MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Are they any good?
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[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Non-Contact-IR-Infrared-Digital-Thermometer-Laser-/260727087807?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item3cb48ba2bf ]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Non-Contact-IR-Infrared-Digital-Thermometer-Laser-[/url]
I have used a very similar one from RS Components, reliably accurate, use it when commissioning CHP heat recovery systems.
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/infrared-thermometers/0411122/
most have fixed emissivity which is okay for 90% of surfaces but no good if you need to look at shiny polished stuff.
I've got a small non-gun one I got from maplins which lets me adjust the emissivity and has an air temperature reading. I got it for when we need to look at large ovens as they often have shiny parts and it's nice to take air readings too. Only gripe is to adjust the emissivity you have to turn it off first - quite typical poor user-friedly interface you often get on cheaper asian made stuff but it was all I could find under £100 at the time in a hurry. It does work very well though and is pretty accurate which is what matters.
Another thing to look at is the spot size. That RS one above is 12:1 so the spot size is 1/12th of the distance. ie at 12cm the reading area is 1cm diameter. At 12m the spot size is 1m. I have seen a decent one for about £90 with adjustable emissivity (on the fly) and a 30:1 spot size that I fancy picking up.
You can also get ones with a built in K-type thermocouple port. Quite useful if you want to take some contact measurements (or just take the air temp) and useful for calibrating, especially if you have to mess with emissivity. I've just picked up a stand-alone dual k-type with datalogging to go with the IR one.
They are good and can be pretty accurate but I do prefer to have a proper contact thermometer if it's critical, even if it's just to check one or two readings and then use the IR for the rest of them.
+ the RS essentials range is looking pretty good. Some very reasonably priced stuff there (which is a nice change).
Got lots of adverts for nice FLIR cameras on the right of my screen now. Would love one of them for my work but need to earn a bit more first.
Got lots of adverts for nice FLIR cameras on the right of my screen now. Would love one of them for my work but need to earn a bit more first.
They don't seem that expensive if you think that a decent dslr, a couple of L series lenses and a good flash will cost about the same. Cost/benefit innit?
I've had quite a bit of experience using some Fluke IR thermometers. I think they cost about £2k. The uncertainty in the measurement was 2C between -20C and 150C. What uncertainty in the measurement are you after?
Cheap give +/- 2ºC, Expensive give +/-2ºC or 2%. I think at the moment 15 GBP is worth a punt for having a bit of a play. If it's good I'll look at spending more. I'll just be looking for general information.
Cheers.
Don't forget the uncertainty in the thermocouple measurement if you're making a comparison. It was larger then I expected when I had a look at some K-type thermocouples. Have you got a black-body to look at?
seem to be a lot of choice on amazon and ebay
anyone got a good tip... I need something that will go to a fairly high temp. ie over 300c