BAFX Products Non Contact IR (Infrared) Thermometer (-58° ~ +1,022°F) W/Adjustable Emissivity & Pointer (-58 ~ +1,022)

This IR gun was purchased to be used to check the temp coming off of my RC cars but have found some other fun uses for it as well (not to mention annoying the wifey with the red laser;)It has been working great so far. It came well packaged, included the battery, (which was a nice touch as they can be rather expensive on their own) and was delivered rather quickly. The directions that came with it are something that could certainly be improved upon (must have been written in China for sure)but with this gun they really aren't needed. It is pretty self explanatory, aim at the area to be tested and pull the trigger. Obviously the further away you stand the larger of an area it reads and the more inaccurate it reads, the close you are the more accurate it is and reads a smaller surface area. The temp range on this gun is rather high for my needs (1,022 degrees) but compared to similar guns this one was much much cheaper and seems to work just as well. I cannot tell you about how exact the temp accuracy is as I have nothing to compare it to but it is supposed to be within 1.5 degrees Celsius and from the use I have put it through so far it seems to be correct. Overall I would recommend based on the price and the fact that it actually seems to work rather well.

LOL, I'm addicted to this thing. I take the temperature of everything now. I didn't really need this but originally bought it to make sure our AC was cooling evenly in all the rooms. It seems accurate, I took the temperature of something that I knew what it was ahead of time and it matched. I just wish it didn't beep every time you released the trigger. I also even use this when I'm smoking meats, I take the temp of the charcoal and can get a good sense how much longer it'll last and if I need to get it hotter or cooler. I do have a thermometer on my smoker but this lets me get the temp of the actual coals which is helpful. Nice device. Works great. Is a ton of fun.

BAFX Products Infrared Thermometer Review Packaging: It comes bubble packaged, as most things. However you won't be bleeding after you open it. You simply need to remove a few staples and snap open. Features: Measuring range: -50-550C (-58 - 1022 F) Accuracy: +- 1.5C / +- 1.5% Resolution: 0.1C / 0.1F Distance spot ratio: 12:1 Emissivity: 0.95 fixed Degrees Centigrade / Fahrenheit selectable Auto power off & Data Hold Laser On/Off selectable Backlight On/Off selectable Use one standard 9V battery (comes with it) Walk-around: - Looking at the front of the gun, there is a ~1/2" diameter hole, ~1" deep with a lens at the bottom for picking up the temperature, and ~1/8" diameter lens flush with the end of the gun for the laser. - Looking from the back of the gun, there is the LCD screen which gives the readings. The gray button on the left toggles the Laser. The gray button on the right toggles the LCD Backlight, and the red button in the middle toggles the display between Centigrade and Fahrenheit. - The battery compartment door is the black piece on the front of the handle, and the 9V battery is located in the bottom of the handle. - The yellow color that you typically see on equipment and the picture shows here, is not what I received. I would describe the color as DayGlo Orange. Basic Operation: - Putting the battery in: The entire black piece that makes up the front of the handle and that encircles the trigger is the battery door. On each side, up behind the trigger, where the black meets the orange, there are indentations for your thumb nails. With your thumb nails in each slot on the handle, and your long fingers wrapped around the front of the gun, press forward with your thumbs, and it will pop open very easily, and the battery door will swing down. - The 12 to 1 they list in the features simply means that it you measure a surface from ~12" away, it will measure an area ~1" in diameter, at ~3' it would be ~3" in diameter, etc. - To measure the temperature of an object, just point at it and press the trigger. It will continually read the temp as you move it around as long as the trigger is depressed. When you release the trigger, you will hear two beeps. This means it is no longer reading, and it retains your last reading. After a few seconds, it turns off, unless you again depress the trigger again. - The defaults when you turn it on will be Laser = on, Backlight = on, and Temperature Scale = Centigrade. - You cannot toggle any of the settings unless it is on, the trigger no longer depressed, and before it times out. (~5 sec.) - When you select a different behavior with the buttons, it will not be effective until the next time you press the trigger. - As long as the battery remains alive and connected, it will remember your settings. Testing: Next to my electronic thermostat, I have a liquid thermometer. They both read exactly the same at all times. I know the liquid thermometer is certified accurate, and I used it to calibrate the electronic thermostat. I just happened to leave the liquid thermometer there. They both read 64 degrees. Not expecting too much from something that was inexpensive, and works on the infrared principle, I aimed it at the thermostat and pressed the trigger. It read 64 degrees. My reaction was disbelief. I measured the wall next to it and the thermometer base, and they all read 64 degrees. Then I measured my picture window and it read 46 degrees. (-1F outside) I continued to measure things. You can easily find air leaks and spots on walls where the insulation isn't good. I don't need or expect this level of accuracy, nor did I believe this level of accuracy was possible with an IR thermometer. It took quite a while to convince me. Other: - There was a short period when it wasn't accurate, and that is when I first received it. It order to work properly, it seems to need to be at the temperature of the air around it. When it is, it is accurate. When it isn't, mine would be off 5 or 6 degrees. - The emissivity is fixed at 95% according to the feature list. Different textures and finishes emit IR differently. Some high-end ones have adjustments available for this. 95% must be a good pick because the walls, the white shiny plastic of the thermostat and thermometer, wood, counter tops, and linoleum are accurate. They state it won't be accurate on highly reflective surfaces. I haven't checked it on chrome exhaust, and wouldn't be able to tell you if it was off if I did. It's still difficult for me to believe it works this well, but to achieve the average user rating like you see here, there must be a lot of people with experiences similar to mine. From what I read, for the few that get lemons, the company seems to take care of those with legitimate issues.

