On Fri, 28 Dec 2018 22:40:23 -0800 (PST), dsi1 >
wrote:


>> >>
>> >
>> >It's easy to get wireless meat thermometers and IR thermometers dirt cheap on eBay. Most of them are less than 20 bucks. My assumption is that they'll work fine. China is a most magical place.
>
>The amazing thing about electronics is that you can use components with a wide range of tolerances, put them together, and still get a unit that performs accurately and reliably. My guess is that all the digital thermometers will perform fine right out of the box. I can't say that an expensive thermometer will be more durable than a cheap one. No doubt that's what people would like to believe. My guess is that any digital unit will be more accurate, reliable, and durable, than the old time bi-metal ones.

The amazing thing about people is that if they see an LCD display,
they assume it has to be exactly correct. Or as we used to say with
some software, garbage in, gospel out. If you want cheap and
accurate, use a well-made mercury thermometer. Your digital device is
still relying on a bimetalic thermocouple for the basis of the
temperature estimate. Whether or not they included the appropriate
assemblages of "widely ranging component tolerances" to measure or
compensate for power loss in batteries, ability to calibrate, etc. is
all a matter of time and cost. I've got one example of a digital
marvel that does not correctly convert between Celciius and
Fahrenheit, I'm guessing due to a software error. However, the LCD
displays the wrong information with perfect clarity.

I quite agree that there is overpriced crap for sale. However the
conclusion that anything with a digital display and a probe is equally
reliable seems a stretch to me based on experience.