Okay, one of the better videos I've come across so far. Now, as a guy that doesn't know shit from Shinola about this subject, yeah, at least I know wtf EMISSIVITY means now. What I DO know is that there are too many variables to get the most accurate reading with anything less than big-dollar equipment and a controlled environment. I sincerely hope you're making more videos Bill, as if only a few of us get something from them, it's always a plus. PEACE
I have one of these. Because of the way it takes temperature you will never get the accuracy of direct physical contact. Hey, I bought it because it was cheap, I'm a gadget freak and It works great for checking cooking surfaces on the barbeque and the laser is great if you have cats😅 When I was a kid I saw this cartoon of a meteorologist sitting in his office surrounded by computers, charts, communication equipment and at the same time........he had his big toe sticking out the window.😊
can you tell me if I am need to measure existing copper piping on a boiler would it be better to clean the copper pipe, add some black tape or just set the emissivity on the device? What about steel or cast iron piping on a boiler? What is the electronic metering device you show on the video can you please identify that sensing probe and meter?
Steel or cast iron works better with this tool. I don’t like this tool for copper or shiny metals. Yet thermal imagers also have big problems with copper pipe when I’m testing boiler manifolds. Why I use pipe temp clamps
What if I use it to measure the temp of my nitro truck motor. A very important thing while tuning a motor is knowing the exact temperature of the motor so you can not blow it up due to running to lean and over heat it so how do I measure something that's way too hot to put tape on to ?? Should I measure a darker part of the motor ??
This should work on a motor as long as it's not shiny. anything with dull paint this should read the temps. I understand don't want an engine running lean I lost a few generator engines from them running lean
Assuming your engine is cast iron (the process is the same but the emissivity (e-mis-siv-it-te) is different for aluminum), the 0.95 setting will get you pretty close, but it is important that it is relatively clean. Your meter documentation should provide the settings.If you are concerned, take a reading with a contact thermometer, and use that to set the emissivity to be equal. Shiny metal, like stainless, will be way different.
just paint it black. im sure you can find recommended temps for the heat sink so just unbolt that and spray it. also Im sure you can find high temp tape. not sure if it will be rated hot enough for an rc car, those things get damn hot but the heat sink might not.
Sounds like you had at least 4 of those Weihenstephaners in you when you shot this vid. Not that I'm judging though! I do love me some beer. I use my Fluke 561 that my boss bought for me for mainly reading engine coolant & exhaust temps on the generators that I work on. I really don't have a thorough understanding of emissivity myself. I just pull the trigger and read on the default emissivity setting (medium) and call it close enough, using masking tape when I have it. For something that uses a laser, doesn't seem like a very precise measuring instrument, does it? Like you said, If you're supposed to back it up with a direct contact reading, then what's the point? Cheers.
Sad thing is I only had one yet was sick and not feeling well. The fluke is a nice IR. Would you buy a Fluke thermal imager or a FLIR? I love Fluke meters.
A kohler with overheating engine was why I bought my craftsman IR. Kohler needed me to test the cooling system to try to find out why they were losing engines. Turned out not enough gas pressure causing the engine to run lean. Comes in handy with radiant heat also.
Buy a thermal imager or FLIR? Hell no! They don't pay me enough to be able to afford stuff like that. Besides, we're just generator techs. A multi-meter, current clamp and IR thermometer is as far as we go. And some of our guys don't even really know how to use those (some of the worst and laziest mechanics I ever worked with). Beyond that we get licensed electricians or companies that specialize in switchgear maintenance and testing to handle that stuff. Our union contract says we're only required to have basic hand tools. Beyond that, the company has to provide it. And these motherfuckers I work for are SO cheap. They don't want to spend a dime on anything! The little we do have is fuckin' junk. And training? Virtually non-existant. Multi-million dollar, international company. Biggest crooks and liars I ever worked for.
The laser has nothing to do with the temperature reading, it is only there as a pointer to give you a ballpark indication of the area you are measuring. You can turn the laser off on most IR guns.
@@billstools5244 In your comments you say, "... the emissivity of the *_laser_* can be adjusted to compensate for objects being tested." You may want to correct that for clarity.
