Customer Reviews

Raytek MT4 Mini Temp Non-Contact Thermometer Gun with Laser Sighting

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Raytek Minitemp takes the guesswork out of a lot of kitchen tasks, and has a ton of other less practical (but fun) uses as well. Like most touchless thermometers, the device is simply an infrared detector. Solid objects radiate different wavelengths depending on their temperature [..]. By detecting the peak wavelength of infrared light emitted by an object, the thermometer can calculate its temperature. It is a completely passive sensor; the laser light is only to help you aim and has no effect on the measurement.

The thermometer is very accurate near room temperature; when I point it at a regular thermometer, they give me the exact same reading. When I point it at boiling water, it reads 208F. Close enough for cooking applications. The Minitemp has taken all the guesswork out of microwaving, grilling, and frying.

But mostly, I just point the thing at random things around the house for fun. Some of the "applications" I have used the Minitemp for:
- Finding where the cat has most recently been sleeping
- Seeing how cold the clouds are
- Checking the refrigerator/freezer for proper temperature
- Seeing how cold my feet are in the winter
- Figuring out when my XBox is about to explode

One thing the device should NOT be used for is measuring internal temperatures of meats. The thermometer reads only the surface temperature. You cannot take readings through a window, either; the thermometer will just read the glass. Also, the farther you are from the object you are measuring, the larger the spot is that you actually measure. For example, from 2 feet away, you are actually measuring the average temperature of a 2 inch circle, not just the laser spot.

Scores:
Accuracy: 8/10. Sufficient for household use.
Speed: 10/10. Truly instant readings that refresh continuously as you hold down the trigger.
Battery life: 10/10. A 9V battery has lasted through many months of liberal use, including as a laser pointer in a pinch.
Utility: 9/10. Near endless fun.
Physical construction: 9/10: Plastic but rugged and easy to clean. Easy-to-read LCD with a backlight.

Overall score: 46/50. 5 stars.

I'm in the HVAC business and have used many temperature test instruments over the last 29 years. This is one of the more "user friendly and easy to use" instruments I've had the pleasure of using. For the price it is unbeatable.

This is a wonderful tool for lots of purposes, but the one I bought from Amazon was significantly misaligned. At a distance of 8 feet from the target, the spot illuminated by the laser is off to the right of the temperature sensor by nearly a foot (the vertical alignment, on the other hand, is fine).

For many purposes (e.g. pointing it right at a frying pan from a foot away), this sort of misalignment will not matter. But it's an annoyance, and one that could have been easily prevented by factory testing (or by providing adjusting screws for the user).

Other than this, it's great (and fun to use)!

Got this as a gift. Works great. Good for checking hot oil in frying turkeys. Price is certainly fair for what you get. Think it works as good as the $100.00 and higher ones.

Ok, I purchased this for my wife to use in the kitchen. She saw it on tv and thought it would be good to get temp readings of skillets, griddles, to aid in cooking. Our appliances aren't the best, so this was a way to get more consistent cook temperatures. What I didn't anticipate was how much fun it is.

Yea, I'm a geek and love new gadgets probably more than most. But there is something completely fascinating in finding out the surface temperatures of various objects. Point the gun at my wives's hand, 87 degrees. Point at my hand, 93 degrees. Point it at my dogs ear, 89 degree (she's pretty hairy). How about the patio furniture, 91 degrees. Cool - try it again at 2:00 - 122 degrees. Those frozen peas 36 degrees. The floor, the wall, interesting. They are all the same as the inside temperature of 73 degrees. The readings are pretty much instant. And it's even got laser beams! Point the dot at the OJ in the fridge, pull the trigger and 46 degrees. It's that easy. Hood of my barbeque got surprisingly hot at 230 degrees and the grill was over 400 very quickly after lighting it.

In truth, my wife hasn't really even used it yet, but this thing sure is fun. Can't wait to take it into the garage and check out my motorcycle's engine and exhaust.

We bought it to test air leakage spots in the basement. It really works. Just point it at anything and get the external temp in seconds. Just move it slightly and see where the temp drops or rises. Very helpful. In cooking, we can get the temp of anything externally. Won't tell you the internal temp of that steak but it will tell you the temp of oven, stovetop cooking, hot soup, etc.
We give them out as gifts!

Bought this to check surface temperatures on an antique engine, with great results. I will admit I had a lot of fun checking the temperature of the freezer, oven, skillet, among other things. If you need an inexpensive diagnostic tool, this will fit the bill quite well, AND you can play with it, too!

i received my mt4 today.. what a great item for EVERYDAY use!!! i check my freezer, refridgerater it was right on with the dial one i use now. used to check temp. difference from bottom to top of walls, yes its warmer up there.. VERY reasonable price, they have the lowest price on the web, believe me i did ALOT of comparison shopping.. super fast shipping !!!!!

I really looked into one of these because of the show "Good Eats" on Food Network -Alton Brown (the host) uses one and I loved the idea of it. It's relatively inexpensive, so I figured it'd be cool to have - I find myself using it more and more now that I have it. Cooking meat and you want to make sure it is getting to the right temperature for safe consumption? That's where this comes in. Want to know if the burner is still hot without touching it? Want to know if the cookies have cooled off from the oven? Heck, we even used it to see if the engine of the car had been run recently without ever touching it.
I've heard of people using it for ghost hunting - I haven't tried that, but it's nice to think I could. ;)
It's not a neccesity by any means, but it's a neat, inexpensive gadget that you'll find yourself using more than you think.

This an awesome infrared thermometer with a laser sighting. I bought it for cooking. It is so easy you can measure the temperature of anything, oil in a pan, toast, cookies, bread, meat, chicken, pizza, eggs, you name it. And because it is handy, you do check the temperature of things you never have and never would without it. But it is more useful, because you can measure anything in the rest of you house: hot water, walls, pipes, etc.