Originally Posted by Jaz240

You can also use spit. Its free and always accurate.

Originally Posted by Stubbs

Unfortunately, no. I had surgery on my shoulder at the end of January....ironically enough, it was to repair an injury I sustained while turn marshalling at PNB last year, when I tripped over that big-ass fire hose that was laying near the RH side of the track.

I had hoped it would be healed up enough that I could go, but I just came out of the sling 2 weeks ago, and I've got several months of physical therapy before it's back to even being "functional". My range of motion is about 50% in most directions, but less than 25% in a few positions. I also can't lift more than 5 lbs with that arm right now either.

As much as I hate missing PNB, it just made sense to sit out this year. I'll be at Wicked Weekend in August for sure though!

Originally Posted by Stubbs

Like I mentioned in my post, I do send mine off for calibration periodically. It's never needed adjustment.

One thing that the Exergen does well is compensate for the Emissivity of different objects. IR thermometers analyze the radiated heat to determine the temperature of an object. The better ones can better compensate for different emissivity values, and more accurately read temps from different color surfaces / different materials.

Without going into a lot of details, a flat black surface will have a different emmissivity than a gloss blue surface, which will have a different value than a shiny aluminum surface. A good IR thermometer can handle this difference better than the lower cost versions.

As I said before, for those that believe in them, nothing but an Exergen will do. For those that don't, they'll likely never be convinced to spend the money for one. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.....

Originally Posted by ozziii

I only have the little blue Duratrax Flashpoint but it has a setting to change the emmissivity value to suit the surface your pointing it at, I'm not sure how much of a difference there would be by changing it but I might test it out when I can.
Its said you shouldn't tune a nitro engine by temp anyway so really, a reading within 5-10° should be enough to give a good idea on how things are going shouldn't it.?

Originally Posted by wombat

And with your spare $250, you can treat yourself to another new engine

Originally Posted by I<3RC

Exactly! hahaha

Originally Posted by MotoGod

In theory yes, but the more accurate data you have to use....the better the results are going to be. So if you buy a cheap temp gun, then figure out how far off it is and adjust it's readings when you use it.

You're right though....my older O'Donnell was 30 degrees low. So I would just add 30 to what it read and go on with my day. lol Now I too have an exergen. MUCH MUCH better temp gun.

Originally Posted by Stubbs

......that he got from me, for WAY less than $270.

There are definitely deals to be found.

Originally Posted by Stubbs

......that he got from me, for WAY less than $270.

There are definitely deals to be found.

Originally Posted by merdith6

I really only use a temp gun for break in.

Originally Posted by Bigwave

I hope that was a joke

You don't need anything too crazy, and accuracy can be +\- 5 or so degrees with no problem at all, it's just to get an idea really.

Lots of guys around here (Myself included) use this Trakpower

http://www.towerhobbies.com/products.../tkpp9000.html

Not too big and has a lanyard\stopwatch for your pit guy to keep track of fuel stops etc.

Originally Posted by I<3RC

Thanks more like it! haha, Thanks man.

Originally Posted by Stubbs

No, that wasn't a joke......if you want to keep really accurate tabs on your equipment, nothing beats the exergen. If you look around, you can get them for much less than $270. I paid $180 for mine, brand new, about 5 years ago.

I've compared mine to many different budget friendly temps guns, like the one you have in the link. I've seen differences as little as 5 degrees, to as much as 40 deg. The low cost ones have consistently read lower than the Exergen. I've also sent mine in for calibration twice.....both times there was no changes needed.

For nitro, even if you're only keeping track of temps at the end of a race to make sure it's not getting too high, there's a big difference between 250F and 290F. On the flip side, it's not just for nitro either. If you want to make sure your electric equipment is running at peak performance, you need to have accurate temp readings on the motor and ESC.

The folks who don't care much about equipment temps will never be convinced that spending close to $200 for a temp gun is worth it. For the folks who believe in keeping accurate measurements, nothing else but an Exergen is acceptable.

Just an FYI though, the Trakpower (formerly O'Donnell branded) temp gun has consistently been the farthest off from the Exergen (generally reading between 20 and 40 degrees lower). The TG1 from tempgun.com has been the closest (generally within 5 degrees F). I have one of those in my tool box as well, just in case something happens to my Exergen. (Here's a link to it)

Originally Posted by wombat

+1. After this, ive always only tuned to smoke/noise-pitch/performance

IMHO unless you really are at the top of your game where only the best will do, anything like a $270 temp gun is just a frivolous waste of coin - you're kidding yourself if you think you absolutely need such a piece of equipment. Cheaper options will achieve a similar desired result, but horses for courses.

My $12 ebay IR temp gun is accurate enough to be within 3 degrees celcius when compared to work's fluke gun. Good enough for me to have a rough ballpark figure (these are toys cars - not F1 cars).