Inexpensive electronics thermometer?

[Deke609]

It would be fun, and potentially even useful, to be able to measure the temperature of amp components. There appear to be 2 types of thermometers, contact and infrared, and the professional versions of each type are super accurate and super pricey.


I'd be happy with +/- 5 degrees Celsius.  Has anyone had success with the cheapo ($25-$50) IR guns? I'm particularly concerned about measurement distance - and whether you need to hold the gun a min. distance away from the object. Since electronics components are small, I'll need to hold the gun pretty close to the component to avoid measuring the ambient temp or the temp of a nearby component.


Any thoughts/recommendations?


Many thanks,


Derek

[oguinn]

I bought the Nubee IR thermometer (NUB8500H) for cheap and it’s totally fine. I use it to make sure my cast iron is hot enough to sear my steak. And electronics stuff.

[Paul Birkeland]

The IR guns have to be adjusted for emissivity.

The $23 meter at Harbor Freight has a thermocouple that is more than adequate for what you want to do.  Just touch it to the device you're interested in and wait for the temp to stabilize.  If you're only interested in one device in particular, you can use a little tape to hold it against that device for longer term measurements.

[Deke609]

Thanks both.

The $23 meter at Harbor Freight has a thermocouple that is more than adequate for what you want to do.  Just touch it to the device you're interested in and wait for the temp to stabilize.  If you're only interested in one device in particular, you can use a little tape to hold it against that device for longer term measurements.

I would like to take longer term measurements, so this is very helpful. Too bad for me that Harbour Freight doesn't ship to Canada. I will have to find an equivalent which will undoubtedly cost twice as much in Canada.  Or make the 2 hour drive there and back to the nearest HF store across the border - which might be worth it if I was getting a bunch of stuff. ... I wonder what other stuff I "need" 


cheers,


Derek

[oguinn]

I was going to offer to buy and ship it to you but the shipping to Canada is as much as the thermometer itself.

[Deke609]

Thanks ... yeah, shipping to the Canada can be crazy expensive. Thankfully, large companies like Mouser and Digikey can get stuff to my door, all duties and taxes paid, within 48 hrs for only a modest increase in price.


I'll see if I can find one on the usual online selling marketplaces.


[Edit: found a cheap one on Amazon Canada [one of the 5 rebranded identical red units for sale there] - some reviewers complain that is it off by as much 5 deg. F, but that's well within the accuracy range I want. Now I can see how warm the diodes get (and maybe add a tiny bit of insulation if they are running cold after a 1/2 hour, and then retest)]

[Paul Birkeland]

Usually Candian Tire has all the junk stuff that Harbor Freight sells, though it's undoubtedly not all 100% the same.

[Deke609]

Hah! Aka "Crappy Tire" in Canada.

[2wo]

You can check your thermocouple with boiling water, as long as you're  reasonably close to sea level ...John

[Deke609]

Thanks John. Good idea. Toronto is only about 250 ft above sea level. A quick internet search tells me that water should boil at about 99.75 C at my elevation.  I'll give it go when the thermocouple arrives.


cheers,


Derek