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Measuring Temps with an IR Gun?

N

nightstalker

Regular Contributor
I want to buy an IR Gun to measure the temps. of my elbows, risers, manifolds etc., on my 1990 Crusader 454 CID (FWC) engines. Are the ones they sell at Home Depot for cheap good enough to do the job? What kind of temperatures should I be looking for coming from the risers, elbows, manifolds ? What else should I use the IR Gun to check? I've got to tell you, when I bought my vessel a couple of years ago, the only thing I knew how to do was to fill her with gas and turn the keys. After getting involved with this forum, reading all the archives, asking a ton of questions, etc., it's amazing how much I've learned. If you told me a few years ago that I would be looking for an IR Gun, or buying all the fluids to do my own winterization, or reading the techs. in a maintanience manual, I would have said you were nuts. It amazes me how much knowledge is possessed by this forums top contributors and how freely they offer their advise. If it wasn't for all of you, I'd never have learned the inner workings of those Crusaders. I'm not bragging by any means, but I'm a little proud of myself too.
Thanks For Everything
Nightstalker
 
Gee Night, I had those same feelings a few years back. Gimme a v-twin from the 1930's and I 'll have it purring in 2 weeks. Never dug into a v-8 in my life until I started bigger boating. Today I have no fears about going down inot those engines for anything. Besides, anything I can't solve, the guys here can !

I have 3 different IR thermometers. The ryobi from HD and another I bought at Lowe's work as well as the 165.00 one I have from a refrigeration supply company...usually they are ALL within a degree or less. and AS THEY SAY...." close enough for government work"
 
Some guns can shoot from farther away. I have a HD and another from snapon that I acquired when the HD gun was misplaced. I created a table of locations and readings and posted it. I remember finding trapped air in manifold and then double checking the bleeder at the thermostat as a perfect example of how useful the tool is. Without that I may have ran hot a while.
 
They do say in their prospective manuals that the ideal distance is within X number of inches or feet. I know the dog is about 10 degrees cooler from about 8 feet away
 
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