On 2/4/2018 11:51 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
I've been trying to buy four refrigerator/freezer thermometers and it's
frustrating how inaccurate/inconsistent they are.

For Instance:

- 4 thermometers of same make/model, hanging on the same rack.

- Alcohol bulb/glass tube - you'd think basic physics...

- Each reads a different temp from 68 to 74 degrees.

Only thing I can think of is that the card behind the glass thingie is
misaligned, but looking at these things, there does not seem to be enough
physical room for those kinds of errors.

Also, at home I have a couple of digital indoor/outdoor thermometers.

Bring the outdoor sensor inside and put it right next to the master part, and
they're a couple degrees different.

Is there any hope at all of finding four thermometers which:

- All read the same temp when placed side-by-side
- Read the correct temp.

What am I missing?

My new Samsung fridge has built-in digital readings. But it always
seems to read the same as the setting, that is, 0 for the freezer and 37
for the fridge. I have seen the numbers change if, for instance, you
leave the door open for a long time while cleaning. But, because I
can't trust the microprocessor in the Samsung, not to lock up and shut
down everything and thus spoil the contents, I bought a unit that magnet
mounts outside the box and has a senor inside. Its reading vary all
over the place. Say at dinner prep time, when the box gets opened and
closes many times, I will see maybe a rise of 6 or 8 degrees. I think
the Samsung sensor is more thermally loaded and takes longer to change.
My sensor it under a shelf but taped tightly to the shelf ... but it
still changes more quickly. Thermal mass seems to be the difference.
BTW, the unit I bought, reports via wifi, once per hour (or whatever I
set it to do) to the company's cloud server. If the temp goes outside
the range I've set, it will fire me a text and email ... lot's of good
if you're vacationing in Europe, but at least you can call someone, or
change the email to them. The unit was only $120 including the service,
which is certainly cheaper than all the wasted food.