lidl infra red thermometer

[Ron]

Is this lidl infra red thermometer any good?

http://www.smartpound.com/story.php?title=powerfix-infrared-temperature-probe-%C2%A317-99-lidl

[newshound]

On 13/10/2014 11:36, Ron wrote:
> Is this lidl infra red thermometer any good?
>
> http://www.smartpound.com/story.php?title=powerfix-infrared-temperature-probe-%C2%A317-99-lidl
>

Colour change looks a bit gimmicky to me tbh. Some of the cheap "pistol"
types have a laser for aiming, which is quite useful. I don't think this
one does.

I'd have said that this one was better value

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-Non-Contact-Laser-Gun-Infrared-Thermometer-50-to-380-UK-SHIPPING-/261332771911?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item3cd8a5a447

[Brian Gaff]

Pity they don't do a talking one as well.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"newshound" <news...@stevejqr.plus.com> wrote in message
news:6YedncPjG7cMMKbJ...@brightview.co.uk...

[Adrian]

Looks like the usual £9 eBay one with a respray. The eBay ones definitely
do have the laser spot.

[Muddymike]

On 13/10/2014 11:36, Ron wrote:
>> Is this lidl infra red thermometer any good?
>>
>> http://www.smartpound.com/story.php?title=powerfix-infrared-temperature-probe-%C2%A317-99-lidl
>>
>Colour change looks a bit gimmicky to me tbh. Some of the cheap "pistol"
>types have a laser for aiming, which is quite useful. I don't think this
>one does.

I bought one last time around. It does have a laser, I used it to balance
radiators which it seemed to do well. I don't know how accurate the readings
are but they were good enough for me.

Mike

[Adrian]

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 11:03:36 +0000, Adrian wrote:

>> Is this lidl infra red thermometer any good?
>>
>> http://www.smartpound.com/story.php?title=powerfix-infrared-
temperature-
> probe-%C2%A317-99-lidl

> Looks like the usual £9 eBay one with a respray. The eBay ones
> definitely do have the laser spot.

Re-reading the blurb, the reference temp thing is something the eBay ones
don't do, but if you can compare two numbers on your own...

Also - only 220degC max?

[Ron]

"Ron" wrote in message news:tWN_v.705977$ZX5....@fx32.am4...

Is this lidl infra red thermometer any good?

http://www.smartpound.com/story.php?title=powerfix-infrared-temperature-probe-%C2%A317-99-lidl

As I had to go to Lidl again ( I forgot something) I decided to buy it as
Lidl have a 28 day return policy.

Good job they have, it is highly inaccurate.

Pointed it at a boiling kettle and it registers 86 deg C, thermometer in
greenhouse registering 15 deg C it reads 8.1 deg C

It is going back.

Wondering if the cheap Ebay one will be more accurate?

[Adrian]

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:32:29 +0100, Ron wrote:

> As I had to go to Lidl again ( I forgot something) I decided to buy it
> as Lidl have a 28 day return policy.
>
> Good job they have, it is highly inaccurate.
>
> Pointed it at a boiling kettle and it registers 86 deg C, thermometer in
> greenhouse registering 15 deg C it reads 8.1 deg C
>
> It is going back.
>
> Wondering if the cheap Ebay one will be more accurate?

The contents of my freezer appear to be -19degC, and the (metal) kettle
appears to click off at 102degC.

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article <RvQ_v.452649$_u1.1...@fx30.am4>,

"Ron" <r...@flymail.fm> writes:
>
>
> "Ron" wrote in message news:tWN_v.705977$ZX5....@fx32.am4...
>
> Is this lidl infra red thermometer any good?
>
> http://www.smartpound.com/story.php?title=powerfix-infrared-temperature-probe-%C2%A317-99-lidl
>
>
>
> As I had to go to Lidl again ( I forgot something) I decided to buy it as
> Lidl have a 28 day return policy.
>
> Good job they have, it is highly inaccurate.
>
> Pointed it at a boiling kettle and it registers 86 deg C, thermometer in
> greenhouse registering 15 deg C it reads 8.1 deg C

IR thermometers are usually calibrated for surfaces with an emmisivity
of 0.95 which is good enough for most things, but certain things are
significantly lower and give very inaccurate readings, such as most shiny
metal surfaces, and bare copper in particular (even if not shiny).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

[Dave Liquorice]

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:32:29 +0100, Ron wrote:

> Good job they have, it is highly inaccurate.
>
> Pointed it at a boiling kettle and it registers 86 deg C,

Shiny metal kettle or matt black paint?

