So, what's the real temperature...

[BrowningBAR]

I suspected that one of my thermometers was off, so I took the two thermometers off of the Vigilant and put all three on the griddle of the Intrepid. One reads 550°, the second reads just over 500°, and the third reads just under 450°. Fantastic job, Rutland. Your thermometers continue right along with the rest of your competitors offering consistently inconsistent products.

I hope to be getting an IR thermometer for Christmas, but I still like to have a stove top thermometer. Any brands that any of you out there are happy with? Before Rutland I had an SBI thermometer that was off within the first week.

 

['bert]

i would forget about the stovetop type and just go with a quality IR unit. Many other uses around the house also. Here hoping Santa is good to you.

 

[begreen]

Be careful when putting thermometers side by side for comparison. My IR thermometer shows a significant difference at some points on the stove top, just 2" apart. If I point the IR to as close as possible to the edge of my 30 yr old Sandhill, it reads within 5 degrees. 2" away could be 10-15 deg different.

 

[pen]

Put them all in the oven together and see how the fair.

pen

 

[BrowningBAR]

Be careful when putting thermometers side by side for comparison. My IR thermometer shows a significant difference at some points on the stove top, just 2" apart. If I point the IR to as close as possible to the edge of my 30 yr old Sandhill, it reads within 5 degrees. 2" away could be 10-15 deg different.

I understand there could be a difference, but what you are describing (15 degrees) is a bit more acceptable than over 100 degrees.

 

[er318]

I just got an IR thermometer (Raytek MT6) and found that both my Rutland and Imperial burn indicators are both useless pieces of garbage. You can "adjust" them to match the approx peak burn temps which is useful to prevent overfiring but then they are drastically "off" throughout the rest of the burn range at lower temps. Sometimes you may want a fire without getting it up to 600 degrees. I think they should remove the numbers from those burn indicators and just put something like "warm - hot - very hot" or something similar on them since the numbers are so misleading and inaccurate.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've had several but the best so far are the ones purchased from Woodstock. I don't know who makes them for them but they all measure the same temperature. We've gotten some other ones as gifts but they were junk.

 

[er318]

I've had several but the best so far are the ones purchased from Woodstock. I don't know who makes them for them but they all measure the same temperature. We've gotten some other ones as gifts but they were junk.

Maybe they all read the same but were they accurate? If they're like the others I've checked with the IR then I doubt it.

I wonder how come they don't make a magnetic, real "thermometer" as opposed to the "burn indicator"? One that used an enclosed front oven-type thermometer would be much more accurate.
I think the reason they call those things "burn indicators" is so they can make woodburners feel they're custom-tailored for their needs (ie; selling more) and probably it's a legal "out" for claims made against them due to their inaccuracies ("..but your honor, we never claimed it was an actual thermometer; just a measly burn indicator....").