Ed P
TVWBB Honor Circle
IR guns work on...well...IR, or infrared. Infrared is a wavelength, like visible light or radio waves. Materials emit infrared at different levels (emissivity). For fun, take a piece of bare copper or bare aluminum and heat it up with a torch, then measure it with your IR gun. That is what emissivity is. Copper and aluminum don't emit infrared very well, so keep in mind that your IR gun measures IR emissivity, not temperature. It's always going to be somewhat inaccurate or it could be extremely inaccurate, depending on the emissivity setting of what you are measuring. IR guns have an adjustment for emissivity but most people don't know what emissivity is, don't care, and never use it. Also, spot size ratio is an important factor when measuring infrared. That little LED spot on a cheap IR gun is strictly for aiming, although the TW IR gun (and probably others) gives a better idea of the size of the area that is measured.This is why I love this forum. That thought never once crossed my mind. I have quickly touched the frame close to the cookbox and it’s not skin searing hot. The end cap is a different storyOne of these days I’ll have to remember to bring my surface temp reader home when I’m going to grill. Or remember to shoot the frame the next time I grill at work.