> thermometer in greenhouse registering 15 deg C it reads 8.1 deg C

Thermometer reading air temp, IR the temp of what it was pointed at
ie the structure. If your weather has been like ours recently it's
pretty cold at night.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Ron]

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
news:nyyfbegfubjuvyypb...@srv1.howhill.co.uk...

That was actually pointing the IR at the thermometer which is a large
min/max thermometer.

And the kettle is white plastic.

Even pointing it at the heating thermostat in the house the temp was a few
degrees below what it is set at.

And my body temp is 32 deg.

[The Other Mike]

No, you are just using it wrong. A shiny kettle and a glass bulb on a
thermometer are guaranteed to read incorrectly.

A piece of black tape (matt gaffer) stuck on a surface will give you much more
accurate readings. Blue 3M masking tape works well too.

--

[fred]

In article <o1pn3ad8nvdkcff5b...@4ax.com>, The Other Mike
<rootpa...@somewhereorother.com> writes

If you use PVC tape you can get it off again :-)

Useful range of colours too, I've just put some inch square patches in
white on some rads due for balancing and I'll prob just leave them on
for when I do it again. PVC, whatever the colour, seems to be pretty
good emmisivity wise and better than a painted rad surface. Def better
than copper if you choose to target the pipes.
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

[Richard]

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message news:m1gb1p$bl$1...@dont-email.me...

>
>Pity they don't do a talking one as well.
> Brian

Seems like you can get one to shove in your ear:
http://uk.alibaba.com/product/308739484-Speech-Infrared-ear-thermometer.html

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <RvQ_v.452649$_u1.1...@fx30.am4>,

Ron <r...@flymail.fm> wrote:
> Good job they have, it is highly inaccurate.

> Pointed it at a boiling kettle and it registers 86 deg C, thermometer in
> greenhouse registering 15 deg C it reads 8.1 deg C

What sort of kettle? If it has a reflective finish it will give a false
reading. Works best on matt black.

--
*Certain frogs can be frozen solid, then thawed, and survive *

Dave Plowman da...@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article <P77TSiMxyAPUFwR4@y.z>,

Almost anything, including white paint, works fine. Colour in the visible
spectrum has almost no correlation with emissivity in the infra-red.

[Andy Burns]

Ron wrote:

> "Ron" wrote in message news:tWN_v.705977$ZX5....@fx32.am4...
>
>> Is this lidl infra red thermometer any good?
>

> it is highly inaccurate.
> Pointed it at a boiling kettle and it registers 86 deg C

A shiny chrome kettle? try putting a square of masking tape on it, then
measuring the temperature of that ...

[Robin]

There are talking non-contact IR thermometers for clinical use which you
can point at foreheads or tear ducts instead of sticking in ears. But
they only cover around 30 to 44 degrees.

If Brian wants one for wider use, such as telling when the oven lining
is cool enough to scrub or when the temperature of a frying pan is high
enough for the egg, I don't know of any source in the UK.

--
Robin
reply to address is (meant to be) valid

[Johny B Good]

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:32:29 +0100, "Ron" <r...@flymail.fm> wrote:

>
>

Most likely if my 3 or 4 quid purchase from the "Maplin Man" stall in
a local fleamarket a few years back is any guide (the ebay one looks
pretty similar to mine).

I've just taken a reading of my weather station with it and got a
reading of 22.6 deg C versus the weather station's own internal
reading of 22.2 deg C (also ditto for a cheap Wx station reading 22.4
and wall thermometer reading just a tad under 24 deg).

I can't recall the temperature reading range but I'm pretty certain I
was able to get 400+ deg C readings off my lad's motorcycle exhaust
pipes and I do recall night time clear sky temperature readings lower
than -20 deg C.

