Author Topic: looking for cheap ir Termumter model (Read 2304 times)

msheetrit · « **on:** February 20, 2011, 06:37:50 PM »

could someone give a name of cheap ir Termumter that would do the work?
somthing that would give me the temp on the stone in my home oven.

scott123 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2011, 04:33:10 AM »

There may be someone here who disagrees, but as far as IR thermometers goes, anything below $100 will have similar quality components. The only difference is that, as you spend more money, you get a greater range in temperatures. A 500 deg. C (900ish F) model should suit your needs just fine for a home oven, but, should you ever build a wood fired oven, you'll want a model that goes higher if you want to measure dome temps. I started pricing above 1100 F models and couldn't find anything for less than $80, so I gave up and bought a 932 F model on ebay for $20. I think your best bet is to find one on ebay with a seller willing to ship internationally.

This one here goes to 1000f
http://cgi.ebay.com/KLEIN-IR1000-DIGITAL-INFRARED-THERMOMETER-NEW-ITEM-/330532650071?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf547fc57

And this one here goes to 1200f
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mastercool-52224B-Dual-Temp-Infrared-Thermometer-/320659908918?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa8d1e936

Used is fine, as long as it works. I'm seeing a few less thermometers on ebay than when I was looking last year, so you might not get one for as low as $20 (including shipping), but you should still find a good deal, if you give it time. Make a bid, see if you win, if you don't, bid on another.

Edit: I did a little looking around and found a gadget place in Hong Kong that does free worldwide shipping. I've ordered from them before and it worked out well. It takes a long time to ship, though.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/digital-infrared-thermometer-with-laser-sight-32-c-380-c-26-f-716-f-29079

380 C/716 F is a little on the low side, but you can't beat the price and the reviews all seem positive. For NY or Neo-NY styles, I don't foresee you needing above 716 F temperature readings, unless you're using a stone with really poor conductivity. If you're going to attempt Neapolitan in a home oven, then you might need a model that goes higher.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/1-5-lcd-non-contact-digital-infrared-thermometer-with-laser-sight-50-c-530-c-35719

530 C/986 F. But double the price and no reviews. Like I said earlier, though, most of these brands of thermometers are pretty reliable. 986 F should cover all your home needs and will do hearth temps in a WFO, just not, like I said, ceiling readings. Even at double the price, $40 shipped anywhere in the world is pretty reasonable.

msheetrit · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2011, 06:59:15 AM »

thank you scott.
what do you think is max temp that can reach on good stone in home oven without any ruin the oven?
i think that cheap one that you posted is fine for now, i live in a building so to built wfo for now is off the topic.

scott123 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:50:44 AM »

Quote from: msheetrit on February 21, 2011, 06:59:15 AM

what do you think is max temp that can reach on good stone in home oven without any ruin the oven?

Michael, I don't have a clear cut answer for you. It really depends on the oven and how it's insulated. If, say, an oven has a dial that goes to 550, I think using some kind of trick that makes it go to 600 is perfectly fine. 50 degrees is a perfectly safe bump in temperature. I believe you have a cordierite stone. If that's the case, at the thickness you're working with, 600 is plenty.

I think a 100 degree F. bump is also pretty comfortable. Pushing an oven that normally goes to 450 to 550 would be fine, as would an oven that goes to 550 to 650, although I think the 450-550 bump might be a little safer. Above 650, that's a tough call. I generally recommend stones to people that are conductive and thick enough so that they don't have to push their ovens any higher than they're made to go.

Summing up, 50 degree bump, go for it. 100, you should be fine. Much more than that, I wouldn't do it.

What's your current bake time?

msheetrit · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2011, 01:04:27 PM »

the baking time is between 7-10 minute on pizza. i have 3.5 cm shamout stone. i preheat the oven to the max 270cl for 50 minute.
other then reading the temp in the oven i dont need the ir.
the oven is new its pretty good, bosch makes the job.

scott123 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2011, 03:12:34 PM »

Michael, are you relatively certain that your stone is 3.5 cm thick? With a stone of that thickness, I'd definitely give a longer pre-heat a shot- 90 minutes, at least. A longer pre-heat should trim a few minutes off your bake time. Generally speaking, the shorter the bake time, the better the oven spring, the better the pizza. For NY style, 4 minutes, imo, is where you want to be. 270C is a little weak as far as ovens go, but your whopping 3.5 cm stone should go a long way to make up for that.

msheetrit · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2011, 03:22:30 PM »

3 cm
thats the stone
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,12149.msg114395.html#msg114395

for home oven 270cl degreese is weake ?i dont know home oven that goes more than that.
what you say about cutting tha bake time and give tha pizza more oven spring and more taste is very interesting.

scott123 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2011, 03:43:46 PM »

3 cm. That's a good thickness. At that thickness, I would still try a 80 minute pre-heat.

By the way, you're using your oven's convection feature for both the pre-heat and the bake, correct?

Israel is probably similar to Europe in that the peak oven temps are a bit lower. Maybe it's a green/environmental thing. Here in the U.S., quite a few ovens will go to 287 C. (550F). 17C may not seem like a lot, but those 17 deg. can easily make the difference between a phenomenal NY style pizza and a mediocre- at least they can with a wimpy stone. I don't know exactly what your stone is made of, but, if it's cordierite, it's the best cordierite stone that anyone is using on this site. The thickest cordierite stone anyone here is using here is 1". Yours is 1.25". That's thick.

msheetrit · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2011, 04:08:09 PM »

this is what it made of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grog_(clay)

chamotte דאםמק

i need to understand tow things that i dont understand because i dont use english in every day.

