Thread: Infrared non contact thermometer

On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:07:01 -0400, EJ Willson <[email protected]>
wrote:

>This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody use
>one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
>
>Thanks,
>EJ in NJ


I have one, Its kitchen use is to check the temp of the baking stone
when I make bread. I use it in the garden to check soil temps (used it
today) and it's a nifty toy, too.

Boron

"EJ Willson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
> This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody use
> one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
>
> Thanks,
> EJ in NJ

I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the internal
temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I may be inclined
to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would get put away and
never used again. We have on I work but I've never bothered bringing it
home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of the temperature of a pan,
but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for one. Tha tis a one time use.

On 3/21/2010 12:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> "EJ Willson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
>> This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody
>> use one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> EJ in NJ
>
> I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
> temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the
> internal temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I may
> be inclined to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would get
> put away and never used again. We have on I work but I've never bothered
> bringing it home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of the
> temperature of a pan, but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for
> one. Tha tis a one time use.

Yes, they aren't very useful for cooking mainly for the reason you
mention that you can't see the internal temperature of something. I have
one and other than for the one time I toyed around with it when a frying
pan was heating it doesn't spend any time in the kitchen.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> "EJ Willson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
>> This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody
>> use one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> EJ in NJ
>
> I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
> temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the
> internal temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I
> may be inclined to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would
> get put away and never used again. We have on I work but I've never
> bothered bringing it home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of
> the temperature of a pan, but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for
> one. Tha tis a one time use.

I sometimes have custody of such a device and hope I remember to
fiddle with it in the kitchen when I next do. That could be
interesting!

--
Jean B.

"George" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:ho51cp$d2r$[email protected]..
> On 3/21/2010 12:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>
>> "EJ Willson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
>>> This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody
>>> use one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> EJ in NJ
>>
>> I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
>> temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the
>> internal temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I may
>> be inclined to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would get
>> put away and never used again. We have on I work but I've never bothered
>> bringing it home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of the
>> temperature of a pan, but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for
>> one. Tha tis a one time use.
>
> Yes, they aren't very useful for cooking mainly for the reason you mention
> that you can't see the internal temperature of something. I have one and
> other than for the one time I toyed around with it when a frying pan was
> heating it doesn't spend any time in the kitchen.

I have the cheapie Harbor Freight one. About $18 iirc. I like it,
particularly when checking to see if a pan with just a small amount of oil
in it is ready to put something in. If it's too cool, no good. Too hot,
the same. For deep oil, I use a long thermometer. But it is good when
things are ready to check everything and see if anything needs nuking for a
minute.

I love mine, and use it a LOT.

Steve

On Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:26:21 -0400, "Jean B." <[email protected]> wrote:

> I sometimes have custody of such a device and hope I remember to
> fiddle with it in the kitchen when I next do. That could be
> interesting!

would it be useful for calibrating an oven, or not?

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> "EJ Willson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
> > This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody use
> > one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > EJ in NJ
>
> I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
> temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the internal
> temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I may be inclined
> to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would get put away and
> never used again. We have on I work but I've never bothered bringing it
> home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of the temperature of a pan,
> but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for one. Tha tis a one time use.

They are very useful in the kitchen, but are not a replacement for a
probe type instant read thermometer or other specialized thermometers
like candy or oven.

IR thermometers give you surface temperatures, so they won't tell you
anything about the inside of a roast. IR thermometers are tremendously
useful due to their non-contact and non-cleanup nature. Checking if the
baking stone is up to temp, checking if the pan is sufficiently hot,
checking the temp of any liquid that is being stirred, be it oil, soup,
sauce, etc. Also for checking when reheating leftovers, and the like.

As for particular units, any of the Harbor Freight "gun" types are
generally just fine. No they are not suitable for laboratory use, have
fixed emissivity settings, etc., but that is not an issue for kitchen
use. Some of the little pocket types do not have a sufficient
temperature range, but all the "gun" types I've looked at have been
sufficient.

