Laser thermometer

[KarenSoCal]

A couple weeks ago Chug decided to dig himself a new burrow.
Now Mama isn't happy, because as soon as I put a remote sensor in it, the signal is lost.
So I went looking at Lowe's, and all the IR laser thermometers have a ratio of 8:1. If I understand correctly, this means it won't accurately measure temp at say, 6-8 feet? Sounds like it only does a few inches accurately.
Am I all messed up here? What do you all use to measure several feet down a burrow?

 

[Markw84]

Your infrared gun will work. The 8:1 means that at 8 feet away it is reading the temperature of a circle about 1 foot in diameter. At 16 " away it reads a 2" circle, etc. So pointed down a burrow, It would give a good reading probably 4 feet down where you could point at a wall keeping in mind it is reading a 6" circle. Reaching down the burrow, you also can gain an extra 2 feet of arm's length as well.

You also can use a regular indoor/outdoor wired digital thermometer. The outdoor probe is on a 6 - 8 foot wire, so you could fish that probe down the burrow.

I use a data logger. It does read through a Bluetooth signal, so in front of the opening I normally get a reading. However, it records and stores the data so if I stick it in a burrow or bury it in a nest, when I retrieve it, back in Bluetooth range, my smart phone retrieves the data and I can see the history of what the Temps were the whole time it was there.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Your infrared gun will work. The 8:1 means that at 8 feet away it is reading the temperature of a circle about 1 foot in diameter. At 16 " away it reads a 2" circle, etc. So pointed down a burrow, It would give a good reading probably 4 feet down where you could point at a wall keeping in mind it is reading a 6" circle. Reaching down the burrow, you also can gain an extra 2 feet of arm's length as well.

You also can use a regular indoor/outdoor wired digital thermometer. The outdoor probe is on a 6 - 8 foot wire, so you could fish that probe down the burrow.

I use a data logger. It does read through a Bluetooth signal, so in front of the opening I normally get a reading. However, it records and stores the data so if I stick it in a burrow or bury it in a nest, when I retrieve it, back in Bluetooth range, my smart phone retrieves the data and I can see the history of what the Temps were the whole time it was there.

Cool! Thank you Mark!
I was just so confused when I saw the ratio stuff.
The data recorder sounds good too. Would I search "data recorder" on Amazon?

 

[Markw84]

Cool! Thank you Mark!
I was just so confused when I saw the ratio stuff.
The data recorder sounds good too. Would I search "data recorder" on Amazon?

Just search "data logger" and many options come up. Just look for one that downloads to whatever device you would like to use - Windows, Iphone, etc. You normally need to install a program on the device, then connect the data logger to download. You can then get various graphs of temp (and humidity if it does both) vs. time. You also can normally set the duration between data points for the graph it creates - every 10 sec, every minute, etc. The data loggers can hold up to a max number of data points. e. g. 32,000. So, if you set a 32,000 logger to every 1 minute - it will store up to 32,000 points for 22 days before full. Every 5 minutes = 111 days, etc.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Just search "data logger" and many options come up. Just look for one that downloads to whatever device you would like to use - Windows, Iphone, etc. You normally need to install a program on the device, then connect the data logger to download. You can then get various graphs of temp (and humidity if it does both) vs. time. You also can normally set the duration between data points for the graph it creates - every 10 sec, every minute, etc. The data loggers can hold up to a max number of data points. e. g. 32,000. So, if you set a 32,000 logger to every 1 minute - it will store up to 32,000 points for 22 days before full. Every 5 minutes = 111 days, etc.

Thank you! Going to check this out!

 

[Tom]

I was going to suggest the thermometer with the wired remote probe. That's what I use, but Mark's answer was much better.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

This one has worked well for us.

 

[Evel13]

I was going to suggest the thermometer with the wired remote probe. That's what I use, but Mark's answer was much better.

What temperature range should a burrow be?

 

[Tom]

What temperature range should a burrow be?

Cooler than the surface by at least 10-15 degrees is what I'm after. The temp down there doesn't really matter when the weather up top is roasting hot. The idea is for them to get to a cooler place than the surface. My burrows here stay around 79-80 when surface temps are 100+. Ground temps tend to be pretty stable. Here in our part of the world that means around 50 in winter and around 80 in summer.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Cooler than the surface by at least 10-15 degrees is what I'm after. The temp down there doesn't really matter when the weather up top is roasting hot. The idea is for them to get to a cooler place than the surface. My burrows here stay around 79-80 when surface temps are 100+. Ground temps tend to be pretty stable. Here in our part of the world that means around 50 in winter and around 80 in summer.

The burrow I dug is at 80-85. The new one that Chug dug a few weeks ago is at 85-90, yet he chooses to stay in it. Go figure!
The weather "up there" is 113 today.