I've had a look at Maplin's IR thermometer range but can't find the
particular model I've got (probably, like inkjet printers, on account
of it being an obsolete model that's no longer manufactured).

The price range covers from a low of £29.99 to a high of £570.24 (a
Fluke 568 Multipurpose Thermometer which covers the range -40 to +800
deg C). I can't help feeling I got a bit of a bargain for my "3 or 4
quid (it might have been as high as 8 quid)" purchase. :-)
--
J B Good

[Johny B Good]

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:35:31 +0100, "Ron" <r...@flymail.fm> wrote:

>
>
>"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
>news:nyyfbegfubjuvyypb...@srv1.howhill.co.uk...
>
>On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:32:29 +0100, Ron wrote:
>
>> Good job they have, it is highly inaccurate.
>>
>> Pointed it at a boiling kettle and it registers 86 deg C,
>
>Shiny metal kettle or matt black paint?
>
>> thermometer in greenhouse registering 15 deg C it reads 8.1 deg C
>
>Thermometer reading air temp, IR the temp of what it was pointed at
>ie the structure. If your weather has been like ours recently it's
>pretty cold at night.

>Cheers
>Dave.
>
>
>That was actually pointing the IR at the thermometer which is a large
>min/max thermometer.
>
>And the kettle is white plastic.
>
>Even pointing it at the heating thermostat in the house the temp was a few
>degrees below what it is set at.
>
>And my body temp is 32 deg.
>

My body temperature is 36 (mouth reading).

You can't directly measure air temperature, only objects with an
emmisivity of 95% that happen to be at air temperature. If you try to
measure the sky on a clear cold winter's night, you're likely to see
sub -20 deg readings, depending on how dry the upper atmosphere is.

I just pointed my own IR thermometer out of the open window at the
night sky about 20 minutes ago (as it happened, just as our local
police chopper was flying across the portion of sky I was aiming for -
I'm half expecting a knock on the door since the thermometer includes
a sub milliwatt class 2 laser pointer) and got a reading of +5.2 deg
so I know we must have cloud cover tonight even though I can't
actually it through the window of a lit up room.
--
J B Good

[Johny B Good]

Even that ruse is likely to give an under-reading due to the thermal
gradient across the tape. I actually 'painted' a spot on my office
radiator using black felt tip to improve the accuracy of the reading
compared to the white painted surface and, I have to say, it made
bugger all difference.

I think the black plastic electric kettle only mamanges to give a
reading of 86 deg C when it's merrily boiling away. I'm putting that
one down to 'thermal gradient'. Polished metal surfaces are even worse
but only on account of their much lower emmissivity (I don't have an
old fashioned chrome steel electric kettle to try the 'black ink' spot
experiment on).
--
J B Good

[Richard]

"Robin" wrote in message news:m1hab9$k0d$1...@dont-email.me...

>
>There are talking non-contact IR thermometers for clinical use which you
>can point at foreheads or tear ducts instead of sticking in ears. But they
>only cover around 30 to 44 degrees.
>
>If Brian wants one for wider use, such as telling when the oven lining is
>cool enough to scrub or when the temperature of a frying pan is high enough
>for the egg, I don't know of any source in the UK.

But Brian could try to contact manufacturers and point out the feasibility
of the goal. He does have a vested interest.

[Dave Liquorice]

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:35:31 +0100, Ron wrote:

> That was actually pointing the IR at the thermometer which is a large
> min/max thermometer.

So has a reasonable thermal mass.

> And the kettle is white plastic.


> Even pointing it at the heating thermostat in the house the temp was a
> few degrees below what it is set at.

What sort of stat? Bi-metal clicky ones have a heater inside to
reduce the hysterisis to almost acceptable levels. How do you know
the stats calibration is correct?

> And my body temp is 32 deg.