George wrote:
>
> On 3/21/2010 12:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >
> > "EJ Willson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
> >> This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody
> >> use one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> EJ in NJ
> >
> > I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
> > temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the
> > internal temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I may
> > be inclined to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would get
> > put away and never used again. We have on I work but I've never bothered
> > bringing it home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of the
> > temperature of a pan, but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for
> > one. Tha tis a one time use.
>
> Yes, they aren't very useful for cooking mainly for the reason you
> mention that you can't see the internal temperature of something. I have
> one and other than for the one time I toyed around with it when a frying
> pan was heating it doesn't spend any time in the kitchen.

You didn't play with it enough. A substantial percentage of kitchen
temperature measurement needs are no internal temperatures. There are
plenty of surface temperature sensing needs, and checking surface temps
of pots of liquids works very well if you are stirring them. A key
feature of the IR is their non-contact and non-cleanup nature.

On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:37:54 -0400, Boron Elgar <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have one, Its kitchen use is to check the temp of the baking stone
>when I make bread....

Me too, plus to check surface temp. of liquids. It's especially useful for
checking the temp. of a pan with a small amount of fat heating in it.

I also use it for monitoring surface temp. and distribution of electric cooking
devices. But one caveat: the two I own do not work correctly with some
reflective stainless steel surfaces.

-- Larry

"pltrgyst" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:37:54 -0400, Boron Elgar <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>I have one, Its kitchen use is to check the temp of the baking stone
>>when I make bread....
>
> Me too, plus to check surface temp. of liquids. It's especially useful for
> checking the temp. of a pan with a small amount of fat heating in it.
>
> I also use it for monitoring surface temp. and distribution of electric
> cooking
> devices. But one caveat: the two I own do not work correctly with some
> reflective stainless steel surfaces.
>
> -- Larry

For the past fifty years I've been looking at the oil in a pan and can tell
if it is hot enough to cook in. No batteries needed.

On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:54:52 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"pltrgyst" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]. .
>> On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:37:54 -0400, Boron Elgar <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>I have one, Its kitchen use is to check the temp of the baking stone
>>>when I make bread....
>>
>> Me too, plus to check surface temp. of liquids. It's especially useful for
>> checking the temp. of a pan with a small amount of fat heating in it.
>>
>> I also use it for monitoring surface temp. and distribution of electric
>> cooking
>> devices. But one caveat: the two I own do not work correctly with some
>> reflective stainless steel surfaces.
>>
>> -- Larry
>
>For the past fifty years I've been looking at the oil in a pan and can tell
>if it is hot enough to cook in. No batteries needed.
>
>
How do you check the temp of a baking stone?

Boron

On 3/21/2010 1:49 PM, Pete C. wrote:
>
> George wrote:
>>
>> On 3/21/2010 12:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>
>>> "EJ Willson"<[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
>>>> This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody
>>>> use one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> EJ in NJ
>>>
>>> I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
>>> temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the
>>> internal temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I may
>>> be inclined to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would get
>>> put away and never used again. We have on I work but I've never bothered
>>> bringing it home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of the
>>> temperature of a pan, but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for
>>> one. Tha tis a one time use.
>>
>> Yes, they aren't very useful for cooking mainly for the reason you
>> mention that you can't see the internal temperature of something. I have
>> one and other than for the one time I toyed around with it when a frying
>> pan was heating it doesn't spend any time in the kitchen.
>
> You didn't play with it enough. A substantial percentage of kitchen
> temperature measurement needs are no internal temperatures. There are
> plenty of surface temperature sensing needs, and checking surface temps
> of pots of liquids works very well if you are stirring them. A key
> feature of the IR is their non-contact and non-cleanup nature.

Sure but I can certainly judge the heat of a frying pan by watching the
oil or I don't need a thermometer to tell me when something is simmering
or boiling rapidly. They are great devices but I just don't see a need
to keep it in the kitchen.

