Talk me out of buying a temperature gun

[Darrell KSR]

What am I going to use it for?

[Catonahottinroof]

The most common mechanical use I know of is reading exhaust gas temperatures by cylinder. Lots of uses though. Are you a mechanic? lol

[Darrell KSR]

The most common mechanical use I know of is reading exhaust gas temperatures by cylinder. Lots of uses though. Are you a mechanic? lol
I'm very good at upgrading Palm PDA memory, or so I am told.

[PedroDaGr8]

What am I going to use it for?
Honestly, there's not much use for it. I used them in the lab some, but at home I can't think of a time where they worked better than using a thermocouple and many many times where they worked worse or not at all.

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

[Darrell KSR]

So far, I've refrained. Will go to church without buying it. But at $12, really, isn't it worth it just as a toy? I can point it at the ground and see how hot the asphalt is, the cat and see what its fur is showing, and all kind of cool things.

http://slickdeals.net/f/8888287-nubee-temperature-gun-non-contact-infrared-thermometer-11-88-at-amazon-com-free-shipping-with-prime?src=SiteSearch

[dan_bgblue]

Probably one of the low temp ones, ie 540 degrees Fahrenheit. Hold out for on of the 900 degree ones.

[Darrell KSR]

Probably one of the low temp ones, ie 540 degrees Fahrenheit. Hold out for on of the 900 degree ones.
932. You're not helping!

[Catonahottinroof]

Make the purchase lol


932. You're not helping!

[dan_bgblue]

Make the purchase lol

Ditto

[DanISSELisdaman]

Yeah, go ahead and splurge Darrell. You can use it to check the Ky BB players, to see when they're getting overheated. Just don't be pointing it at any hot chicks!

[Darrell KSR]

Well, you guys were no help. Now when my wife gets the email, I need help explaining why I needed it.

My best argument so far is that it is a business expense because I will check the temperature of McDonald's coffee before I teach the McDonald's coffee cup case to my business law class. That's a dead loser of an argument, but all I can come up with now, thanks to you guys.

[Darrell KSR]

Dang. I'm not even home, but she received the email and I'm already hearing about it. You guys really let me down this time.

[dan_bgblue]

Well, now you want reasons to buy one. Sheesh, this is supposed to be a holiday weekend.

You can check the thrermocouple temperature on the furnace in the winter to make sure the system is operating properly. Check the temp of the kitchen oven to make sure the digital readout on the dash is reading correctly. Check the exhaust temp on her car to make sure it is properly tuned. Check the temp on your outdoor grill to make sure it is just right to sear the steaks. Tell her that you are going to build a $3,000.00 wood fired pizza oven in the back yard and you have to be able to tell if the floor of the oven is above 800 degrees so the crust will crisp and the rest of the pie will be done at the same time. You ca check the outer jacket of your water heater to see how much heat you are losing from the tank to see if you need a water heater blanket. Finally tell her that you can check her forehead temp to judge her degree of dissatisfaction with your latest purchase.

[Darrell KSR]

Lol. The last one is perfect.

[KSRdallen]

Lol. The last one is perfect.

Great deal. I'm in! I'll use it to check the air temperature coming out of the air vents at both my house and my office. My office temperatures are always cold, so now I'll have a way to measure it and keep a record! Thanks, D!

[TRUCKERCATFAN]

I use one for checking the tire temps on my semi. If you have a major variance, you could have issues. Helps a lot.

[Darrell KSR]

I use one for checking the tire temps on my semi. If you have a major variance, you could have issues. Helps a lot.

Very interesting--I never knew that.

I came home from vacation, and the temperature gun was waiting on me. It doesn't have the look or feel of a high quality tool, but it's fine. More than a toy.

I don't know how I have lived without this so far.

I filled up a huge mug of coffee from a thermos, and put it in the microwave for 90 seconds. It was critical that I knew the temperature was 161° so I knew it was too hot for me to drink comfortably.

When it sat for too long (it was a huge mug), and I checked the temperature, and it was only 104°, I knew it was too lukewarm to taste good.

I don't know how I could have determined that otherwise.

I put some ice in my Slim-Fast drink and shook it up. I measured before and after. The temperature dropped dramatically by adding ice. Who knew?

Right now it is comfortable in my office; it's about 75°. Normally it's like an ice box. I am waiting on this afternoon to hit when the A/C kicks in full gear so I can tell whether it's colder than I like or not.

I measured the AC vents at my house. They blow very cold. My insulation must be terrible, as the house doesn't get nearly as cold as the air blowing out of it. Or it's really hot outside. Actually, I know it's really hot, because I checked the temperature of the sidewalk in the shade, the sidewalk in the sun, etc. It was hotter in the sun than in the shade.

Science. Worth the $12 already.

[Darrell KSR]

Space heater up to 212° at one part, but mostly hovering just under 200°. I needed to know that for sure.