Lower arms last night were 29 C, palm 32 C, back of hand 30 C. The
nominal 37 C body temperature is the body core temperature not that
of the surface of extremities.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article <abso3at9h1kctbuok...@4ax.com>,

Johny B Good <johnny...@invalid.ntlworld.com> writes:
> Most likely if my 3 or 4 quid purchase from the "Maplin Man" stall in
> a local fleamarket a few years back is any guide (the ebay one looks
> pretty similar to mine).
>
> I've just taken a reading of my weather station with it and got a
> reading of 22.6 deg C versus the weather station's own internal
> reading of 22.2 deg C (also ditto for a cheap Wx station reading 22.4
> and wall thermometer reading just a tad under 24 deg).
>
> I can't recall the temperature reading range but I'm pretty certain I
> was able to get 400+ deg C readings off my lad's motorcycle exhaust
> pipes and I do recall night time clear sky temperature readings lower
> than -20 deg C.
>
> I've had a look at Maplin's IR thermometer range but can't find the
> particular model I've got (probably, like inkjet printers, on account
> of it being an obsolete model that's no longer manufactured).
>
> The price range covers from a low of £29.99 to a high of £570.24 (a
> Fluke 568 Multipurpose Thermometer which covers the range -40 to +800
> deg C). I can't help feeling I got a bit of a bargain for my "3 or 4
> quid (it might have been as high as 8 quid)" purchase. :-)

I have the first model Maplin sold, a CNY 110.
http://www.applegate.co.uk/images/items/20/07/23/575.jpg
It's probably ~15 years old now, although it did get replaced under
warranty within first year. Lowest I've seen it read is -55C when
pointed at high thin clouds, although this is outside its rated range.

An IR thermomenter won't be able to read a completely clear sky (which
is about -270C, or 3K), but can read a very thin cloud layer which you
might not be able to see.

I've bought several more over the years for other people, and have
a nice CPC pocket one which also has a temperature probe and pipe
contact clamp temperature measuring facility (although it's faster
to use the IR sensor unless the pipe is bare copper).

[whisky-dave]

On Tuesday, 14 October 2014 09:20:13 UTC+1, Andrew Gabriel wrote:


>
> I have the first model Maplin sold, a CNY 110.
> http://www.applegate.co.uk/images/items/20/07/23/575.jpg
> It's probably ~15 years old now, although it did get replaced under
> warranty within first year. Lowest I've seen it read is -55C when
> pointed at high thin clouds, although this is outside its rated range.
>
> An IR thermomenter won't be able to read a completely clear sky (which
> is about -270C, or 3K), but can read a very thin cloud layer which you
> might not be able to see.
>
>
>
> I've bought several more over the years for other people,

I brought one as a cat toy. :-)

> and have
> a nice CPC pocket one which also has a temperature probe and pipe
> contact clamp temperature measuring facility (although it's faster
> to use the IR sensor unless the pipe is bare copper).

I'd like to know more about the one's they're planing on using at airports that have an accuracy of 0.1C as an aid to checking for Ebola via increase in body temerature.
I hope they don't have a problem with emissive black body problems ;-)

[Johny B Good]

I strongly suspect the melanin level in skin will have little effect
on the readings of such IR thermometers calibrated to the appropriate
emmissivity values for human skin (and, if it does, I'm sure they'll
have a calibrate button marked C/N[1] to compensate for this effect
:-).

In any case, a reading taken from a melanin free region (eg mouth or
ear canal[2]) will bypass this 'unknown', if indeed it is an
'unknown'.

[1] C/N meaning Pnhpnfvna/Avttre

[2] There'll be yet another bodily orifice or two available to the
Customs & Excise officers working in the body cavity search rooms (it
could be incorporated as an extra feature of the endoscope).
--
J B Good

[Johny B Good]

On Tue, 14 Oct 2014 08:20:13 +0000 (UTC), and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

====snip====

>
>I have the first model Maplin sold, a CNY 110.
>http://www.applegate.co.uk/images/items/20/07/23/575.jpg
>It's probably ~15 years old now, although it did get replaced under
>warranty within first year. Lowest I've seen it read is -55C when
>pointed at high thin clouds, although this is outside its rated range.

Even with no visible clouds, there's still more than enough water
vapour in the atmosphere to emit infrared back to the ground and
'obscure the 3 deg K CMB', which is why I suggested a midwinter's
clear night sky for this test when the water vapour content is most
likely to be at its lowest.