On Mar 22, 6:31*am, Boron Elgar <boron_el...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:54:52 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
>
>
>
>
>
> <e...@snetnospam.net> wrote:
>
> >"pltrgyst" <pltrg...@xhost.org> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]. .
> >> On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:37:54 -0400, Boron Elgar <boron_el...@hotmail.com>
> >> wrote:
>
> >>>I have one, Its kitchen use is to check the temp of the baking stone
> >>>when I make bread....
>
> >> Me too, plus to check surface temp. of liquids. It's especially usefulfor
> >> checking the temp. of a pan with a small amount of fat heating in it.
>
> >> I also use it for monitoring surface temp. and distribution of electric
> >> cooking
> >> devices. But one caveat: the two I own do not work correctly with some
> >> reflective stainless steel surfaces.

My husband is a Licensed Quantum Mechanic. He said something (of
course,
I only understood the broad strokes) about emissivity, shininess,
black bodies,
and IR thermometers. So it's probably not limited to your two.

Frankly, it was like that Far Side cartoon about "talking to the dog",
where
all the dog understands is its own name.

> >> -- Larry
>
> >For the past fifty years I've been looking at the oil in *a pan and can tell
> >if it is hot enough to cook in. *No batteries needed.
>
> How do you check the temp of a baking stone?
>
> Boron

I don't. I stick it in the oven and turn the oven to 525 (as high as
it
will get). About an hour later, I slide the pizzas on to it. It is
what
it is.

Cindy Hamilton

Cindy Hamilton wrote:

> Frankly, it was like that Far Side cartoon about "talking to the dog",
> where all the dog understands is its own name.

Blah blah blah Ginger. Heh. I had that one up in my cube for
a few years.

nancy

On 3/22/2010 8:40 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Mar 22, 6:31 am, Boron Elgar<boron_el...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:54:52 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> <e...@snetnospam.net> wrote:
>>
>>> "pltrgyst"<pltrg...@xhost.org> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]..
>>>> On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:37:54 -0400, Boron Elgar<boron_el...@hotmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>
>>>>> I have one, Its kitchen use is to check the temp of the baking stone
>>>>> when I make bread....
>>
>>>> Me too, plus to check surface temp. of liquids. It's especially useful for
>>>> checking the temp. of a pan with a small amount of fat heating in it.
>>
>>>> I also use it for monitoring surface temp. and distribution of electric
>>>> cooking
>>>> devices. But one caveat: the two I own do not work correctly with some
>>>> reflective stainless steel surfaces.
>
> My husband is a Licensed Quantum Mechanic. He said something (of
> course,
> I only understood the broad strokes) about emissivity, shininess,
> black bodies,
> and IR thermometers. So it's probably not limited to your two.
>
> Frankly, it was like that Far Side cartoon about "talking to the dog",
> where
> all the dog understands is its own name.
>
>>>> -- Larry
>>
>>> For the past fifty years I've been looking at the oil in a pan and can tell
>>> if it is hot enough to cook in. No batteries needed.
>>
>> How do you check the temp of a baking stone?
>>
>> Boron
>
> I don't. I stick it in the oven and turn the oven to 525 (as high as
> it
> will get). About an hour later, I slide the pizzas on to it. It is
> what
> it is.
>
> Cindy Hamilton

Mine came with a hole in it and a thermometer to go into the hole. So
far it's been working fine. Don't really need it anymore though, I
know it takes the stone a half an hour to come to temperature so I give
it 45 minutes.

On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:40:41 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
<[email protected]> wrote:


>> How do you check the temp of a baking stone?
>>
>> Boron
>
>I don't. I stick it in the oven and turn the oven to 525 (as high as
>it
>will get). About an hour later, I slide the pizzas on to it. It is
>what
>it is.
>
>Cindy Hamilton

I am more precise in my stone temps and I am not making pizza, but
baking breads which require different temps. Pizza generally does well
at a very high heat, and some lean breads, do, too, but not all of
them do, and I hate to run the oven any more than is required to get
to the temp I need.

