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14 replies

What is a thermometer?

FM Former Member
I was wandering about the net in search of a thermometer. It seemed odd that the noun preceding the word ''thermometer' is the only distinguishing factor. Configurations vary, but not much. All they do is respond to temperature change. So why couldn't any dial thermometer be used to get a rectal temp?? It's going to respond to temperature change, right? My 'candy' thermometer is going to have a snit if I use it in my compost?
And yet, they all claim the same accuracy regardless of price! I am working to single degrees but the dial scales are laid out in two-degree increments, regardless of price and accuracy claims. Now here we go: will it be the 5" diameter Candy Thermometer at $50? or the 5" Soil Thermometer at $15?
The decision is easy if I am willing to believe that metal is conscious of which material it is being thrust into, and will rebel if the tested material fails to match the thermometer's label. "Hold on bozo, I'm an Oven Thermometer. Get somebody else to tell you the temperature of your disgusting plaster."

Conclusion:
I believe that I need repeatability and a legible scale in a convenient configuration and appropriate temperature range.

Beyond that, it appears that garden-variety marketing hype is hard at work selling thermometers to guys like me who know nothing about them.
Please set me straight if I have come to the wrong conclusion on this subject. Intuition is my only resource and I am ignorant about thermometers.
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FM Former Member
The Polder looks good because my working temperatures are 233F to 235F. These temps fall in the middle of the Polder range, where it is most likely to have accurate repeatability, but the 5 degree increments will make it impossible to read for single degrees. That's why it seems logical, using my ignorant mind, to use a 5 inch diameter face with a 2 degree scale, as there appear to be none printed in single degree increments.
The reason I started this conversation was to confirm, if I could, my suspicion that there are no bad thermometers. The prices vary according to the vernier decal rather than the quality of the construction. 30 or 40 dollars for a decal? Well guys, that's marketing hype at it's best, if my assumptions are correct. That's when I thought I might benefit from your experience. Why not buy one with a blank face and I'll hand-draw my own hash marks?
One more minor point: they all invite you to calibrate your new thermometer. Just to make sure we are all on the same page, this calibration is to account for your altitude. Change your cooking location by a thousand feet, five hundred feet for me as I work to single degrees, and your thermometer is useless. It will remain so until it is calibrated AT the new altitude! Your parameters may be wider than mine, so two degree for every thousand feet might be less a problem for you, but it is enough to cause a dismal failure for your dessert if you were counting on me to make fudge.
cal 2cal 2Member
Yep, that is EXACTLY why I don't do fudge...LOL!

I was taught be some fine BBQ cooks that a person could find out what temp water boils at your elevation and then test/calibrate the thermometer yourself, that is if a feller can count a few degrees? Guess a guy wouldn't be depended on no company for excuses on making poor fudge...just a thought!
FM Former Member
Sorry to have put some of you off. I don't drink but I do tend to rant until I discover a straight answer. And I found one in Wikipedia:
"For many purposes reproducibility is important. That is, does the same thermometer give the same reading for the same temperature (or do replacement or multiple thermometers give the same reading)? Reproducible temperature measurement means that comparisons are valid in scientific experiments and industrial processes are consistent. Thus if the same type of thermometer is calibrated in the same way its readings will be valid even if it is slightly inaccurate compared to the absolute scale".

So, something gets hot and that makes something else happen. We don't care what it is that happens as long as it happens every time at the same temperature. Well, garsh fellers, that set's us free to be creative because the thing that happens can be anything from seeing the needle touch a particular mark on a scale, or a steam-driven trolly chug to a particular point on a track, or anything else we are bright enough to make happen when our food is done. As long as we can repeat that event at the same temperature every time, we will be heros at the dinner table. I am free to stop agonizing about which is the accurate thermometer and concentrate on which is able to be consistently wrong!
Just to be honest, there's this: "An example of a reference thermometer used to check others to industrial standards would be a platinum resistance thermometer with a digital display to 0.1 °C (its precision) which has been calibrated at 5 points against national standards (−18, 0, 40, 70, 100 °C) and which is certified to an accuracy of ±0.2 °C".
Needless to say, most honest men cannot afford it.
Thanks to all of you for your help.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by Weirdwilbur:
Sorry to have put some of you off. I don't drink but I do tend to rant until I discover a straight answer. And I found one in Wikipedia:
"For many purposes reproducibility is important. That is, does the same thermometer give the same reading for the same temperature (or do replacement or multiple thermometers give the same reading)? Reproducible temperature measurement means that comparisons are valid in scientific experiments and industrial processes are consistent. Thus if the same type of thermometer is calibrated in the same way its readings will be valid even if it is slightly inaccurate compared to the absolute scale".

So, something gets hot and that makes something else happen. We don't care what it is that happens as long as it happens every time at the same temperature. Well, garsh fellers, that set's us free to be creative because the thing that happens can be anything from seeing the needle touch a particular mark on a scale, or a steam-driven trolly chug to a particular point on a track, or anything else we are bright enough to make happen when our food is done. As long as we can repeat that event at the same temperature every time, we will be heros at the dinner table. I am free to stop agonizing about which is the accurate thermometer and concentrate on which is able to be consistently wrong!
Just to be honest, there's this: "An example of a reference thermometer used to check others to industrial standards would be a platinum resistance thermometer with a digital display to 0.1 °C (its precision) which has been calibrated at 5 points against national standards (−18, 0, 40, 70, 100 °C) and which is certified to an accuracy of ±0.2 °C".
Needless to say, most honest men cannot afford it.
Thanks to all of you for your help.


Well, I think you need the platinum one....Hmmm smoked fudge Wink

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