- what is oven's convection feature ?

- and what is cordierite ?

thank you.

scott123 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2011, 06:54:20 PM »

Convection = circulating hot air. From the photos that I've seen, your oven has a fan on the back wall. When this fan is on, it circulates hot air around the oven. This is convection. There's usually some sort of setting on the controls that turns this feature on and off. When the fan is on, the stone pre-heats faster and baked goods bake faster.

Is there any chance that chamotte can have a broader meaning than the page that you linked to? That page reads a lot like chamotte is a synonym for firebrick. Firebrick can be made from a variety of ingredients in varying ratios and thus have different baking properties. If the specs they list related directly to your stone, then that's good because the conductivity is relatively high.

Cordierite, from what I understand, is fireclay formed under pressure and then fired. This makes it smooth and dense. Your stone looks more smooth and dense (cordierite-ish) than porous and light (firebrick). Any idea how much it weighs?

JConk007 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2011, 06:59:00 PM »

www.harborfrieght.com
the $39 used to be $29 model works fine http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contact-laser-thermometer-96451.html got one for my friend who has a primavera 60 no issues at all weekly use It registers up to 1000 degrees
JOhn

chickenparm · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2011, 07:01:41 PM »

Quote from: JConk007 on February 21, 2011, 06:59:00 PM

www.harborfrieght.com
the $29 model works fine
JOhn

I bought mine from HF as well.So far it has been very accurate.I have done a lot of testing with it and its always spot on. If its + or - a few degrees off with the oven,I wont sweat that.

msheetrit · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2011, 07:56:19 PM »

Quote from: scott123 on February 21, 2011, 06:54:20 PM

Convection = circulating hot air. From the photos that I've seen, your oven has a fan on the back wall. When this fan is on, it circulates hot air around the oven. This is convection. There's usually some sort of setting on the controls that turns this feature on and off. When the fan is on, the stone pre-heats faster and baked goods bake faster.

Is there any chance that chamotte can have a broader meaning than the page that you linked to? That page reads a lot like chamotte is a synonym for firebrick. Firebrick can be made from a variety of ingredients in varying ratios and thus have different baking properties. If the specs they list related directly to your stone, then that's good because the conductivity is relatively high.

Cordierite, from what I understand, is fireclay formed under pressure and then fired. This makes it smooth and dense. Your stone looks more smooth and dense (cordierite-ish) than porous and light (firebrick). Any idea how much it weighs?

yes the fan is on and heat from the bottem also on.
the stone wheigh 5kg. yes it very smooth and dense i clean it with steel brush and nothing is coming off from her body. i dident understand what you wrote about the broader, did you mean the page of stone detail? i bought this stone from the importer thats stone is also used to build wfos.
the pdf on the side is not details, its just measurements.

msheetrit · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2011, 08:09:16 PM »

john and bill,
you both have this model?...
it looks perfect for me. i will try to find this one at ebay.
thanks.

msheetrit · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2011, 08:25:06 PM »

i use this mode on the max temp.
its writen speening very hot air, mode for pizza baking.

chickenparm · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:19:18 PM »

Quote from: msheetrit on February 21, 2011, 08:09:16 PM

john and bill,
you both have this model?...
it looks perfect for me. i will try to find this one at ebay.
thanks.

I paid $39.00 US dollars for mine at the Harbor freight store,not far from my home.While HF tools are not always known to be the best quality,they tend to be cheap,this laser thermometer I bought has been great.
Do be careful buying used HF tools on ebay.People may be trying to sell tools that were defective.

msheetrit · « **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:32:12 PM »

thank you bill. i always buy new.

scott123 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:14:53 AM »

Michael, when I say broader, I mean that some terms can have a loose definition. If firebrick can mean different things/be made up from different materials, and chamotte translates as firebrick, then maybe chamotte may not be all that clearly defined. With a lot of these ceramic materials, it's only the manufacturer that knows it's true specifications/baking properties.

For a stone of that size, 5 kg is actually a bit light- much lighter than cordierite of the same dimensions. From the photos it looks like cordierite, but now that I know the weight, I'm sure it's not. For now, let's just call it firebrick, and, until you get more precise specs from the manufacturer, the conductivity is a bit of a question. If it contains a lot of alumina, that's good- as alumina is very conductive. If, on the other hand, it contains a lot of silica, that's bad. As I've mentioned before, though, it's thick and thick is good.

Regardless of what it's conductivity actually is, I highly recommend an 80 minute pre-heat- at least once.

That fan symbol = convection, so, yes, you're using the convection feature of your oven.

msheetrit · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2011, 01:50:31 PM »

ok so i will try to contect the manufacturer or importer for details.

as for the fan i did try couple of time baking without the fan and it was bad experiment.

as for the wheigh i always though that 5 kg for 38x34x3 cm stone is very quite heavy.

thank you very much scott for all you work here.

msheetrit · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2011, 09:49:30 AM »

i got the email fron the manufacture about the stone :
Drooping stone composition is:
44% Alumina
52% silica
4% iron oxide, silica alumina