Testing your thermometer.

[houndit]

When I posted on here about all my troubles with hatching shipped eggs, a lot of people suggested I check my thermometer for accuracy. My information was to put it in a glass of ice water that had sat out for 10 minutes. It should read 32 degrees. Well mine read 42 degrees. In the incubator it agrees with my digital thermometer. Is this the correct way to test the thermometer? It seems like the water would be warmer than that.
Is this the correct test?

 

[tackyrama]

I only use bulb thermometers. I tried digital but they vary so much and where do they read the temp? I tried a medical-digital thermometer but they are meant to use under the tongue and do not read well in open air. I finally bought a very good medical thermometer, bulb type. With this good one I check the others in a glass of luke warm water (around 90 d) With this type I can check the temp at the exact location I need. I am having much better success hatching using bulb type.

 

[Intheswamp]

The ice point method requires the container to be packed as tightly as possible with crushed (not small cubes) ice and the temperature *should * read 32F after stabilizing for several minutes. There's some contention that the "ice point method" is irrelevant due to the fact that we're measuring at the freezing point and some 67F degrees away from our lower target temperature of around 99.5F. I believe there is reason to question this method.

If possible I would compare the digital units with either a digital or a spirit-filled medical thermometer. You can do this my placing the digital unit in the incubator along with a *small* glass of water. (You could replace the glass of water with a "water wiggler".) Allow several hours for the temperature to stabilize in the incubator and for the water in the small glass to stabilize. Before you remove the top of the incubator note through the incubator's window the temperature of the digital unit. Immediately after removing the top of the incubator test the temperature of the glass of water with the medical thermometer. You should be able to determine how far the digital unit is off from the medical thermometer.

Either add or subract degrees from teh digital thermometer so that it equals that of the medical thermometer. For example....if the digital unit reads 95F and the medical reads 99F then you can feel pretty sure you need to add 4F degrees to the digital unit. Conversely if the digital unit reads 102F and the medical one reads 95F then you would need to subtract 7F degrees from the digital unit.

Sorry if I've bored you with redundant info.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[houndit]

Thank you for the responses. Where do you suggest I get a medical thermometer?
Thanks.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Rite-Aide, Wallyworld, CVS, Walgreens....it's just the thermometer that you use to check for a fever with....just don't get the ear kind.

Ed