Good temp guage?
 

Hi Guys, I'm just wondering what any of you guys think a good temperature guage is? As i have a losi one and i feel it's taking a dump on me. So I figured it was time to get a new one. Thanks in advance!

And maybe a little bit more reasonably priced then $270 Haha

I hope that was a joke :eek:

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.

Thanks more like it! haha, Thanks man.

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)

Total BS
 

Ok some of the cheap rc specific temp guns are not good but I would not pay over 200 dollars that's just silly. I use these and they work great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Non-Contact-...item2ec7b7ca37

i got one of these
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Non-Conta...item1e85c5704b
i've tested it against a fluke temp gun and reads similar temps.

Completely agree. I've had my Exergen for years. Brilliant bit of kit and worth every dollar. I've used the cheapo alternatives before and never had one which was close enough to the Exergen readings for comfort. At the end of the day it's half the cost of a decent engine and will last you years and years and probably end up paying for itself eventually.

The cheap guns are ok to get an idea of the temps but will never be as accurate as the Exergen. Sorry chaps it's a fact!

Thanks for all the input guys

I also recommend the Duratrax infrared sensor. It's pretty cheap and really reliable. It's also quite accurate.

The flukes good enough for me. 270 seems a bit much for the excergen. Maybe because they are into medical equipment?

The cheap ones are all inaccurate and the exergen is just too expensive. The best test you can do it temp boiling water. I think its 202 degrees. You will know instantly how close your gun is. Someone really needs to release a good accurate gun in the $75-$100 price range. They would be a great seller.

Surprised there isn't a HK version of the exergen...

I have been using the Duratrax flashpoint for a couple of years & its been pretty good, never had a problem with it & its been reliable. Know a few others to use it to as it works well. It may not be the most accurate but like mentioned by 'Jaz' with the boiling water, I've done that a few times & its been pretty close.
Easily good enough for getting a reasonably accurate temp from my nitro engines.

Hey ozziii are you coming to the AKA Hi Impact Duel at CORMCC on the 8th and 9th of March?

Unless you like burning cash for fun then no need to spend anywhere near that, look at laser temp guns for home inspections in the $80-$100 range and they are within 3-5 degrees, that $280 crap is way overpriced
I don't mind spending money but that's just dumb,
The Milwaukee 2265 is in that price range of $80-$100 and just as accurate as that $280 model actually they are both have around within 2-3% accuracy and you save $200 for a hooker

I'll 2nd, 3rd, and 4th this statement... There are two things I keep tight dibs on at the track - my radio and my exergen...

Break - Stubbs, you coming to PNB this year? I'll be bringing down the same crew (+1 new guy) from DC this year - can't wait...

If you are going to invest in a temp gun. The exergen is the only one worth buying. I have a Raytek that is OK but I trust the exergen my friend has any day over anything else. I have seen many cheap temp gauges that are way off. You invest a lot of money invested in everything else. Why cheap out on the temp gun? It's the same with your fuel and everything else.

Lol!

Unless said user is sending their IR temp gun off yearly for certification and any necessary re-calibration, the name on it means absolutely jack-squat in terms of accuracy. They all lose accuracy over time.

Heres my take on it, i own the exergen and The Micro TEMP - Both amainhobbies sell(they no longer have the micro temp listed)

but it was about $40.00 USD vs 240ish(prices vary )

I use both for breaking in engines and eletric cars... the micro temp is always within 5F, wish i could return my exergen...

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm for sure not trying to spend almost 300 on a temp gun! I think the 50 dollar range is more or less about it.:lol:

:nod:

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

Pfft we all know you need to spend $700 on an engine for it to work like it should.

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

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! :D

Suck it up Sally! ;-)

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.....

LOL

Best method! Can't get over how many people screw up their tune using a temp gun. I don't use one cuz I know how to tune an engine. I always have some genius i don't even know grab my truck after a race to temp it cuz they are eager to tell me how lean it is. The look on their face is priceless when they say it's only 232*, lol.

I temp mine....just as a nice confirmation of what happened during a long race. I never tune by temps though....just another tool to use while tuning ;-)

Oh man, I remember that!!! Well, I'll be at Wicked Weekend too - atleast planning on it... Get better and take rehab seriously... I had shoulder surgery a long time ago, pissed away the physical therapy and I'm still feeling it today...

Get well brother...

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.?

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.

I used to think my Raytek was accurate but someone shot my stuff with a bluepoint (snap on) and it's 40 degrees different. but his gun looked like it was thrown around in a garage for 6-10 years already. full of grease and oil etc. and I've tested mine against a contact type pyrometer and it reads the same as it but that was about 8 years ago.

but I would love to find someone with a exergen and see who's is closer.
the exergen while so over inflated priced is the only ir gun in the world certified accurate by nist .

Exactly! hahaha

well put
 

I really only use a temp gun for break in. This is the one I use. whoever posted this one was right. it's the best temp gun I've used to date. It has a large display, works perfectly. Much better than some of the crap out there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NON-CONTACT-...item232a230aaa

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

There are definitely deals to be found.

Yessir ;-)