Surprisingly, the temperature in the office remains around 75°, but it feels colder now. The air is blowing right on me as the temperature outside increases, which I guess is why I *think* it gets colder in the afternoon.

[dan_bgblue]

The room should cool off a bit more if you turn off the space heater

[dan_bgblue]

I measured the AC vents at my house. They blow very cold. My insulation must be terrible, as the house doesn't get nearly as cold as the air blowing out of it. Or it's really hot outside.

If you have a lot of exposed south and west facing windows, a good window treatment can help that situation. Blinds or insulated draperies make a huge difference as do window awnings

[Darrell KSR]

98.6 under my tongue. Surprised. I'm not expecting anything very accurate with it.

[Darrell KSR]

My home Black and Decker coffee maker - 157°.

[ukblue]

You also use them to check the temperature on bearing. Used them many times in the mining industry.

[Darrell KSR]

Still using it, but mostly as a cat toy (the laser).

[dan_bgblue]

You have already taken the temperature of everything, living or not, within 10 miles of your house. I am glad it makes a nice cat toy

[Darrell KSR]

OK, it's even more ridiculous now. Got $5?

Get the same one I bought (and still use--daily, believe it or not).

https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Thermometer-Adjustable/dp/B00JCFPODM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509458240&sr=8-1&keywords=nubee+temperature+gun

They also have it in yellow with about 1650 reviews (4.5/5.0 stars) for $5.04. It's an add-on item, though.

In addition to using it for all the things discussed above, I use it to do things I never thought of. For example, I use a neti pot when I am sick, and/or when I have allergies and runny/stuffy gunky nose. I usually boil the water. It is great to make sure the temperature is a comfortable temperature. (Obviously, you can't use it right after you boil it, but not only do I check to make sure it is "cool enough," I also make sure it is warm--somewhere around 100 degrees. If it has cooled off to room temperature, I'll pop it in the microwave for 20-25 seconds, then check the temperature thereafter. If it's above 100, I'll let it cool slightly.

I now have 4 cats in my house, and always good to have another laser toy around.

I did a "McDonald's coffee cup" case study in my business law class. It was cool to be able to post a video of your Black and Decker at home coffeemaker, and the temperature it cooks coffee, your Keurig at the office, and McDonald's themselves. The one thing I did not do on my video I wish I had was to boil a cup of water (212 degrees, right?), then pull it out of the microwave, and almost immediately check the temperature as the water stopped boiling. It's usually around 186-192 degrees, roughly what the coffee cup was that was involved in the McDonald's case (they don't cook it that temperature now). Anyway, just cool stuff like that. We keep it in the kitchen and use it for whatever we need, which seems to be more that what we thought.

[PedroDaGr8]

These spot thermometers are not great for clear materials. So if you have a clear glass, there will not be enough IR to take an accurate read. This can easily be worked around by using a bit of black tape on the surface of the glass. The gun will read it just fine.

For myself, I recently picked up a used Flir One (Generation 2) infrared camera, it is amazing how much detail you can get from the device. It attaches to my phone and utilizes a variety of apps. I can see leaks around windows, I can see where I was sitting, etc. For myself, I can diagnose faulty chips on circuit boards REALLY quickly.

[Darrell KSR]

I boil water in Campbell Soup type mugs, white bottom. Works great.

[Darrell KSR]

The one thing I did not do on my video I wish I had was to boil a cup of water (212 degrees, right?), then pull it out of the microwave, and almost immediately check the temperature as the water stopped boiling. It's usually around 186-192 degrees, roughly what the coffee cup was that was involved in the McDonald's case (they don't cook it that temperature now).

FWIW, I did that Tuesday night, so I showed it to my class Wednesday. I guess some of them don't know what the temperature is of boiling water. When I showed them a rolling boil in my Campbell's mug, removed--carefully, and slowly--out of the microwave, placed on the stove, retrieved the thermometer gun, and then showed the temperature at 185-190 degrees, perfectly in tune with the Liebeck v McDonald's coffee cup case, it sorta hit home that it was beyond hot.

I have a sinus/cold thing, and really doing the Neti pot aggressively. Handy to have to check temperature to make sure the boiled water (which has cooled) is approximately body temperature so I don't burn my nostrils.

And I continue to use it for re-warming coffee. I know the coffee snobs hate this, but I'll put it in a thermos, or if I get distracted and don't drink my coffee, I will re-warm it in the microwave. I personally like about 140 degrees. That's good drinking temperature for me, as it drops.

Anyway, the gun is clicking along fine. And yes, I occasionally still use it to exercise a cat.

[Doc]

Is it a full automatic or semiautomatic temperature gun. The fully automatic ones are illegal

[Darrell KSR]

Fwiw, I still use it. Surprisingly, I have had many uses for it over the years. Anything critical? Probably not. Most common use is checking temperature of liquids like coffee or previously boiled, now cooled water for neti pot, and A/C vents, but random things pop up from time to time...