I got this as a 'toy', but it's really great to have around and was just below my impulse buying limit as it is so inexpensive. Seems accurate to within ~ +/- 2 deg F, measures quickly and the coverage area is easy to understand. The laser is quite handy and the unit feels solid for the price. Works great for measuring food temps, Heat/AC vents and temps in the engine bay of my car. Best- Comes with a battery! (Don't have to go hunting for a 9V) Worst- Cannot turn off the beep after a reading is taken. It's only a quick little beep but I find it pretty annoying.

works well. I use it for various automotive work and around the house. I can quickly tell where the heat leaks are with this thermometer. You can use it on people too, just have them open their mouth, have them lift their tongue up, and point the laser to the back and under their tongue. Better than even a ear thermometer, and you don't have to buy any probe covers, ever. JUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO SHINE IT IN ANYONE'S EYES. Also very handy for cooking, you can tell exactly how hot the bottom of the pan is when cooking, or the temperature of a tray is in the oven. You'll find all kinds of uses for this thermometer.

A representative of the manufacturer provided such a polite response explaining emissivity that I added a star and altered any impolite remarks in my initial review. However, as another 3-star review pointed out, emissivity does not completely account for the variable performance, but performance is reasonable for the price. The Metrology Department at work has discouraged us from using this type thermometer for important applications and trained us on emissivity to help us be as effective as possible so it impressed me the manufacturer took the time to convey similar information. To be fair, I put a flat black object in the freezer for about an hour and took a measurement. It was 0 degrees C and 31F. I put it back in and left it about 30 minutes. The next measurement was -5C. The mediocre digital thermometer I used for comparison read 4C then 5 C. The bottom line is that for the price I am satisfied. One other note concerning the battery - I did not try a different 9-volt to see if it installed correctly, but the battery supplied with the unit did not, so I installed it with the terminals touching, rather than connected.

Think the item works great, really just bought it out of curiosity about the temperatures of things. First off for those writing a negative review there are a couple of possibilities, 1 you got a dud, 2 you have no idea how this thing works and you didn't even read the manual or the instructions on the side of the gun (these are my guesses based how people describe the problems). Google how infrared thermometers work and you'll see they work best on organic materials and not so well on shiny metals and things of the sort. Furthermore the laser measures nothing and is just used as a pointing device, on mine it seems it measures the temperature slightly below wherever the laser pointer is (likely they are mounted in parallel and obviously the laser is mounted above the infrared sensor). This gives you surface temperature only, if you're cooking this is good for checking oil temperature in a pan but not for checking internal temperature of meat (get a meat thermometer) or for checking boiling sugar temperature (get a candy thermometer). However if you say for instance want to know about how hot is that fire over there, this is great (assuming that fire over there is no hotter than 1022 F/550 C. Inaccuracies can be caused by differences in the assumed emissivity of the measured material (probably around .95 from what I've read) versus the actual emissivity of whatever you're measuring... for the geek in you all: [...] [...]

Do. Not. Buy. Trust me on this one--I read the 300 plus reviews too--thinking, okay, this will be good. So I will buy. Don't. This is a great laser pointer that beeps--that's it. Do. Not .Buy. Obviously there is a lottery here. Some of you get ones that work, some of you don't. I got one that didn't work. Here are some of the finer functions of this piece of crap (understood its $20, not expecting a miracle, but at least something that works..) First, it looks pretty nice and feels pretty go in your hands--(so did my ex-girlfriend, but at least she was reliable). Second, allegedly there is a "battery indicator"--mine never had one, even with three batteries I switched (and these were USA batteries, brand new, as opposed to "uncle chang's 9Vspecial" that came with the unit, the battery indicator never lit up. Third. I followed the instructions that came with it even in its best Engrish, and nothing but a nice laser beam and a beep. And yeah, I measured cast iron black pots--76.2 degrees F; even after on the stove on high for 20 minutes. I had one of those lodge cast iron black grills tonight and it registered 84 degrees on a stove that was searing chicken. This morning's coffee (in a matte black coffee mug) was a comfortable 584 degrees, when it wasn't "Lo" and beeping. I usually don't comment on stuff like this, but do so today so you can avoid the lemon I got. There are things you can skimp on, and regulatory instruments are not one of them. You get what you pay for. Look elsewhere, unless you are looking for an nice pistol grip laser pointer (that beeps), because thats all this is. Had there been a zero star, I would have assigned it, except for the fact that it is a nice laser pointer.