IR Temp Guns?

[joebear]

I picked up a cheap $100 one. How accurate are these things? Is there a way to check them out properly? Any info would be helpful!
SMILE!!

[jtagger19]

Re: IR Temp Guns?

IR temp guns are life savers , they are very acurate
I have a $100 raytek
a $25 R/C laser temp gun
and they both work great.

[UnorthodoxCreations]

Re: IR Temp Guns?

What ways do you use them, how are they most helpful? I got a gift card for Christmas that would cover the cost of one but my stuff seems to come out pretty good without one. How would it help me?

thanks
Adam

[jrow]

Re: IR Temp Guns?

UnorthodoxCreations,

If you are powder coating a heavy cast item, it should be cooked at a certain a certain temperature. Shoot the IR at the piece and it will give you the temperature of the piece you are trying to cook. Not the temperature of the oven!

John

[cdaeme]

Re: IR Temp Guns?

I am new to powder coating but use the IR heat guns daily on my "practice job". Lately there have been several posts with under/over cure problems if you are using an IR gun some of the following tips could be helpful.

Everyone using IR heat guns need to keep in mind the sensitivty of these guns. They require a good understanding of how they work to get accurate results. Read the instruction manual carefully to find the correct ratios for your particular gun.

*The IR heat guns footprint gets larger the farther you are from the part being measured. Just because the red laser dot hits the area you want to check does not mean that is only what?s being read. If you are shooting your temps from 3-4 feet away your readings are being skewed by the ovens temp.

*Reflective parts will not give accurate temp readings. Where I work one of the machines has chromed heated vessels that the temps must be checked a minimum of once per shift. The vessels should be 350f - 380f if we check the vessels directly on the chrome surface they read 80f -110f lower than their actual temps. We have to spray black high temp paint on the chromed surface to get accurate readings. Keep this in mind when curing chrome, silver or metallic powders. I wont name the company name but one of the high temp ceramic coating suppliers advertise substantial heat reduction for headers with their coating the try to prove this with a IR heat gun by first shooting a old rusty header (accurate) the shooting a highly polished ceramic coated header (inaccurate) showing several hundred degrees lower. Now if anyone knows which product this is I?m not knocking the excellent product they sell only making the point the readings can be deceptive if the surface is reflective. Try it for yourself.



*In using the heat gun, your operators must be aware of the ?distance-to-diameter? ratio for the heat gun. Heat guns with a 4:1 ratio have a temperature ?sensing? circle that is 12-inches in diameter, when the heat gun is 4-feet from the heat source. That same sensing circle is only 1-inch in diameter when the heat gun is 4-inches from the heat source. Consequently, if using a 4:1 ratio heat gun and you are shooting the temperature of a 1-inch diameter pipe, you?ll need to be no more than 4-inches from the heat source to accurately ?read? the correct temperature, and not have the temperature reading influenced by the surrounding structures, such as the oven's side frame.



*Presuming that the heat source is a 1-inch diameter pipe, the heat gun must be held the following distance based on the ?distance-to-diameter? ratio for your heat gun:

Ratio Max Distance from Heat Source

12:1 12-inches
8:1 8-inches
6:1 6-inches
4:1 4-inches

I hope this helps. All in all the IR guns are a great tool and very handy with correct use. I own two myself. If used correctly they could eliminate some of the over/under cure issues.

Jason Williams
Auto-Cycle PC
Chattanooga, TN

[sab0276]

Re: IR Temp Guns?

So it sounds like you would want an IR gun with a higher heat ratio (ie. 1:?

-Scott