The thermometer isn't an absolute necessity, hell, neither is the temp
setting in the oven, but it is nice to be able to use it, just as it
is nice for some folks to use a scale to weight things rather than
eyeball them. Just a tool which allows whatever precision one seeks as
a comfort level...sort of like that thingee you stick in dirt let you
know if the plant needs watering. ...some folks like that, some thinks
it is overkill.

Boron

George wrote:
>
> On 3/21/2010 1:49 PM, Pete C. wrote:
> >
> > George wrote:
> >>
> >> On 3/21/2010 12:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >>>
> >>> "EJ Willson"<[email protected]> wrote in message
> >>> news:qycpn.212373$[email protected] com...
> >>>> This seems like a good item to have in your kitchen toolkit. Anybody
> >>>> use one?..Model recommended?..costs..accuracy..other issues?
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks,
> >>>> EJ in NJ
> >>>
> >>> I'm not so sure it would be useful. It may be nice to know the surface
> >>> temperature of a pan if you are curious, but it does not give the
> >>> internal temperature of a roast or tell you if your steak is done. I may
> >>> be inclined to play with one for a couple of days, but then it would get
> >>> put away and never used again. We have on I work but I've never bothered
> >>> bringing it home. OK, I'm curious now about the evenness of the
> >>> temperature of a pan, but not so curious as to spend $20 to $100 for
> >>> one. Tha tis a one time use.
> >>
> >> Yes, they aren't very useful for cooking mainly for the reason you
> >> mention that you can't see the internal temperature of something. I have
> >> one and other than for the one time I toyed around with it when a frying
> >> pan was heating it doesn't spend any time in the kitchen.
> >
> > You didn't play with it enough. A substantial percentage of kitchen
> > temperature measurement needs are no internal temperatures. There are
> > plenty of surface temperature sensing needs, and checking surface temps
> > of pots of liquids works very well if you are stirring them. A key
> > feature of the IR is their non-contact and non-cleanup nature.
>
> Sure but I can certainly judge the heat of a frying pan by watching the
> oil or I don't need a thermometer to tell me when something is simmering
> or boiling rapidly. They are great devices but I just don't see a need
> to keep it in the kitchen.

If your stirred custard is simmering, it's F'd. There are plenty of
sub-boiling temperature checking needs. Checking temps of baking stones
is another. Water temps for proofing yeast is another.

I bought one IR gun intending it for my shop, tried it in my kitchen and
had to buy another for my shop. I also find it useful for checking water
temps when prepping a 5 gal batch of water for an aquarium water change.

On Mar 22, 12:11*pm, Boron Elgar <boron_el...@hootmail.com> wrote:

>sort of like that thingee you stick in dirt let you
> know if the plant needs watering. ...some folks like that, some thinks
> it is overkill.

You mean, my finger? That's what I stick in the dirt to see if
the plant needs watering. Works well.

Of course, I hardly have anything or do anything that requires
undue fussiness.

Cindy Hamilton

On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:41:45 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Mar 22, 12:11*pm, Boron Elgar <boron_el...@hootmail.com> wrote:
>
>>sort of like that thingee you stick in dirt let you
>> know if the plant needs watering. ...some folks like that, some thinks
>> it is overkill.
>
>You mean, my finger? That's what I stick in the dirt to see if
>the plant needs watering. Works well.

Yup..I even linked to a picture of a finger in that thread.
>
>Of course, I hardly have anything or do anything that requires
>undue fussiness.
>
>Cindy Hamilton

I admit to being a gadget freak. If it beeps, lights up or takes
batteries, I want it. I have been that way since I was a kid and
taught by Mr. Wizard how to make a flashlight with a wire, bulb and a
D cell .

Boron