My pizza oven is finished and I’ve had a couple of test firings/cooks with it.
I’m getting a feel for temperature etc., but I’m considering getting a laser IR thermometer gun

I’m looking at the 550 http://www.amazon.co.uk/GM550-Non-Contact-IR-Infrared-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B007Q87J3U/

Any experiences / recommendations / alternatives?

Ta

Ooh, my specialist subject!
First off, they don’t directly measure temperature. They measure the amount of infrared radiation emitted by the surface they are pointing at, which will be affected by the capacity the surface has to emit the radiation. (bear with me, I’ll explain)

eg. black insulation tape emits 90% of the IR energy. If the actual surface temperature is 100 degC, your IR thermometer will read 90 degC
Silver foil, probably more like 30%, so would read 30 degC at an actual temperature of 100 degC.
Some of the cheapest guns don’t have a function to compensate for this. Look for one with adjustable emissivity.

That’s quite simplistic however, if you want to get accurate readings you need to take other things like reflections into account.

Also, they don’t read the temperature at the laser spot, That’s just a targeting guide. See that sticker on the side of the gun? That shows you the diameter of the spot you are taking the temperature over at different distances. The laser spot should be in the middle of that.

Upshot is, you’re unlikely to get an accurate temperature measurement from one of those. They should be good for doing comparative readings if you keep the conditions the same. A contact thermometer gives direct temperature readings.

more importantly why isn’t this post at the end of a long ‘pizza oven build’ thread containing lots of photos?

djambo + 1

I just have a little free standing thermometer that sits inside and I can just shove it over to the side if I need to. Tells me whether its reached blistering hot, earth’s core or sun surface.

if it’s white hot all around the inside of the oven and your pizza cooks in about 4mins then it’s hot enough 🙂

I’ve got the same thermometer as in the pic, and it does the job
Yiu will get to know after a few uses if it’s hot enough
The carbon will burn off the roof and will become white, and yiu won’t be able to hold your hand near the door for more than a coupe, of seconds
Do the curing fires in small steps or yiu will risk splitting the oven, there is a lot of water in the structure which needs sloooooowly chasing out
Doing a rolled shoulder of pork in ours at weekend for 15 hours

if it’s white hot all around the inside of the oven and your pizza cooks in about 4mins then it’s hot enough

If your pizza takes 4 minutes then the oven isn’t hot enough!

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TcIO9-nFCU[/video]

Thanks guys.

more importantly why isn’t this post at the end of a long ‘pizza oven build’ thread containing lots of photos?

I’m afraid my DIY skills (or delicate ego) couldn’t take stw’s critical eye 😥

easygirl – noted

I think I might take a punt on one for a tenner anyway.

edhornby – Member
if it’s white hot all around the inside of the oven and your pizza cooks in about 4mins then it’s hot enough

4 mins is way off, it should be 60 to 90 seconds for a decent pizza oven.

more importantly why isn’t this post at the end of a long ‘pizza oven build’ thread containing lots of photos?

+1

Poor show.

Points for a classic STW thread topic/title though.

Agree with the comments on the build. Would love to see details of that. Think I’m going to have to make do with converting a Weber kettle bbq for the time being.

I’ve got that same thermometer and find it useful for a variety of things. It seems accurate (far more precise than you need for cooking) on non-reflective surfaces, I’ve not used it for a pizza oven though!