My heat experiment...

[cozycritters]

So, I had three thermometers reading three different temps, ranging from 102 degrees to 95. So, I put the oven on 200, let it preheat, and stuck them all in the oven together in a pan on a blanket.

My expensive ones continued to say low numbers. My only accurate thermometer was the (non-digital) one that came with my hovabator! Go figure!

Anyone else use this method to figure out which thermometers are being accurate?

 

[waynesgarden]

Curious how do you know your oven temp is accurate?

Wayne

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah... your oven could be off, and 200 is pretty high for a weather/bator/medical thermometer to read correctly.

Ice water test or boiling water test (if thermometers can reach that high) is more accurate, since the oven is based on it's own who knows how accurate thermometer and who hows how bad of hysteresis thermostat.

 

[jimnjay]

I always test mine against a mercury medical thermometer. I put it in the incubator and wait till it gets to 100 degrees exactly and that can take awhile. Once that is done then put you digital thermometers in with it leave them there to make sure temperatures are stable again. You can then record how much the difference is and use the one that is off by making an adjustment.

I recently tested my thermometers against one another and found a 4 degree difference but after leaving them for a day the difference was only 1 degree. It is very frustrating. I would not use the oven to test your thermometer, 200 degrees is way to hot. My thermometers say they are accurate from 32 to 122 degrees F.

 

[jrtpro]

I am using the mercury thermometer that came with my TX-7 and I like it a lot better than any I have used before.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
I also use a Medical thermometer they read to .1 degree.

They check to the daily high, then compare to the daily high on the Acurite.

You can alway use the medical thermometer to make sure the incubator temp. does not go over 99.5. HIGH TEMP. ARE A KILLER.

 

[deerman]

Most oven are not accurate to the .1 degree. My guess you would be lucky if they are accurate within + or - 5 degree