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Digital thermometers v stick on glass


Eaglebarret

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The other question is are they very accurate compared to the cheap ones, what does everyone else use to measure there tank temps?

Just wondering how often you should replace the batteries in the digital thermometers?

I have 2 that have been going for several months now but am finding the temp different by about 2-4C than what it is if i test it with a cheap one that you stick on the glass.

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Well i bought a resun digital thermometer from AOA, and it always reads 2-3 degrees lower than every other normal thermometer i have, so i dont think mine is very accurate, but i think i got a dud. I like conventional ones, they are cheap and effective.

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IMO I think that you basically get what you pay for. I have found that the standard glass thermometers are no less accurate than the digital thermometers. If you do a bit of reading the majority of glass and digital thermometers have an accuracy of+/- 1-2 degrees. Even the new laser versions where you point and shoot have the same accuracy level. It is not until you go into some of the digital thermometers that are used for laboratory work that you have a greater accuracy level. You can then get them with an accuracy range of 0.005 - 0.5 degrees but you are paying for that accuracy. I am not a big fan of the stick on types as a have found them to be variable and dependent on a number of factors (i.e. contact with surface and age). I like the idea of digital but use glass thermometers to check or like RDM use my finger.

Gerard

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I don't think that changing the batteries will alter the level of accuracy. The calibration of the thermometer in the first place will determine this level. I believe the digital display will fade but still take readings even when the batteries are reaching the end of their life.

Gerard

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Changing the batteries will make no difference unless they are flat.

You can quickly check the tank’s temperature by putting you hand on the glass (I use the back of my fingers, as it seems more sensitive, and I don’t mess up the glass with finger prints).

When I buy thermometers, I will take a thermometer with me whose temperature readings I am happy with. I will put it with the other thermometer on sale, and let the temperature stabilise. You will find if you lay 20 thermometers out in a row the temps will be scattered all over. What you want is a thermometer whos temps are the same as yours, so pick those ones out.

If you haven’t already purchased a thermometer, lay the ones out, and select one from the larger group that agrees with each other.

Remember, if the temperature is out by one or two degrees, it is not such an issue, but when you have a number of tanks, you want to compare “apples with apples” so it is more important that all the thermometers you have agree on a temperature, than it is the thermometer is 100% accurate.

Craig

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I have a glass lab thermometer that I trust to be quite accurate. It's nothing fancy, just well made, quite large, heavy and has clear graduations. I have stuck this in my tanks next to the stick-on and electronic thermometers and never really noticed any of them out by more than 1 degree C so far. On the other hand I think the digital thermometers with 10ths make them seem more accurate than they are. In my experiments they seem to vary by about .5 degrees.

I think the stick-ons are great if you want to hide them.

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