Favorite infrared thermometer gun

SHALER

Member
Im looking for recommendations on a infrared thermometer laser gun. for light farm/home use. Will probably get used once a month.
 

I have had a "Raytek" for a number of years and have been well satisfied with it.

IIRC, the were one of the pioneers in making those thermometers.

I see they are now a part of Fluke Instruments.
 
I use a little $249 Seek unit that plugs into the phone . Good for very basic and slow scans . Manual focus and always worried about smashing off the plug where it plugs into the phone .
Next IF viewer will be a robust handheld unit with a flashing built in . The laser pointer thermal camera is like vacuum tube level of tech in the microprocessor tech era .
 
Tons of them out there, and prices have came WAY down over the last few years. I got this one (or actually the model before it, which was about $18) a bit over a year ago and it's been VERY handy. Have saved several times its price already just by being able to "zap" walls and see hot and cold spots to target more insulation, and the more you use it the more uses you'll find for it.
laser IR thermometer
 
(quoted from post at 16:15:04 01/18/21) I use a little $249 Seek unit that plugs into the phone . Good for very basic and slow scans . Manual focus and always worried about smashing off the plug where it plugs into the phone .
Next IF viewer will be a robust handheld unit with a flashing built in . The laser pointer thermal camera is like vacuum tube level of tech in the microprocessor tech era .

Okay so what all does it do that a $20 HF gun can not do??
 
I bought mine years ago when the were rather scarce, and not cheep. I keep it in our motor home.
In getting ready to participate in an antique tractor show. I got the trailer out, checked the tires with a tire gauge, and loaded, a couple hours before leaving.
We stopped for some groceries about 10 miles down the road, and I found the trailer had a soft tire, It was fine when I checked earlier.
So now I don't use a tire gauge but an inferred thermometer, after driving a little ways.

Dusty
 
(quoted from post at 19:08:50 01/18/21)
It lets you observe the entire scene. To find hot and cold spots that would otherwise be missed.

Okay then that makes sense.
You got a thermal imaging camera.
Us poor folk gots point and shoot temperature reader/guns.
 
Just remember that an IR thermometer does not read shiny surfaces, especially aluminum, well. We had molding tools at work that we used to temperature check, but had to spray paint a flat black target on the tool, then read the temp at the paint target.
 
I also have one from HF that works well.

I would have dearly loved to have had one when I was racing stock cars. By reading tire temperatures immediately after the car comes into the pits from a race, on each edge and the center of all four tires, is the ultimate way to tell how your chassis is working and if you're running the proper air pressure. But it has to be instantaneous and done quickly. While you spend time on one tire, the other three are cooling off.

There were units available back then, but the cost was prohibitive.
 
I use an ETEKCITY. Good from -58 to 716. Used most often for checking temp (600F) of cast iron skillet before tossing a tenderloin in there.
 
Thanks alot guys. The ETEKCITY model a few of you suggested is the winner. For ~$25, may be some of the best money Ive spent in 2021 (weeellll, other than my federal tax estimate I paid last week.....)lol
 

If you can remind me where I put mine, then I'll let you know. Used to use it for keeping an eye on trailer wheel bearings. Just hate to be stuck out in the boons or on the interstate with a hot bearing.
 
mvphoto68596.jpg


mvphoto68597.jpg


mvphoto68598.jpg


mvphoto68599.jpg


mvphoto68600.jpg
 
He did ask about an IR gun thermometer, but sometimes a picture is nice, as in spotting a half clogged radiator on this N tractor.
EAq2YLh.jpg


Don't be fooled by the gun thermometer! The spot size it is measuring is many, many times the size of the red dot! My HF has an 8:1 ratio, meaning spot diameter is 1/8 th of distance to target, or at 1 ft away you measure a spot of 1 1/2 inches At 8 feet, you are measuring a spot of 1 foot in diameter.
I suspect the better higher cost units have a better ratio, hopefully like 20:1 or whatever?
 

Northern hunt camp with only plywood over the 2x4s , no insulation and no ceiling . Heat from stove goes right to the roof .
A couple of the Traeger BBQ and one of Mrs B&D walking past the trailer we just unhooked from the truck . She asked is the image made her butt look big . Fortunately I was able to come up with a story about thermal distortion from rising heat by convention etc . I had to think fast. .
 
(quoted from post at 20:23:21 01/19/21)
Northern hunt camp with only plywood over the 2x4s , no insulation and no ceiling . Heat from stove goes right to the roof .
A couple of the Traeger BBQ and one of Mrs B&D walking past the trailer we just unhooked from the truck . She asked is the image made her butt look big . Fortunately I was able to come up with a story about thermal distortion from rising heat by convention etc . I had to think fast. .

If that was me, I would say "I tell my buds you have a hot azz, and this proves it, look!"
 

Picked one up on sale at TSC. Works fine once you put a decent battery in it. For 10-12 bucks it's great.
 
I'm on my second RAYTEK. The first one I got was to check cylinder head temp on RC car engines, they had
a fairly narrow band of fuel/air mixture to produce maximum HP. Also RC engines use glow plugs to ignite
new fresh fuel/air mixture. Worked great, but we used it to check something on a car/truck/tractor
engine and found out the hard way the early RAYTEK didn't have much electrical interference insulation
and getting it close to spark plug wires, plugs, etc. screwed up something on the printed circuit board.
The new once was built specifically for use in automotive shops to be used around ignition systems.
 
The 16 buck one that has the 9 volt battery is my preference over the one that takes two AA batteries... TSC has them on now and then.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top