Extech 14172 December 02, 2009, 07:01:07 am Yahoo Message Number: 108083Sears dot com is showing this item at $43.99 plus S&H. Was the $19.99 price an in-store only price? Was it a one day only price?Pat B.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #1 – December 02, 2009, 07:07:40 am Yahoo Message Number: 108084Yes. We received a flyer with the newspaper, I believe. The price is good today, Wednesday through Friday. It is snowing pretty hard here, but I am going to try to get to the store. Seems like a good deal.
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #2 – December 02, 2009, 08:31:24 am Yahoo Message Number: 108085QuoteSears dot com is showing this item at $43.99 plus S&H. Was the $19.99 price an in-store only price? Was it a one day only price? Go to the Sears website, select 'weekly ads' and enter your zip code. If it is at a nearby store, it will be in the ad.Steve
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #3 – December 02, 2009, 08:42:07 am Yahoo Message Number: 108086QuoteGo to the Sears website, select 'weekly ads' and enter your zip code. If it is at a nearby store, it will be in the ad. Also, note the specs carefully, e.g. range 6", 500F max, no listed accuracy. It might not work for you, depending on your need. The laser, of course, is just for visible aiming, not a measurement element.Steve
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #4 – December 02, 2009, 10:41:02 am Yahoo Message Number: 108087"note the specs carefully, e.g. range 6"..." I think you're misinterpreting what the description says: "Measures a 1-inch spot from 6 inches." That doesn't mean the *maximum* range is six inches; they're just saying that it has a 9.5° angle of acceptance. All the non-contact IR thermometers I've seen have infinite range--on a clear night, you could probably measure the emissivity of the Milky Way if you wanted to. :-) As for the 500° maximum reading, if your tires are hotter than that, you're in deep trouble. And accuracy is less important in this application than repeatability--what you're mainly interested in is whether all your tires, especially the dually pairs, are within a few degrees of each other. A tire that's running significantly hotter than the others is likely to be underinflated, and hence at risk of a blowout. Although I haven't used this particular Extech model, I've played with several moderately-priced IR thermometers in the past, and I'm pretty sure this one will do just fine for the uses RVers will put it to.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #5 – December 02, 2009, 05:24:01 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108098QuoteI think you're misinterpreting what the description says: "Measures a 1-inch spot from 6 inches." That doesn't mean the *maximum* range is six inches; they're just saying that it has a 9.5° angle of acceptance. All the non-contact IR thermometers I've seen have infinite range--on a clear night, you could probably measure the emissivity of the Milky Way if you wanted to. :-) As for the 500° maximum reading, if your tires are hotter than that, you're in deep trouble. Since I only saw this as a new thread, I had no idea what the OP's use would be. You're right about the angle of acceptance, but if you were looking for hot spots in your exhaust system, for instance, aiming from a few safe feet away would not be useful with this instrument, nor would its temperature range. It is easy to be fooled by that nice, sharp laser dot into thinking THAT is where you are getting the spot reading. It's accuracy would be pretty useless for an alternative way to check for a fever, too. For just checking tire temps from a few inches, it should be just fine. I don't think its bottom end of -5F will be useful for astronomical observations, either, BTW!Steve
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #6 – December 02, 2009, 06:30:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108102My Micro Temp gage has an acceptance angle of about 6 degrees. I think that is just fine for many applications
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #7 – December 02, 2009, 06:46:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108104"It is easy to be fooled by that nice, sharp laser dot into thinking THAT is where you are getting the spot reading." You're right about that. And as I was thinking about it yesterday, I wondered why they use a laser dot. I have in my toy drawer a laser pointer that cost me 99 cents at a Dollar General store, and came with half a dozen screw-on caps that project hearts, arrows, skulls, etc. They're not apertures, as I first assumed. Each cap contains a tiny disc of film--a holographic optic that distorts the beam into the requisite shape. Now, if a toy that sells for a buck can do that, then surely a $50 IR thermometer could afford to do the same thing. Why not project a circle that indicates the ACTUAL MEASURED AREA? Seems so obvious--why hasn't anybody done it ? "if you were looking for hot spots in your exhaust system, for instance, aiming from a few safe feet away would not be useful with this instrument, nor would its temperature range." True. And while it *might* be accurate enough to use as a fever thermometer, it's not precise enough, since it only reads out in one-degree increments--no tenths. But there are quite a few uses for a device like this besides checking tires. One of the prime ones is spotting heat leaks in your rig. Because these IR thermometers give a continuous reading that's updated several times a second, you can sweep one across a wall, window, or ceiling and very quickly spot where the heat is getting out--or in. There's no more dramatic way to prove to yourself that the aluminum window frames are bigger heat conductors than the glass windows themselves--just look at the temperature differential between the two. Likewise, in a few seconds you can scan your oven's or fridge's interior for warm and cold spots. I've also used mine to locate overheating components on a printed circuit board. I've seen accounts of using them as quick-reading candy thermometers. (They should not, however, be used for meat, as the temperature inside a roast or a turkey can be very much lower than at the surface.) Another post I read said that the owner was able to make perfect waffles for the first time after using an IR thermometer to read the temperature of his waffle iron's surface. Oh, they have lots of uses... even if, as you say, they can't detect the Big Bang's background radiation. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Extech 14172 Reply #8 – December 03, 2009, 09:58:13 am Yahoo Message Number: 108110QuoteOne of the prime ones is spotting heat leaks in your rig. Because these IR thermometers give a continuous reading that's updated several times a second, you can sweep one across a wall, window, or ceiling and very quickly spot where the heat is getting out--or in. There's no more dramatic way to prove to yourself that the aluminum window frames are bigger heat conductors than the glass windows themselves--just look at the temperature differential between the two. Likewise, in a few seconds you can scan your oven's or fridge's interior for warm and cold spots. I've also used mine to locate overheating components on a printed circuit board. I've seen accounts of using them as quick-reading candy thermometers. Oh great! I used these things professionally for years, but never felt the need at home - until now. At least you've given arguments for why my wife will be getting one for Xmas, if they are still available!Steve
Re: Extech 14172 IR thermometer Reply #9 – December 03, 2009, 01:37:30 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108126"you've given arguments for why my wife will be getting one for Xmas, if they are still available!" You might also want to consider this compact $26 model: http://tinyurl.com/ycbzlfe>. It's much smaller than the pistol-grip type we've been discussing, so it's much easier to find a place to store it. No laser, but you don't really need that--you can see where you're pointing it. Kate has one of these, and it works great.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Extech 14172 IR thermometer Reply #10 – December 03, 2009, 04:32:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108132"No laser, but you don't really need that--you can see where you're pointing it."Andy The laser aimed IR thermometers do have valuable uses as long as the laser accurately hits the center of the thermometer's observed area. Mechanics use them all the time to check motor bearings, among other things, in hard to reach areas. The pro-grade IR thermometers I used at work had fairly narrow beams and were really useful pinpointing of bad bearings, exhaust leaks and defective insulation. I bought my first IR thermometer 7 years ago at Radio Shack to use for checking the LD's tires and it is still working fine. Message 29162 http://tinyurl.com/yfnurx2> A couple of years ago I picked up a $20 IR Laser thermometer at Harbor Freight, on sale, and I'm amazed how focused the beam is and how the calibration is very similar to the RS thermometer.I wouldn't buy another IR thermometer without the laser. YMMVLarry
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