infra-red temperature gauges

[dave friday]

Evening all,i've got one of the above and have been trying it out,checking surface temps is fine but how do you check oil temps,water temps etc,
any tips suggestions?
ta.

[HarryMann]

I Suppose, aim it at the metal sump Barry...

They do have a limited temp range very often dependent upon price and spec... and the surface can affect readings.

So there you go, I don't really know much abou them, except the bloke over the road has an expensive one and seems to be very handy a round the cooling system generally

[dave friday]

Cheers Clive, ive a 20 quid one from "maplin",checking temps using a pan of boiling water i get different readings dependent on what the pan is made of,so i guess its a rough test.
Some readings from a very hot engine;
block..80c
oil filter..70c
cylinder head..65c
sump..55c!!
so??

[HarryMann]

Take the highest, which'll be the filter body, 70C. If that's black though, that may explain it...

You could I suppose abrade off a fair area, and then contrast the paint finish and the bare metal to see if, and how much, any difference actually is... it may amount to little if anything or 10 degrees. Might be worth removing some index finger skin though to find out?

Think mine was from a show, quite a small ting, and cost about £10... however it does seem to be accurate but has a limit of about 110C I think, will check later when out in the shed..... *

*Fixing a right buggered steering column and steering lock, de teeeves had a go at Jenny's Micra K10 Tuesday night when de vind blowing loud... didn't get it started but mangled it (veeery pissed orft, having got an MOT @ 21 years old, last week). They seem to have nicked a neighbours little KIA one street down, so something stopped them... must put a demobilser on it ASAP and then a big sign on it...

Help yourself, no door locks, you bastards wrecked them last time, it won't start for me neither

Basically they either can't afford the taxi home from the local pubs or are teenagers practising for their apprenticeships... been told a very amateur effort, they should just have bent the door frames and left the locks alone... it's the buggered door locks that pi$$ me off the most

[dave friday]

Good luck with the Micra...
just tried pointing it at the moon -62c then later at the fire 227c! so it does have a fair range.
good luck.

[HarryMann]

just tried pointing it at the moon -62c then later at the fire 227c! so it does have a fair range.

Heeh! Barry Galileo is it... ?

[dave friday]

Well i learnt something today,air temp -15c gauge pointing strait into space, Moon -62c,is this to do with "colour temperature".

[HarryMann]

I might say it is, but I'm not a physicist or an IR thermometer manufacturer... so take that with a pinch of red hot coals. Nice idea, colour temperature, photographic term as well...

Perhaps Barry, there was wee slip of paper with very fine print on it, in the box with that IR gauge, and it will tlel what is valid and invalid when pointed at,...

Haven't yet been back out to shed, to check mone, about 0C here and heading downwards