Infrared Thermometer (Sunny)

I bought this for fun and to measure the temperature while making candy. I've only used it a couple of times for that, and it seems to be fairly accurate. (purchased less than 1 month ago). I am writing this review to address some of the bad information given on this product's Q&A pages here at Amazon. I don't consider myself an IR expert, but as a chemist who has used IR spectrophotometers as well as using IR guns that I've had to calibrate (costing several hundred dollars), I guess I know more than most. Here is a quick primer on the technology. First, the "laser" is used to point AT the target. I like this gun's ability to turn off the red LED laser - although for pointing at targets more than a couple of yards (meters) away it adds a bit of guesswork. Generally, the laser dot does NOT appear ON the spot that the gun is sensing/measuring. Oh, did I mention that this gun (and all consumer IR guns) do NOT measure internal or air temperature? They measure SURFACE temperature. If you have good reason to believe that the surface and air temperatures are the same, or if the surface and internal temperatures are the same (laws of thermodynamics require them to come to equilibrium, but that only works in isolated, very well insulated, systems. In fact, one of the things I did with this is discover my kitchen-to-garage door was a real cold spot, almost 10 F below rest of room. Meaning if it was measuring air temperature, it wouldn't have shown such a large difference. So, not for use for measuring meat, or air temperatures (generally). I use if for candy because the solution is being well stirred so its surface temperature is a pretty good indication of its internal or bulk temperature, but I keep in mind that it isn't measuring Temp on bottom of pan/pot. OK, it measures surface temp. Second thing is that the "spot" it is taking an average temperature of increases with distance - their literature makes this clear, I think. I think of it like a beam from a flashlight, except in reverse, the beam going into the sensor eye (which has to be kept clean to function properly) narrows as it gets closer and closer to the gun. This would be a problem if the spot is larger than the object you're trying to measure Temp of. (it is "seeing" both the object and the air around it, and we already know that it doesn't measure air temperature (it 'sees' ambient IR light which is kinda sort like air temperature, but forget accuracy there). You should keep 'spot' size in mind when pointing gun at target. Last thing I should mention is that some guns (some costing only ten or twenty more than this one) claim that you can adjust emissivity. What does that mean? It means that for accurate results, the gun needs to take the color of the target into consideration. That is, a white colored object with a surface at the exact same temperature as a black object will measure cooler. This gun (afaik just like any other of the type) should have been designed to be most accurate on a black surface (see wikipedia on black body if theory interests you). Any other color will cause error. Also, the gloss and reflectivity of the surface will cause error. A shiny surface will measure cooler than a flat (matte) one. (at least, I believe that is the direction the error takes). That means that even a thin coat of glaze will introduce a difference in reading. Other things, like making sure battery is at voltage is as important here as any other digital device. One answer said that the mfg's claimed accuracy was plus or minus 2 degrees. I have no idea whether this is centigrade or fahrenheit and it makes a BIG difference (2 degrees C is almost 4 degrees F !!). So, a good gun will allow user to adjust for the emissivity (color and gloss) of the surface (which would only be useful if you're using it on the same type of surface most of the time). This gun doesn't. It also doesn't allow calibration, which is different from, but arguably equivalent to emissivity adjustment. (at least a "one point" calibration is). The results I've seen with my gun suggest it could be used for temporal artery temperature readings (the so-called "forehead" readings - but that is a whole 'nother can of worms, since most "forehead" guns aren't temporal artery (or aren't marketed that way), probably due to customer AND mfg/marketer ignorance. To get a good reading on the temple, you have to know how large the spot is so you know what distance to hold the gun. The gun should, in ideal circumstances, be held pointing perpendicularly at the target surface - although not always necessary (depending on the accuracy you need; for medical uses you can't tolerate a 2 degree error, so you must check this gun's accuracy (i.e. calibrate it) for that purpose.)

I bought this IR thermometer because of not only the price, but out of all the ones I looked at here on Amazon, this one had fairly consistent good reviews. I got this for working on my vehicles where I need to check temperatures of components and I don't anticipate using it all the time. When ordering I wasn't anticipating top of line quality like a Fluke product, but I was pleasantly surprised once I got it and tested it out. The only thing I can see changing out in the future is the 9v battery that came with it, but that is it. I liked the fact that there is an option for illuminating the display which you can turn off.The seller, Vanguard was good at sending a follow up email once it was delivered to see if the IR thermometer had met my expectations and asked if there were any issues they could help with. I wasn't expecting that as I usually don't get those kind of follow up emails, but it comes across that they care about making sure their customers are happy. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the experience and the product.

I purchased this because I just spent $20 for a heating and AC guy to come out and tell me nothing was wrong with my AC unit. There were a couple of 100+ degree days and my AC was running continuously. I thought the AC needed re-charging or something.The AC guy aimed his expensive multi purpose infrared thermometer at the grates in the floor ... they all read anywhere from 61 to 64 degrees. The problem was the hot sun streaming in through the windows. We repaired a shade structure and instantly the house began to cool. However, I wanted to make sure that in the future something was really wrong before we called the AC guy.I purchased this thermometer thinking if it is even close to what the AC guy had I'd be happy. The readings I got from this were not only close, but they were right on to the reading he had. Since I received this I also tested the road before taking the dogs out, I've tested the walls for insulation, I also tested our stove. This tool provided extremely accurate results.

This tool is exactly what I needed for bread baking. The temp measurement on my dough and water was very accurate. It has a good grip and feels great in my hand. It's fun to use so naturally I tried it on other things and it worked just as well with excellent accuracy. Very happy with my purchase. I specifically liked the way this company stayed in touch with me via email from the time of purchase to receipt of item and beyond. I've not experienced that type of service before and was impressed. When I initially received it, the battery that came with it did not work but the customer service specialist that had been communicating with me took care of the problem immediately and exceeded my expectations. The problem solving and customer service was excellent. Great product!

Readings on these instruments can be almost impossible to get 100% accuracy, unless you pay for $500 ones. It may be off, give or take 1 degree F, but it at least seems to be very consistent with its readings and not all over the place like other ones I have purchased. I tested it out on a few things and it seems to be reading right within the temperature range so I trust it. I mostly use this to read the surface temperatures of basking and cold areas of my reptile enclosures and vivariums. Again, seems to be working great. I'll probably pick up another one after trying this for 6 months.