ORIGINAL: travwhit
My temp gun doesn't worry me about accuracy, and it has been helpful in finding A/C trouble and full size engine problems, I am a Master Mechanic by trade. Usually the people who do not like IR temp guns are the ones who do not know the value of one or how to use one. It helped me this time to stave off an air leak which would have fried and flaked my piston and liner eventually. All I can say is it is a constant reading, more accurate than you can feel or smell, if I shut my engine down and wait thirty seconds to check it, the temp will have dropped 100 degrees, how much more do you think it drops comming in and then taxiing to you? If it goes up beyond what I can control with richening, I ain't flying y'all. Speaking of R/C car people, at the hobby store last night there were people who were wrapping aluminum foil around their engines to hold in heat and get the temp around 140 degrees, I didn't have my gun but will next time and I am taking it to the flying field today to shoot other people's engines and see what they are getting. I appreciate your advice Darzeelon and Asmund, you seem really informed, but I will keep my temp gun.
Trav
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For most people, the problem isn't the IR thermometer. It is the lack of baseline information regarding the proper operating temperatures of our model engines. There are tons of variables, as I'm sure you know. Even such mundane things as the type of glow plug, fuel, prop selection, needle tweaking and the cooling environment in which the engine resides can all seriously affect our engines. It takes a lot of previously learned knowledge in order to know how to use the information that the IR thermometer provides. Many folks coming to the RCU engine forums are newbies that are bewildered by what they discover thermally about their engines. That is why many of us recommend forgetting about the IR thermometer until folks have more operating experience with their glow engines.
Many glow engine traits and characteristics vary quite a bit from traditional automotive engine traits and characteristics. I've seen many a good auto mechanic humbled by the lowly two-stroke glow engine in my time. I also know a few master level auto mechanics that are quite good at handling their model glow two-strokes, but many will admit that there is very little crossover between automotive training information and the practical use and maintenance of glow engines. Of course, many auto mechanics got their first engine experience handling model glow engines. I did. I was once a fair automechanic, but couldn't continue working in the field because of not being able to work over my head. Damage from polio made working overhead very painful.
I fail to see the usefulness of the IR thermometer in many applications. A thermocouple with an RF link to a laptop would be much more useful. I do see the use of an IR thermometer in troubleshooting A/C systems, automotive or otherwise.
I hope you get it all sorted out satisfactorily (Tower .46) and all is well. I'm sure it will be.
Ed Cregger