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Old 07-31-2020, 07:24 AM   #1
Brantlyj
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IR Thermometer

I trust the Thermoworks brand but they are out of stock until September.

I could wait if needed but is there any other brand that everyone likes? Amazon has a million choices at all different price points.
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Old 07-31-2020, 07:37 AM   #2
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I trust the Thermoworks brand but they are out of stock until September.

I could wait if needed but is there any other brand that everyone likes? Amazon has a million choices at all different price points.
If your not running a chemistry lab most folks go with an inexpensive Harbor Freight or whatever is available at Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon, Ebay, etc. That's one of the great things about the internet is the available customer reviews.
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Old 07-31-2020, 07:52 AM   #3
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The wait is worth it.
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Old 07-31-2020, 07:58 AM   #4
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My Harbor Freight IR thermometer is 7 years old, still working, still reliable, still identifies "accurate enough" information. I'm not concerned with using it to detect "minute (small not time) differences in temperature as I would in measuring a 0.1F change in a patient's forehead temperature (COVID testing). I'm more concerned in detecting a 10F or 20F change between two tires or two wheels/hubs on the same side of an RV. The HF IR thermometer ($17.99 with coupon) is ideal for that purpose. It's not (at least to me) important that it "accurately measure minute temperature differences" but it's important that it has the capacity to identify significant differences in temperature.....

We're not, IMHO, looking for scientific results, but rather looking for "bailing wire and duct tape differences" between our wheels/hubs/tires on a trailer, not on an operating table in surgery.....

While a "$100 thermometer with an accuracy in the 0.001F range" will surely work, so will an $18 thermometer with a 1.00F range...
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Old 07-31-2020, 08:49 AM   #5
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Well, I've got to go with the old HF myself. Had it for years, still makes a red dot and gives me a temp... What else could one ask for? It's accurate enough, even for cooking or checking temps out of an AC register - none require .001F accuracy. And to put it into a different context....prior to the IR gun I used my hand on the tire/hub. Now I know my hand is pretty well "calibrated" but figure that IR gun is a teensy weensy bit more accurate. And on the high side, no more unexpected blisters from a hot hub/wheel!!
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Old 07-31-2020, 08:50 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
My Harbor Freight IR thermometer is 7 years old, still working, still reliable, still identifies "accurate enough" information. I'm not concerned with using it to detect "minute (small not time) differences in temperature as I would in measuring a 0.1F change in a patient's forehead temperature (COVID testing). I'm more concerned in detecting a 10F or 20F change between two tires or two wheels/hubs on the same side of an RV. The HF IR thermometer ($17.99 with coupon) is ideal for that purpose. It's not (at least to me) important that it "accurately measure minute temperature differences" but it's important that it has the capacity to identify significant differences in temperature.....

We're not, IMHO, looking for scientific results, but rather looking for "bailing wire and duct tape differences" between our wheels/hubs/tires on a trailer, not on an operating table in surgery.....

While a "$100 thermometer with an accuracy in the 0.001F range" will surely work, so will an $18 thermometer with a 1.00F range...
I've had the HF unit for over ten years, still works as well as I need it to.
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Old 07-31-2020, 09:26 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
Well, I've got to go with the old HF myself. Had it for years, still makes a red dot and gives me a temp... What else could one ask for? It's accurate enough, even for cooking or checking temps out of an AC register - none require .001F accuracy. And to put it into a different context....prior to the IR gun I used my hand on the tire/hub. Now I know my hand is pretty well "calibrated" but figure that IR gun is a teensy weensy bit more accurate. And on the high side, no more unexpected blisters from a hot hub/wheel!!
After my neck injuries and subsequent numb hands my HF IR's (have 2 of them and both still going strong for about 10+ years now) give much more accurate readings than my fingers or the back of the hand.

No more :
Red (1st degree burn) = rare or hot day on the road.
Blistered (2nd degree burn) = medium, better look closely at other wheels hubs, note, have 4 wheels so must use fingers not back of hand)
Burnt (3 rd degree burn) = well done, have DW call fire dept as a hub or break is about to burst into flames!
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Old 07-31-2020, 10:23 AM   #8
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John's " but it's important that it has the capacity to identify significant differences in temperature....." is exactly on point. As are all the other's for that matter.
There are no reasons to know the actual temps, just the difference in the temperatures. If you have tires running from 138 to 144 degrees and the odd one running 162 degrees then something is amiss.
If I remember physics class (back in the covered wagon days) you are only interested in the delta.
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Old 07-31-2020, 05:49 PM   #9
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My cheapo HF IR gun saved my boat bearings after new bearings and repack I test drove it and found 1 wheel about 80 degrees hotter than the other 3. It was a disk brake not fully releasing. I pulled boat on a 140 mile trip several days later and would have had a failure if not used it.
I even started using it to check trucks rear end temps while pulling vs not pulling. How well does it do the job, well it shows differences and as said that is all I really want it for. Oh my vinyl fence showed 130 when cement patio was 95 in the direct sun last week.
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Old 07-31-2020, 06:08 PM   #10
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My HF temp gun works just as good as my high dollar one that came with my powder coating stuff. I do have another HF temp gun in my tool box at work and it does an excellent job checking hubs, freezer wall, refer coils (warranty claim form), A/C ducts etc. if my partner buys a Snap On temp gun, I will test how close they read, but I suspect it will be pretty darn close.
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Old 08-17-2020, 08:26 AM   #11
Brantlyj
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Follow up to this: bought one on Amazon. Surprised I have not had to replace the batteries yet as my kids played with it for a solid week. Had to break my 7 y/o’s heart when I told her it wouldn’t be able to measure the temp of the moon and sun. Lol

Checked wheel temps this last trip. Both brake drums on the right side were 250 degrees. Left side front was 90 and back was 130. So brakes on 3 wheels needed adjusted. Tightened up the one, loosened up the other two. I’ll see what I get in this weekends trip.

I’ve seen talk about self adjusting brakes. Are these able to be modified with the self adjusting hardware?
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Old 08-17-2020, 11:44 AM   #12
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gosh, don't over think it just get an inexpensive one.


https://www.google.com/search?channe...q=ir+thermoter
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Old 08-17-2020, 12:39 PM   #13
chuckster57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brantlyj View Post
Follow up to this: bought one on Amazon. Surprised I have not had to replace the batteries yet as my kids played with it for a solid week. Had to break my 7 y/o’s heart when I told her it wouldn’t be able to measure the temp of the moon and sun. Lol

Checked wheel temps this last trip. Both brake drums on the right side were 250 degrees. Left side front was 90 and back was 130. So brakes on 3 wheels needed adjusted. Tightened up the one, loosened up the other two. I’ll see what I get in this weekends trip.

I’ve seen talk about self adjusting brakes. Are these able to be modified with the self adjusting hardware?
I would just run what you have until its time for new brakes and then get all new backing plate assemblies.
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