IR Thermometer

D

dglas

Guest
I found an old thread about BGE thermometer vs Thermapen. The consensus seemed to be that the BGE themometer was a cheap knock off and not as good as the Thermapen.

Research shows -- The BGE thermometer is a RTD (resistence thermal detector) while the Thermapen is a thermocouple.

The site http://www.smartsensors.com/spec.htm seems to indicate the RTD thermometer is the best of the two.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Aren't these used for different purposes? The BGE thermometer measures smoker temp and the Thermapen is for measuring internal meat temp. I wouldn't trade my Thermapen for anything.
 
RobKC said:
Aren't these used for different purposes? The BGE thermometer measures smoker temp and the Thermapen is for measuring internal meat temp. I wouldn't trade my Thermapen for anything.
Click to expand...


I think he is talking about this one.

PAOHADICOHPIEDEL.jpg
 
The subject of the thread is misleading, because neither the thermapen or the BGE therm are IR (Infrared) Thermometers.

41W9yZ9Fn9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
Anyways, based on your link, I think the reason why the Thermapen shines is because:

Grounded Thermocouples are inheritantly tip sensitive; while RTD elements are isolated from their sheaths. A grounded Thermocouple will respond to a 63% step change in temperature nearly 3 times faster than a RTD counterpart.
Click to expand...

So the quicker you get your temp, the better when you are trying to keep the cooker closed as much as possible.
 
jason said:
Anyways, based on your link, I think the reason why the Thermapen shines is because:
Grounded Thermocouples are inheritantly tip sensitive; while RTD elements are isolated from their sheaths. A grounded Thermocouple will respond to a 63% step change in temperature nearly 3 times faster than a RTD counterpart.
Click to expand...

So the quicker you get your temp, the better when you are trying to keep the cooker closed as much as possible.
Click to expand...

But then again the same link says:
There are many factors to determine accuracy; linearity, stability, and repeatability to name a few that can affect accuracy. While a Thermocouple's stand alone accuracy can approach that of an RTD, the superior advantages in these other areas make the RTD the choice.
Click to expand...

So maybe if the sole criteria is speed then Thermapen would be the choice.
 
I'm not too bothered they and both faster then the old dials.
 
dglas said:
So maybe if the sole criteria is speed then Thermapen would be the choice.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much why people prefer the Thermapen. It's fast. I don't have one but I've used one and it's a lot faster than the $10 dollar digital meat thermometer I got at Walmart. I can't really justify dropping $100 on a thermometer right now, though.
 
jason said:
That's pretty much why people prefer the Thermapen. It's fast. I don't have one but I've used one and it's a lot faster than the $10 dollar digital meat thermometer I got at Walmart. I can't really justify dropping $100 on a thermometer right now, though.
Click to expand...

The cost is a big factor. The BGE is $34 vs the Thermapen at $100. Seems a bit much for 3 or 4 seconds especially if there are no other advantages.
 
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