@@Pro1er couldn't a thermal spot or infrared thermometer be considered a laser not the pointer laser. That's why emissivity will play into the thermal spots ability to correctly measure the surface temp
@@billstools5244 The laser is only there to act as a pointer. The actual reading is done by a thermal detector behind the lens of the pyrometer (gun). Emissivity is how much infrared radiation a surface is emitting. Any surface above the temperature of absolute zero emits IR radiation. The scale goes from 0 to 1.The emissivity setting on your pyrometer is based off an ideal black body which has a value of 1.0 (carbon black). A piece of black electrical tape will have an emissivity of ~0.95, whereas a copper buss bar in an electrical panel could be as low as 0.07. That's why it is extremely important to have the gun set correctly when taking readings. I recently watched a video of a mechanic taking the temperature of brake rotors and his gun was set to the default emissivity of 0.95. The temperature reading would be totally incorrect due to the highly reflective surface of the shiny steel rotors. Had he put a piece of black electrical tape on the rotor and measured off of that, his reading would be correct. This explanation is way over-simplified and far from all-inclusive, but should give you some understanding of the principals involved.
Now when I say laser I am not talking about the red dot. The beam IR which is thermal radiation which could be considered a form of invisible laser beam. The light is just a pointer to let you know the area you are testing
just remember our field of view is only what the camera sees and we cant even make out all of that. when going back and forth between measurements it would be nice if you either made sure we can read them or say them outloud. please and thank you.
You have no idea what your talking about. The package clearly says at 12 inches distance it is measuring a 1 inch spot. The 12 to 1 ratio doubles every foot you get further from the spot. So it would go 1" a foot away, 2" 2 feet away, 4", 8", etc.
thanks for this never knew it mattered. "Emissivity" sounds like a weird std or some ghetto stripper with a few bullet and stab wounds lol i want to dismantle one and build a diy dabrite. i think i should buy a few maybe jic haha thanks again
All IR thermometers deal with that even some of the cheaper thermal imagers. This did help me find a loose wire on a breaker since the loose wire was causing the breaker to overheat and trip.
Do you have your diesel truck running in the background?
Okay, one of the better videos I've come across so far. Now, as a guy that doesn't know shit from Shinola about this subject, yeah, at least I know wtf EMISSIVITY means now. What I DO know is that there are too many variables to get the most accurate reading with anything less than big-dollar equipment and a controlled environment. I sincerely hope you're making more videos Bill, as if only a few of us get something from them, it's always a plus. PEACE
You may be getting some of the background wall around the pipes in the temperature readings.
How many inches do I hold the thermometer 12.1 from the material
I have one of these.
Because of the way it takes temperature you will never get the accuracy of direct physical contact.
Hey, I bought it because it was cheap, I'm a gadget freak and It works great for checking cooking surfaces on the barbeque and the laser is great if you have cats😅
When I was a kid I saw this cartoon of a meteorologist sitting in his office surrounded by computers, charts, communication equipment and at the same time........he had his big toe sticking out the window.😊
can you tell me if I am need to measure existing copper piping on a boiler would it be better to clean the copper pipe, add some black tape or just set the emissivity on the device? What about steel or cast iron piping on a boiler? What is the electronic metering device you show on the video can you please identify that sensing probe and meter?
Steel or cast iron works better with this tool. I don’t like this tool for copper or shiny metals. Yet thermal imagers also have big problems with copper pipe when I’m testing boiler manifolds. Why I use pipe temp clamps
I have a Hold feature on my IR gun and what is it for? Lost my manual.
What if I use it to measure the temp of my nitro truck motor. A very important thing while tuning a motor is knowing the exact temperature of the motor so you can not blow it up due to running to lean and over heat it so how do I measure something that's way too hot to put tape on to ?? Should I measure a darker part of the motor ??
This should work on a motor as long as it's not shiny. anything with dull paint this should read the temps. I understand don't want an engine running lean I lost a few generator engines from them running lean
Assuming your engine is cast iron (the process is the same but the emissivity (e-mis-siv-it-te) is different for aluminum), the 0.95 setting will get you pretty close, but it is important that it is relatively clean. Your meter documentation should provide the settings.If you are concerned, take a reading with a contact thermometer, and use that to set the emissivity to be equal. Shiny metal, like stainless, will be way different.
just paint it black. im sure you can find recommended temps for the heat sink so just unbolt that and spray it. also Im sure you can find high temp tape. not sure if it will be rated hot enough for an rc car, those things get damn hot but the heat sink might not.
WHAT'S THE TEMPERATURE OF THE MOON?