>
>An IR thermomenter won't be able to read a completely clear sky (which
>is about -270C, or 3K), but can read a very thin cloud layer which you
>might not be able to see.

You don't even need a thin invisible cloud layer, just the totally
(optically) transparent water vapour will be sufficient on its own to
get a reading.

>
>I've bought several more over the years for other people, and have
>a nice CPC pocket one which also has a temperature probe and pipe
>contact clamp temperature measuring facility (although it's faster
>to use the IR sensor unless the pipe is bare copper).

Even bare copper should give a useful indicator since it's not so
much the absolute temperature as the temperature difference that's
important in this case (assuming both flow and return pipes are bare -
usually the case, you're unlikely to see only the one pipe painted).

You can probably find a correction factor or else work out your own
correction factor by simple experiment.

I've since googled for images of IR thermometers (mine has absolutely
no indication of make or model number) and eventually came across a
picture of the IR thermometer I'd bought from "Maplin Man" all those
years ago (15 th page of images - bottom left on:

<https://www.google.co.uk/images?q=IR+thermometers+pictures&client=opera&rls=en&channel=suggest&hl=en&tbm=isch&ei=Zyw9VMivJIzg7Qbn3oHwBg&start=280&sa=N>

which linked me to:

<http://www.directindustry.com/prod/elcometer/handheld-infrared-thermometers-21009-48310.html>

and clicking on the link to the Elcometer website eventually led me
to this page:

<http://www.elcometer.com/en/component/productmanager/productmanager?prod=607>

I saved the data sheet and user guide for future reference

<http://www.elcometer.com/images/stories/PDFs/Datasheets/English/214_new.pdf>
<http://www.elcometer.com/images/stories/PDFs/InstructionBooks/214.pdf>

According to the description the temperature range in deg Celcius is
from -35 to +365 (-31F to +689F). I guess I must have mis-remembered
that 400+ deg C reading on the exhaust pipes (unless I'd accidently
pressed the C/F scale select button and was reading deg F - I normally
keep it permanently set to the Celcius scale).

It seems to easily meet its claimed accuracy of +/- 1.5 deg C afaict.
All in all, not a bad example of the breed of IR thermometer generally
available to the public at large.

Thanks to this thread, I now know a lot more about my own IR
thermometer than I ever did before (I can't recall whether I got an
instruction leaflet with it at the time of purchase or not - probably
not, I can't see any sign of one now).
--
J B Good

[whisky-dave]

I would hope so, but who knows.
I'm curuious as to how they get it that sensitive

>
> In any case, a reading taken from a melanin free region (eg mouth or
> ear canal[2]) will bypass this 'unknown', if indeed it is an
> 'unknown'.

I thought the idea was to check people remotely as they came through customs
otherwise you can just stick a rectal themoeter where the sun don't shine to get a reading, and I'd have thpought a more accurate one too.

[polygonum]

On 14/10/2014 11:34, whisky-dave wrote:
> I'd like to know more about the one's they're planing on using at airports that have an accuracy of 0.1C as an aid to checking for Ebola via increase in body temerature.
> I hope they don't have a problem with emissive black body problems;-)

Someone I know has a disorder which results in foot temperature rising
above 37 C at times. Definitely detectable with our inexpensive IR
thermometer. It is bizarre because there can be combinations of severe
pain, redness and overheated areas - and you can end up with any
combination of red/not red, painful/not painful, overheated/not
overheated - often at the same time.

--
Rod

[RJH]

In addition to what others have said (and apologies if it's been
mentioned elsewhere), there's an inverse relationship between point
accuracy and distance. Unless the the entire area surrounding the point
is the same temperature.

--
Cheers, Rob

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article <ca57i8...@mid.individual.net>,

polygonum <rmoud...@vrod.co.uk> writes:
> On 14/10/2014 11:34, whisky-dave wrote:
>> I'd like to know more about the one's they're planing on using at airports that have an accuracy of 0.1C as an aid to checking for Ebola via increase in body temerature.
>> I hope they don't have a problem with emissive black body problems;-)

The ones I've seen in the past are simply CCTV cameras which are
sensitive though into the infra-red. They can be configured to show
areas above a certain temperature in solid red. When pointed to a
crowd of people, you will normally see a few bright red foreheads,
those bing the ones who currently have a cold. You can very quickly
quickly screen loads of people this way.

