B & D thermal leak detector

[stannn]

http://www.yougen.co.uk/blog-entry/1581/Eliminating+the+draughts+that+push+up+your+heating+bills/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Consumer+newsletter+October+2011&utm_content=Consumer+newsletter+October+2011+CID_5cf7b04033256972d066da837419aeb2&utm_source=Envirosend&utm_term=read+my+review+here
Cathy at Yougen is testing the Black and Decker thermal leak detector, inside her home, in this interesting video.
Stan

[Justme]

Would not a standard (IE cheaper) Infrared thermometer do just the same job?

Also have to watch for false readings due to surface reflectivity.

[JohnH]

The B&D infrared thermometer also has the facility of showing a temperature reference point which switches the spot to a different colour when it's scanned. I don't think the standard hand held thermometers do this for this price.
I bought one after they were mentioned on this forum last winter. I think it's very good in finding draughts and cold spots. I've had to replace the draught excluder around our front and porch doors and also the loft hatch after using it. One of the reasons why I'm getting quotes for external wall insulation is that with a reference point of 20C the exterior wall temperature under a bay window indicated a surface temperature of 14C and its not that cold yet!
JohnH

[Justme]

For the £40 difference in price I think I would use my eyes & brain to read the temperature that is displayed & not rely on a colour change.

[JohnH]

£40 difference in the price? What nonsense, get your facts right!
The colour change is showing the temperature differential so you don't have keep looking at the indicator thus pin point any cold spot. It would be interesting to know whether they are sensitive enough to pick out lack of cavity wall insulation.
JohnH

[EccentricAnomaly]

£40 difference in the price? What nonsense, get your facts right!

The B&D device has a price of £49.99 at B&Q according to that article. I seem to remember paying about £12 for my IR thermometer from Rapid Electronics (though they seem to be a bit more expensive now) so £40 difference doesn't seem that far adrift.

[Justme]

£40 difference in the price? What nonsense, get your facts right!

The B&D device has a price of £49.99 at B&Q according to that article. I seem to remember paying about £12 for my IR thermometer from Rapid Electronics (though they seem to be a bit more expensive now) so £40 difference doesn't seem that far adrift.

Beat me to it.

£8.90 so your quite right as thats  £41.09 cheaper not the £40 I quoted.

[JohnH]

The B&D is £43 online including delivery if you bothered to look. The thermal IR sensor from Rapid is a miniature version and £24 and looks as though it only indicates temperature. The B&D is a gun type and shows temperature differentials of 0.5, 3 and 5 degrees, so not exactly a fair comparison is it?

[Justme]

The £8.90 one shows all temps from -50c to +360c in 0.1c stages.

Having the display change colours as it meets each set point is not as accurate as reading the display.