Thermometer advice

[Bruce Appel]

I feel naked. I broke my thermometer that I have been using for thirty years. Heck, it was old when I started using it, had belonged to my grandfather. Anyway, sentimentality aside, it may be time to upgrade. I do b&w, and a little e6. What should I get and why? Digital???

 

[Andy K]

Just get another ordinary thermometer. Preferably non mercury. Don't look for a 'Photographic' thermometer, it'll cost four times as much as one not labelled for photography!

 

[Claire Senft]

A kodak process thermometer type 3 if you can find one. Very few moving parts and sufficiently accurate for your needs. If you keep breaking themometers every 30 years then this could be expensive.

 

[photobackpacker]

Bruce, you can watch ebay for a type 2 or type 3 Kodak process thermometers.

I have two - one is my standard. It is the one to which my development is standardized. All of my other thermometers are referenced to that one. That way, if I break one, I won't have upset the temperature standard for development.

I have a good digital but, again, I use the Kodak process thermometer to set it and keep it consistent.

 

[eumenius]

Ahem, I can recommend to you a good glass-and-mercury termometer, no digital gimmicks. Just find your nearest dealer of scientific equipment, they should have it. You will need a thermometer with .5 degree scale, up to 50-100 C if centigrade, either calibrated for complete immersion or for the partial one, but see if your trays/tanks are deep enough to accept it. I use an old mercury lab thermometer, and it never failed me

PS. Non-mercury thermometers should be safer, but I prefer the ones with silver inside - they please me more, and I'm a professional chemist so I'm not afraid of mercury

 

[LAMitchell]

I'm pretty clumsy when it comes to thermometers and I have broken four including two mercury in the past two years. I personally prefer mercury as it is quicker to respond and does not take so long to settle. But for rugedness, easy reading and respnse I have opted for the digi. You can pick up a good one with a calibration certificate and accuracy to within .3 for £40. Personally I love it because I dont have to squint with that silver versus white background within 1mm reading.

 

[Ole]

I have three thermometers, and have hidden all but one of them. Decide one one thermometer, get that, and use it. Don't let anyne fool you into calibration or comparison - once you do that, you'll never know what the temperature is again.

My thermometer is a mercury one, which got accidentally smuggled into Norway 15 years ago. They have been illegal here for many years due to the hazards in case of breakage.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I've got a waterproof handheld thermocouple that I love.. Picked it up on ebay for about $15 but I consider this to be a real lucky price.
Dead Link Removed

I'd never pay over $50 for one but I do have to say that these things are great.
Interchangable probes, quick display.. easy to calibrate.

Overkill perhaps but it's a well-made piece of equipment.

 

[Fotohuis]

Well, a mercury thermometer is in fact the best, but also forbidden in the Netherlands since some years. I still own one for accurate measurements.

I found a very handy digital one, and.... linear between the range 10-50 degrees C. for photographic purposes. Accuracy +/- 0,2 degrees C and I checked it by our thermo dpt. on our regular work on IT-90/ISO regulations. Indeed according the specs. Eur. 36,00

Here it is: http://forum.fotoapparatuur.nl/view...=0&postorder=asc&highlight=digitherm&start=30

Succes with finding the right replacement (after 30 years in use), not too bad, I should say!

Robert

 

[Mick Fagan]

Well in my darkroom I use the little Ilford thermometer, it's nice and small, comes with it's own little holder. I'm on my second one as after about 25 years, the etchings semed to have faded, so I bought my new one about 7 years ago.

I also have a very expensive, and supposedly very accurate digital thermometer. It's an Anritherm HL600 type K unit. It's range is from -200~1200ºC.

When I had some colour processing problems I dragged this unit to the darkroom and did some checking. However it's overkill for the darkroom and has one getting all concerned about whether or not it's too hot or too cold.

Ole is correct, just use one thermometer. Didn't confucius say, "Man who has two clocks, never know correct time".

Mick.

 

[Gerald Koch]

It is now unlawful to ship a mercury thermometer in the US.

 

[LAMitchell]

In all, it don't matter what you get as long as you stick with it. The old addage of constency. Stick with what you have and keep to it. Bring another thermometer into the equation and you bring in another variable.

BTW just had a bad evening of fine tuning where the friggin way I agitage makes a difference to the print..... in a NOVA!!!

 

[Shmoo]

I have three thermometers, and have hidden all but one of them. Decide one one thermometer, get that, and use it. Don't let anyne fool you into calibration or comparison - once you do that, you'll never know what the temperature is again.

This reminds me of the saying "A man with two watches never really knows what time it is."