Good temp guage?
03-05-2014 | 05:03 PM
#17
Tech Addict
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 583
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)
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)
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
03-05-2014 | 05:13 PM
#18
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)
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)
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...
03-05-2014 | 07:13 PM
#19
Tech Elite
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,445
From: Canada
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.
03-05-2014 | 07:40 PM
#21
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.
03-05-2014 | 07:43 PM
#22
Tech Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 774
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...
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...
03-05-2014 | 11:45 PM
#24
03-06-2014 | 06:55 AM
#27
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!
03-06-2014 | 07:40 AM
#28
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!
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!
03-06-2014 | 08:09 AM
#29
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.....