> Someone I know has a disorder which results in foot temperature rising
> above 37 C at times. Definitely detectable with our inexpensive IR
> thermometer. It is bizarre because there can be combinations of severe
> pain, redness and overheated areas - and you can end up with any
> combination of red/not red, painful/not painful, overheated/not
> overheated - often at the same time.

Infection will generate a local hot spot as part of the body's attempt
to kill the bacteria. Some non-infected inflamations will also result
in locally raised temperature.

[polygonum]

On 14/10/2014 23:48, Tim Streater wrote:
> In article <m1k8tn$ndj$1...@dont-email.me>, Andrew Gabriel
> <and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> to kill the bacteria.
>
> Virus.
>
This is neither bacterial nor viral. Uncertain origin - possibly
sympathetic nervous system? Though there are several aetiologies with
similar end results.

--
Rod

[Rod Speed]

"polygonum" <rmoud...@vrod.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ca6j38...@mid.individual.net...

> On 14/10/2014 23:48, Tim Streater wrote:
>> In article <m1k8tn$ndj$1...@dont-email.me>, Andrew Gabriel
>> <and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> to kill the bacteria.
>>
>> Virus.
>>
> This is neither bacterial nor viral.

Wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

> Uncertain origin

Wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

> - possibly sympathetic nervous system?

Wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

Those treating those with ebola would get infected if it was that.

> Though there are several aetiologies with similar end results.

Wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

[Johny B Good]

All this 'repetition' put me in mind of "The Fall" and their track of
the same name. You don't happen to be a fan of late 70s Punk Rock by
any chance?

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD51AebdppA>

For those who missed out on this musical experience.
--
J B Good

[Rod Speed]

Johny B Good <johnny...@invalid.ntlworld.com> wrote

> Rod Speed <rod.sp...@gmail.com> wrote
>> polygonum <rmoud...@vrod.co.uk> wrote

>>> Tim Streater wrote

>>>> Andrew Gabriel<and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote

>>>>> to kill the bacteria.

>>>> Virus.

>>> This is neither bacterial nor viral.

>> Wrong
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

>>> Uncertain origin

>> Wrong
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

>>> - possibly sympathetic nervous system?

>> Wrong
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

>> Those treating those with ebola wouldn't get infected if it was that.

>>> Though there are several aetiologies with similar end results.

>> Wrong
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

> All this 'repetition' put me in mind of "The Fall" and
> their track of the same name. You don't happen to
> be a fan of late 70s Punk Rock by any chance?

Nope, never heard of them. I'm not into rock of any kind.

[polygonum]

On 15/10/2014 14:51, Johny B Good wrote:
> For those who missed out on this musical experience.

Thankfully I missed out on the Rod Speed experience. (Kill file member.)

--
Rod

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

On Tue, 14 Oct 2014 08:20:13 +0000 (UTC), and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

>An IR thermomenter won't be able to read a completely clear sky (which
>is about -270C, or 3K), but can read a very thin cloud layer which you
>might not be able to see.

Even allowing for the sky reading not being all that accurate, it's
pretty sobering to point it up and see how close we are to freezing
our nuts off. The atmosphere, thin but effective, does a pretty good
job, thank the gods.
Only arseholes think so little of it they'd be prepared to waste it
for the sake of a few quid in their pockets.

[stuar...@gmail.com]

A bit late but I've tried two of these and both start well but quickly the temperature reading starts to drop. Making constant readings and then even on/off type readings over 10 minutes or so resulted in the same spot on plasterboard wall dropping from 13 degrees to 4 degrees. Air temp was 13 degrees.

Will try it later today in a warmer room to see if it doesn't like being used in coolish air temps. Suspect the circuitry warms up and throws of the reading. A bit like a resistor that increases resistance as it warms up.

But I think the first reading is pretty good, just can't cope with repeated use. Which makes it nearly useless if scanning a wall for cold spots.