# Testing digital thermometers



## lilworm (Aug 11, 2007)

Ok so i have 9 vivs in total and in those vivs i have 3 different types of digital thermometer, So i decided for personal peace of mind to test the accuracy of each brand

Unbranded type in/out with probe
Lidl in/out with probe
ExoTerra out only with probe

testing the out accuracy the probe end, usually used to measure hot spots
I used a mercury thermometer to calibrate each digital thermometer as recommended by a member on here (in the lidl thermometer thread)

Results overview.....(this is not set in stone science by the way)

The Exo terra by far the most accurate of the bunch
digital read out 94.9f Mercury 95f 
and for the second exo terra i own that was also spot on.

Lidl digital thermometer
digital 88f Mercury 90f
I have 4 of these all readings were 2 degrees out

Unbranded type 
Digital 94.3 Mercury 96.8
I own 3 of these and all were out by 2.5 to 3 degrees 

fiddled the thermostat to compensate for the temp difference.
I have no idea if this info is of any use but i did it for well curiosity and well i want to make sure i am doing the very best by my babies : victory:


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## fixitsan (Apr 15, 2008)

lilworm said:


> Ok so i have 9 vivs in total and in those vivs i have 3 different types of digital thermometer, So i decided for personal peace of mind to test the accuracy of each brand
> 
> Unbranded type in/out with probe
> Lidl in/out with probe
> ...


I've always promoted calibrating or just plain checking any device yoiu use to measure any parameter. We're lucky that we aren't dealing with animals which are sensitive to a degree of temperature difference.

Out of interest, what type of mercury thermometer do you have and how is that calibrated. Your results show that more of your digital equipment is reading low by between 2 to 3 degrees, and the exoterra is reading abotu the same.
Statistically, you would have to say that the exo terra is the odd man out (but statistics lie !) and that the mercury thermometer is reading 2 degrees or so too high. Swinging it the other way, is the fact that instruments from the same manufacturer all have very tight precision, and that could easily suggest that their method of calibration, or theri choice of componnets has produced a uniformly innaccurate product !

If i had to pick between the two, I would make the same assumption as you did, and if the mercury thermometer was a clinical thermometer accurate to 0.1 F then the exo terra seems to be the most accurate for that particular temperature.


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## Toeboe (Dec 28, 2006)

I have the Lidl one, the exo one and a very expensive, regularly calibrated (for motor industry) laser pointer type. There is a variation of little more than +/- 2deg, based on my laser type. There are few animals that would wither and die from 2deg.
Buy the cheapest you can find and stop being so anal, i say.


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## lilworm (Aug 11, 2007)

I am anal around the reps what can you do, but i was also curious after the lidl thread was posted so i did it for personal interest, if i had not seen and participated in the lidl thread i may never have checked, and been happy with the readings like many others would be.

yes i am very fortunate i am dealing with an animal not overly sensitive to 2 degree change in temps luckily i provide a cool end and heating type was mats. Yes it was a medical thermometer, how the hell do i know how its calibrated i bought off the shelf and it chose not to tell me the ins and outs... but i was advised to buy a mercury, and it was not specified which type and where from.....I did check all the thermometers before use and have always allowed for degree or 2 temp difference that its states on the instructions.

Like stated its not set in stone science i posted it in case anyone was interested


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