have a smartphone this looks interesting:
http://www.flir.com/flirone/ios-and...PHbfNWklf9l9rjwD9j3ZSBlU_VuUHZQRMgaAi_C8P8HAQ

FLIR is the leader in thermal imaging. Great for HVAC and home thermal analysis.

Just saw the prior post on the Flir 165. That looks even better. The smartphone one does have a somewhat limited temp range.

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[bpankratz]

If your willing to spend about $1000 you can get a real kick *** thermal imaging camera. Buy a Flir E4, and hack the software to the high resolution E8. You will never regret it I can garuntee.

 

[TheMadMech]

Do the thermal imaging cameras have the same issues that IR guns do? IE emissivity and aluminum issues?

Damn, that FLIR TG165 looks **** af

This is my clever signature.

 

[bpankratz]

Yes they do.

 

[unslow1]

I'd really love to borrow a thermal image camera. I've seen them locate some hot/cold spots in a house that you would have never known were there. Anybody know how to rent one? Probably cheaper to pay an inspector with one.

 

[pedrodagr8]

I'd really love to borrow a thermal image camera. I've seen them locate some hot/cold spots in a house that you would have never known were there. Anybody know how to rent one? Probably cheaper to pay an inspector with one.

From what I have seen, the minimum renting time runs around $60-70. The minimum rental unit seems to usually be the E4. A few companies rent for a few hours at $50-60 but most are for the day Which puts you at about 1/3 the cost of things like the 2nd Gen Flir One ($225). With it attached ot your phone, you could EASILY do what you mentioned and still get to keep the device for other uses. You don't need high levels of temperature accuracy to do what you are mentioning so a Flir One shoudl work perfectly.

 

[rlitman]

If your willing to spend about $1000 you can get a real kick *** thermal imaging camera. Buy a Flir E4, and hack the software to the high resolution E8. You will never regret it I can garuntee.

Be sure you get one with firmware that can be hacked if you plan to do that. The newer encrypted versions cannot to my knowledge.

Do the thermal imaging cameras have the same issues that IR guns do? IE emissivity and aluminum issues?

Actually MUCH worse. I'll be looking at an aluminum bus bar and have a hard time seeing past reflections of my own body heat signature that way outshine the background of the room.

 

[engineer2]

I read an article in an engineering magazine that said in a few years new cell phone cameras will be capable of thermal imaging. Probably won't be real accurate at first, but it'll be useful.

 

[risc]

I have a Flir camera, a Fluke and a HF IMO, they're all good at giving you a general idea but if you want real numbers the thermocouples need to come out.

 

[pedrodagr8]

If you want something to complicate things. Amazon has the FLIR One smartphone thermal imager on sale today for $179. The FLIR One connects to your phone (there is a model for iOS and one for Android) and turns your phone into a thermal imaging device. Resolution is pretty good (it uses a FLIR Lepton 3 processor) and should be more than capable for basic thermal imaging use.

 

[catalytic]

I have a Flir camera, a Fluke and a HF IMO, they're all good at giving you a general idea but if you want real numbers the thermocouples need to come out.

I've read quite a bit about this and nearly bought a Type K setup. However, (having never used a thermocouple) thermocouple probes appear to be a pain to hold against metal and somewhat fragile. Have you used one while metalworking?

 

[engineer2]

Thermocouples are generally ±2°F or worse. They make special probes for different applications (surface, immersion, bare, etc.). They are pretty rugged unless you use really thin wire. Some cheap instruments don't linearize type K since it is fairly linear over much of its range, but this makes the accuracy worse. A lot depends on how accurate you need to be. For most industrial heating applications ±2°F is plenty good. Need more accuracy? Use an RTD.

 

[catalytic]

OK, with all of your input I ended up with a Fluke 62 Max Plus (Same as 62 Max, but slightly widened temp range and dual lasers that show you the diameter of the area it samples temperature from). I have been reading temps off of everything in sight for a while as well as the standard ice water test. So far, it's an excellent machine -- I'm really glad to have the double lasers, since it will be used for heating very specific areas of metal (and I don't want to accidentally read the temp of half of that area + half of the floor/wall/table).

 

[md21722]

I picked up a Fluke 62 Max Plus last week and it seems to be working fine. Much better than the last Sperry I bought at Home Depot some years back.