Are All Digital Thermometers Created Equal?

OP - Mr. Bishop answered your query and I thank you for that David! You need an accurate, trustworthy and reliable ambient temperature gauge for any fine calibration work like you are contemplating.

Cheers!

Mike

Are they all created equal.. NO WAY. but they may all read within a degree.. Just sone last longer.. I too favor LaCross technologies.

mikeleblanc413 wrote:
Looking for the best digital thermometer for the money...will be using on our Ford car and Dodge truck. Appreciate all comments!

What will you be measuring?
FWIW, I have a cheap Harbor Freight infrared and it does comparative readings very well. I calibrated it against a known temp some time back and it was within 2-3f. Some hand held meters like Fluke, Extech, and others can be used with a contact temperature probe. Those are very accurate and are typically used for head, block, or exhaust temperatures.

westend wrote:
What will you be measuring?

x2

Since I do not need a thermometer that is accurate to .00001 degrees I purchase the cheap one that is only accurate to +/- 3 degrees.

mikeleblanc413 wrote:
Looking for the best digital thermometer for the money...will be using on our Ford car and Dodge truck. Appreciate all comments!

for what purpose ?

tires,wheels etc.. ?

digital thermometer leaves it why open in application

a $20 laser point infrared, is find for comparing tire temps

I use a Raytek brand with laser pointer I bought at Grainger about 25 years ago. Think I paid around $100 plus for it at the time. I used to get it calibrated every couple of years when I was working (work paid for the calibration) but haven't had it done in past 2 years. There are many brands available from a $30 HF unit to well over $500.
A friend of mine has the HF unit and it reads within .05 degrees of my more expensive Raytek. I don't need to read exact temps within hundredths of a degree as long as they are within a degree or two is fine for me.

THANKS to everyone who took the time to respond! I'm looking for a digital tire thermometer to read tire pressure on our 2018 Ford.

mikeleblanc413 wrote:
THANKS to everyone who took the time to respond! I'm looking for a digital tire thermometer to read tire pressure on our 2018 Ford.

Are you looking for a thermometer or a pressure gauge? A thermometer of course can't measure pressure, just temperature--and while you can reasonably conclude that a tire may be low if it's excessively hot after driving, it's not reading the pressure in any way.

Anyhow, for this, IMHO pretty much any laser aimed non-contact thermometer will work fine. The Harbor Freight model is readily available and pretty inexpensive and mine, at least, seems to be pretty accurate (certainly close enough for checking tire temperatures).

For measuring pressure, pretty much any digital tire gauge will be quite accurate, likely more so (and more liable to stay accurate) than nearly any mechanical gauge that doesn't cost a king's ransom. I'd go by what seems convenient to use.