Sounds like you had at least 4 of those Weihenstephaners in you when you shot this vid. Not that I'm judging though! I do love me some beer. I use my Fluke 561 that my boss bought for me for mainly reading engine coolant & exhaust temps on the generators that I work on. I really don't have a thorough understanding of emissivity myself. I just pull the trigger and read on the default emissivity setting (medium) and call it close enough, using masking tape when I have it. For something that uses a laser, doesn't seem like a very precise measuring instrument, does it? Like you said, If you're supposed to back it up with a direct
contact reading, then what's the point? Cheers.
Sad thing is I only had one yet was sick and not feeling well. The fluke is a nice IR. Would you buy a Fluke thermal imager or a FLIR? I love Fluke meters.
A kohler with overheating engine was why I bought my craftsman IR. Kohler needed me to test the cooling system to try to find out why they were losing engines. Turned out not enough gas pressure causing the engine to run lean. Comes in handy with radiant heat also.
Buy a thermal imager or FLIR? Hell no! They don't pay me enough to be able to afford stuff like that. Besides, we're just generator techs. A multi-meter, current clamp and IR thermometer is as far as we go. And some of our guys don't even really know how to use those (some of the worst and laziest mechanics I ever worked with). Beyond that we get licensed electricians or companies that specialize in switchgear maintenance and testing to handle that stuff. Our union contract says we're only required to have basic hand tools. Beyond that, the company has to provide it. And these motherfuckers I work for are SO cheap. They don't want to spend a dime on anything! The little we do have is fuckin' junk. And training? Virtually non-existant. Multi-million dollar, international company. Biggest crooks and liars I ever worked for.
I feel the same way yet I do more HVAC It make my job easier yet cost too much
Can I check how cold is my car a/c?
preview video's before you post them, with your common sens, would you be proud of it?
SHUT OFF THE FAN.?.
Nobel prize material.
The laser is only for pointing accuracy it has nothing to do with capturing the temp... you can actually turn it off to save battery...
Sounds like a fan running in background, maybe try shutting it off next time
The laser has nothing to do with the temperature reading, it is only there as a pointer to give you a ballpark indication of the area you are measuring. You can turn the laser off on most IR guns.
Yes this does the average of a one inch spot at 12 inches and a 2 inch spot at 24”. The laser just centers the spot being tested
@@billstools5244 In your comments you say, "... the emissivity of the *_laser_* can be adjusted to compensate for objects being tested." You may want to correct that for clarity.
@@Pro1er couldn't a thermal spot or infrared thermometer be considered a laser not the pointer laser. That's why emissivity will play into the thermal spots ability to correctly measure the surface temp
@@billstools5244 The laser is only there to act as a pointer. The actual reading is done by a thermal detector behind the lens of the pyrometer (gun).
Emissivity is how much infrared radiation a surface is emitting. Any surface above the temperature of absolute zero emits IR radiation. The scale goes from 0 to 1.The emissivity setting on your pyrometer is based off an ideal black body which has a value of 1.0 (carbon black). A piece of black electrical tape will have an emissivity of ~0.95, whereas a copper buss bar in an electrical panel could be as low as 0.07. That's why it is extremely important to have the gun set correctly when taking readings.
I recently watched a video of a mechanic taking the temperature of brake rotors and his gun was set to the default emissivity of 0.95. The temperature reading would be totally incorrect due to the highly reflective surface of the shiny steel rotors. Had he put a piece of black electrical tape on the rotor and measured off of that, his reading would be correct.
This explanation is way over-simplified and far from all-inclusive, but should give you some understanding of the principals involved.
Now when I say laser I am not talking about the red dot. The beam IR which is thermal radiation which could be considered a form of invisible laser beam. The light is just a pointer to let you know the area you are testing
just remember our field of view is only what the camera sees and we cant even make out all of that. when going back and forth between measurements it would be nice if you either made sure we can read them or say them outloud. please and thank you.
You have no idea what your talking about. The package clearly says at 12 inches distance it is measuring a 1 inch spot. The 12 to 1 ratio doubles every foot you get further from the spot. So it would go 1" a foot away, 2" 2 feet away, 4", 8", etc.
Is that “The Count’s Beer”? German guy.
Subscribed to your channel too, by the way.
thanks for this never knew it mattered. "Emissivity" sounds like a weird std or some ghetto stripper with a few bullet and stab wounds lol i want to dismantle one and build a diy dabrite. i think i should buy a few maybe jic haha thanks again
Hacker emissivity too many variances I don't think I'm buying one of them things. Peace brother
All IR thermometers deal with that even some of the cheaper thermal imagers. This did help me find a loose wire on a breaker since the loose wire was causing the breaker to overheat and trip.
I'm not interested in a 30 min video .about a thermometer.
Yet here u r