Pyrex digital thermometer users??

[Sparky]

I've been agonizing over the replacement to my sturdy old (broken) Kodak Process Thermometer - and found THIS.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...9229451?ie=UTF8&qid=1176707474&sr=1-1&seller=

What's nifty about this - is that, not only does it have a stainless probe to stuff down the neck of graduated cylinders, etc... but also has a countdown function and alarm that goes off after a predetermined time and/or the predetermined temperature is reached! One can only assume this to be the case with ASCENDING temps though (damn!). But it sounds great nonetheless. Anybody here using this one or something similar you can report on?? Looks like the bomb. Though there's a suggestion that the sensor is ruined by moisture (hmm....!! that doesn't sound good!).

 

[wildbill]

good find.
I can't comment on that one but i use a pyrex digital from "linens and things" that's been working great for 3 years. It's a self-contained unit shaped like a stop sign. The readout is on the top which is also the handle.

 

[Sparky]

next stop: pH tester!

I'm not sure I've seen that one. maybe - there were a few pyrex models. What's super great about the digital thermos is the near-instant readings. I think it's within a degree or two within the first half second - and then stabilizes to 0.1 degree or whatever.

But generally - I've been trying to scrounge for really good, cheap lab equipment digitaltruth has good deals for containers, etc... a good balance - I'm not sure about. I've forgotten all my lab etiquette and all the business with humidity compensation for hygroscopic substances. The Nalgene teflon grads and other pieces are great too. But hard to find really cheap. It'd be great if we (are you listening, Sean? - maybe you don't want to...!) could have a sort of amazon-style list of links PER member with recommended equipment (lab, etc...) and sources...? Dunno. I've been finding some pretty cool alternative sources for common lab and camera stuff - even books, etc.. and would LIKE to share this info with other apug members. But I really don't want to just have it lost in a forum thread somewhere.

 

[Neal]

Dear Sparky,

Buy two. They are just the thing for cooking meat perfectly every time.

Neal Wydra

 

[Sparky]

Creative fellow, aren't you?

 

[Neal]

Dear Sparky,

"Creative fellow, aren't you?" You wouldn't even joke about that if you'ed eaten the product of my grilling efforts before I got one of those. :>)

Neal Wydra

 

[Sparky]

sorry - i was misreading you. i thought you were dissing the idea of using a thermometer designed for culinary applications in the darkroom! (man- hate the internet for that reason sometimes!!)

 

[Neal]

Dear Sparky,

No problems here. In fact, it would be handy to find one with a timer that could be set to the second. Built in process timer.

Neal

 

[MattKing]

I use a Pyrex digital kitchen thermometer, and a separate Pyrex digital kitchen timer which permits setting of two different times at the same time. both cost me about $15.00 US each in a kitchen store. The dual timer is great for developing film - one is set to the total time, while the other is set to the agitation interval.

I develop using tanks or tubes in the kitchen. The microwave timer works too.

Matt

 

[Sparky]

matt - do your thermo's have probes? I was curious about the possibility of sensor contamination. Someone on the amazon site was saying that the unit died when the probe got wet - which, for me, is barely believeable - considering you're supposed to stick this thing in a turkey... which seems like sort of a wet affair to begin with!

 

[MattKing]

matt - do your thermo's have probes? I was curious about the possibility of sensor contamination. Someone on the amazon site was saying that the unit died when the probe got wet - which, for me, is barely believeable - considering you're supposed to stick this thing in a turkey... which seems like sort of a wet affair to begin with!

Sparky:

My current thermometer has a probe (approximately 5 inches/13 cm long) at the end of a flexible cord, which plugs into the side of the display housing. It is fine. I chose the one I did based partly on how robust the cord and its connection to the probe appeared.

Previously, I tried one of the thermometers where the display is permanently stuck on the end of the probe. If I inadvertently immersed the display housing, or even sometimes splashed the housing, water would get into the battery compartment, and the thermometer would stop working until it fully dries out. I expect that they will work in a turkey, because the battery compartment doesn't get immersed in liquid. There may also be "waterproof" versions of these type of thermometers available.

The flexible cord is also useful if you are dealing with large containers - you can hang it easily from the edge of the container. They are a little more bulky though.

It's my practice to check my digital thermometer regularly against my other, more traditional thermometer. So far, the digital thermometer remains consistent, although my traditional thermometer is not "high end".

Hope this helps.

Matt

 

[Neal]

Dear Sparky,

Go to the local "Linens-n-Things" (or equivalent) and you can see it before you buy. Mine has a removeable probe that has gotten wet many times without problem.

Neal Wydra

 

[Early Riser]

Here's a more accurate thermometer:

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/index.html

 

[Sparky]

Here's a more accurate thermometer:

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/index.html

I'm not sure the pyrex ISN'T accurate - as I've got no comparative numbers between the two. But with a knowledge of your process, I don't think thermometers need to be terribly accurate. But they DO need to be precise, however.

 

[Early Riser]

I'm not sure the pyrex ISN'T accurate - as I've got no comparative numbers between the two. But with a knowledge of your process, I don't think thermometers need to be terribly accurate. But they DO need to be precise, however.

More than precise, they need to be consistent. However precision helps because it is a standardization for following processing instructions.

 

[Sparky]

More than precise, they need to be consistent. However precision helps because it is a standardization for following processing instructions.

ER - yes, agreed. That's what I meant by 'precise' - and certainly the way the term is used in QC applications. Accuracy is meaningless if the results are inconsistent (you can have a thermometer, say, that is generally ACCURATE but only on the average - but a thermometer that is ALWAYS 5 degrees above, let's say, will be far more useful).

 

[Gary Holliday]

I needed an emergency thermometer after breaking my last one and went out and bought a cheap wine making thermometer. Not sure if it's going to be accurate though after reading this:

http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Thinktank/5693/photogra2.html

We need a good standard thermometer...an Ilford branded one or something.

 

[Sparky]

What? I don't see the problem. At all. The page you posted is pretty consistent with what we agreed upon in this thread. Accuracy is irrelevant. Repeatability is the important thing. Of course we'll have variation from unit to unit... there will always be variation in the mfg process.

 

[Gary Holliday]

The point he makes is very relevant. On this forum we talk at length about agitation techniques, development times and methods, when a different thermometer renders the advice almost useless.

 

[Sparky]

Gary - I don't think that's true at all. I'm not sure what 'point' you're extracting from the article. The point that I see him making is that 'there is no single truly accurate thermometer' - and that we need to think of these things in terms of consistency - taking a relative approach based on the results you're getting. All the 'advice' given here assumes variations in many things, including method - and it's up to the user to compensate for these variables. If your lab technique is even partially respectable - then such issues become completely moot. There is no truly 'accurate' thermometer, much as the only TRULY accurate clock is a stopped one - and it tells EXACTLY the right time - twice a day.