Mastercool 5222 Deal on Tooltopia.com

[kruegdr]

I've been sort of in the market for an IR Thermometer. Is this one worth a flip? Do any of you guys have it?

http://www.tooltopia.com/mastercool-52224a-sp.aspx

 

[Tarheelgarage]

I've been sort of in the market for an IR Thermometer. Is this one worth a flip? Do any of you guys have it?

http://www.tooltopia.com/mastercool-52224a-sp.aspx

That has an excellent spot to range ratio, 12:1.

I would get it if I needed one:

 

[diesel research]

I was sent an email on this offer.

Before diving into IR"guns" please read these following links in order.

http://www.mastercool.com/media/52224-A-Inst_web.pdf
Note section on spot ratio, but more importantly on "emissivity"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissivity
Find out what exactly emissivity is

http://www.optotherm.com/emiss-table.htm
Find out that different materials have different emissivity

You will conclude a few things. Ultimate "accuracy" may not be the highest, your results will vary on how far away you are, your results will vary on angle, and your results will vary on material.

That said, I have used another cheap gun for a variety of uses.

Towing trailers, measuring brake/tire/hub temperature DIFFERENTIAL to spot various problems. Actual temperature isn't of so much concern as temp difference. Helps to find dragging brakes or under inflated tires.

Didn't work so well on exhaust manifold temp differential due to the nature of cast iron. Even when I did spot a difference on #1 cylinder, the reason could not be concluded. Could be just different amount of cylinder cooling there. Or could have been partially dead or rich or?

Worked decent to measure temp at tstat housing to verify it was open.

Did not work on aluminum ac lines due to emissivity.

Works GREAT when I make a wicked beer-chili. Slows cooks for approximately 1 week, occasionally adding more ingredients as they break down. Nice 170* temp.

Worked to verify the glass on my truck really was near 170* and the interior was over 150*.

Can sometimes use it to measure other blockages like I did with tstat.

Vent temp measurements can be a bit iffy.

It's not a themometer, it's a device measuring infrared emissions, which can be related to temperature.

 

[daveblank]

I've been sort of in the market for an IR Thermometer. Is this one worth a flip? Do any of you guys have it?

http://www.tooltopia.com/mastercool-52224a-sp.aspx

I have sold tons of them. Only 1 has had a problem.

 

[Danglerb]

I have a couple cheaper ones, the extended range on this one sounds nice, and hard to argue with the price (buy more stuff to make it to free shipping). I use mine for fun half the time, check the exterior temp of the cat, or more serious check temp of interior vs exterior walls to see if any are missing insulation (some were).

Still good to have a contact thermocouple with a meter for some things, but the guns are way easier to grab some quick numbers with.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

I was sent an email on this offer.

Before diving into IR"guns" please read these following links in order.

http://www.mastercool.com/media/52224-A-Inst_web.pdf
Note section on spot ratio, but more importantly on "emissivity"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissivity
Find out what exactly emissivity is

http://www.optotherm.com/emiss-table.htm
Find out that different materials have different emissivity

You will conclude a few things. Ultimate "accuracy" may not be the highest, your results will vary on how far away you are, your results will vary on angle, and your results will vary on material.

That said, I have used another cheap gun for a variety of uses.

Towing trailers, measuring brake/tire/hub temperature DIFFERENTIAL to spot various problems. Actual temperature isn't of so much concern as temp difference. Helps to find dragging brakes or under inflated tires.

Didn't work so well on exhaust manifold temp differential due to the nature of cast iron. Even when I did spot a difference on #1 cylinder, the reason could not be concluded. Could be just different amount of cylinder cooling there. Or could have been partially dead or rich or?

Worked decent to measure temp at tstat housing to verify it was open.

Did not work on aluminum ac lines due to emissivity.

Works GREAT when I make a wicked beer-chili. Slows cooks for approximately 1 week, occasionally adding more ingredients as they break down. Nice 170* temp.

Worked to verify the glass on my truck really was near 170* and the interior was over 150*.

Can sometimes use it to measure other blockages like I did with tstat.

Vent temp measurements can be a bit iffy.

It's not a themometer, it's a device measuring infrared emissions, which can be related to temperature.

for reflective, "shiny" surfaces like Al, I put a piece of black tape over the area I want to measure and wait a few minutes to take the reading.....if I want to increase my accuracy....

 

[kruegdr]

Thanks diesel. I'm very much aware of emissivity and the use of these things.

After talking to a buddy at work who teaches rail destressing and neutral temperature checking, one time he had a gang of track workers with infrared therms like this. Of the 5 units there, there was an 11 degree spread in the temp difference on the same spot on the same piece of rail. Needless to say, that's an exact example of how they don't work for you.

Speaking of thermocouples, Danglerb, Cripe has C-man multi meters with thermocouples for about 28 bucks. Not too bad.

I guess I'll troll through T.T. and see if there's anything else I need.