Question about the acurites

Hi Everyone,

I have seen on this board people recommending the Accurites temp/humidity guages sold at Walmart.

I currently have two (one on the hot side/one on the cool side) but I have noticed that mine dont have the probe - they are small square units that can stand up in my tank and also give the temp and humidty - they are accurites also - is this okay or do I need to buy the other ones with the probes. As stated, I have one unit on each side of the cage to keep track of all temps and humidity.

The units I have are about the size of a deck of cards - are any of you familiar with them??

Thanks.

You want the ones with the probe, so that you can place the probe over the uth for more accurate temps

I have an RHP in my Reptile Basics cage - and so far the ones I have worked fine - but I wanted to make sure. Do I still need the ones with the probe if I am using an RHP??

Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by L.West

I have an RHP in my Reptile Basics cage - and so far the ones I have worked fine - but I wanted to make sure. Do I still need the ones with the probe if I am using an RHP??

Thanks.

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RHP? I dunno what that is, but you need the ones with a probe. The two I have are also about the size of a deck of cards, or a pack of smokes, have little stands on them if you want, but they do have the probe.

You want to measure the temps of exact spots, not just general area.

Hope this helps you.

:salute:

If you want to put a thermometer inside the cage then no, you don't need the one with the probe. I've always bought the ones with the probe that do in/out temps. They are fairly accurate (within a few degrees +-).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by L.West

I have an RHP in my Reptile Basics cage - and so far the ones I have worked fine - but I wanted to make sure. Do I still need the ones with the probe if I am using an RHP??

Thanks.

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No- you don't need a probe when using an RHP. I use RHP's in all 6 of my RBI cages and have never used the probe. I do use a temp gun though :)

Oooooh ok. Just come in here and show me up. Lol. I don't know what an RHP or whatnot is, so I couldn't say for sure.

In my tanks, I definatly use a probe though.

I do put the entire accurite unit into my cage - but yes, I do use an RHP (radient heat panel) for my heating purposes.

I don't really like my temp gun too much (PE-1) I think I may get a new one. Mine just seems hard to use accurately - I just point and click the button but I never feel secure that I am getting an accurate read. Its probably just user error on my part - LOL

Anyone else use the little black PE-1 temp gun??

Yeah, I use the PE-1 Temp Gun and I love it personally. I use an Acurite w/ probe as well and my probe temp and temp-gun temps almost always are aligned within 1 degree. So I wouldn't give up on the PE-1 just yet, but that's just one guys opinion ;)

I just got one yesterday with the probe and it's incredibly inaccurate!

Example:

Flukers will read 90F 55% Humidity

Accurite with read 83.4F 21% Humidity

And thats with the probe stuck to the wall towards the bottom of the hot side. Vs the Flukers sitting in the tank on the hot side.

Maybe I am not using the thing correctly or it's defective?

Should I place the Accurite into the tank or just use the probe? I was comtemplating this being the problem. Let me know

Hi,

Well the acurite measures the humidity at the base unit not the probe so that may account for that discrepancy?

I would place the acurite probe as close to the flukers unit as possible to see if that makes the readings any closer.

It is no biggie if they read differently as long as they do it by consistent amounts and you can "compensate" in your head.

You do get thermometers that read both humidity and temp at the end of a probe but I can't seem to find the links I had - they were a little more expensive than the acurites iirc.


dr del

Thank you, Haven't done this but does make sense. I had a feeling I needed to place the entire system in the tank due to it's inacuracy. But will try this out and see. Thanks again

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Well the acurite measures the humidity at the base unit not the probe so that may account for that discrepancy?

I would place the acurite probe as close to the flukers unit as possible to see if that makes the readings any closer.

It is no biggie if they read differently as long as they do it by consistent amounts and you can "compensate" in your head.

You do get thermometers that read both humidity and temp at the end of a probe but I can't seem to find the links I had - they were a little more expensive than the acurites iirc.


dr del

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heres some places that have them:

http://www.bigappleherp.com
http://www.beanfarm.com

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Well the acurite measures the humidity at the base unit not the probe so that may account for that discrepancy?

I would place the acurite probe as close to the flukers unit as possible to see if that makes the readings any closer.

It is no biggie if they read differently as long as they do it by consistent amounts and you can "compensate" in your head.

You do get thermometers that read both humidity and temp at the end of a probe but I can't seem to find the links I had - they were a little more expensive than the acurites iirc.


dr del

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Thats not true at all some accurites measure humidity at the base only 1 or 2 models if I remember correctly. Some DO have humidity probes and others have wireless sensors that can measure humidity and temps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mckittie

I just got one yesterday with the probe and it's incredibly inaccurate!

Example:

Flukers will read 90F 55% Humidity

Accurite with read 83.4F 21% Humidity

And thats with the probe stuck to the wall towards the bottom of the hot side. Vs the Flukers sitting in the tank on the hot side.

Maybe I am not using the thing correctly or it's defective?

Should I place the Accurite into the tank or just use the probe? I was comtemplating this being the problem. Let me know

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The Flukers is measuring the temp of the air rising above the floor over the hot spot. The probe is measuring the temp of the wall above the edge of the floor. Stick the probe on the floor next to the other unit and see if that's any closer. The probe should read hotter.

JohnNJ

None of the thermometers are perfectly accurate. You are going to get accuracy within a few degrees which is more than enough for our purposes as reptile keepers. If you want perfect accuracy you'll need a professional temp gun which run upwards of a few hundred bucks. I barely use temps guns or thermometers. I rely on a quality proportional thermostat to regulate my temps and I spot check every once in a while. Hope this helps!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jglass38

None of the thermometers are perfectly accurate.

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Of course not! That's why they're called Accur-I-te. :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnNJ

Of course not! That's why they're called Accur-I-te. :P

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Maybe they should re-name them to Accurlike?