which digital thermometer have fast response?

[Shadow]

Does anyone know which brand of digital thermometer with fast response? I just bought china brand (AiLiTe Aquarium) digital thermometer but the response is very slow. I put from hot water to cold water take about 7 to 8 second before the display change.

Another question is which digital thermometer have metal sensor? The one I bough, the sensor is incase in plastic and plastic is insulator.

[mikmik]

Hi Robert,

If you want a fast respond thermometer, I would suggest a conventional thermometer especially those that are sold for photography darkroom process. They are lasting & sensitive to temperatures. Like any digital or electronic products, there will always be a lag in getting the info. Moreover after certain period its battery will only be weaker thus there will be a much weaker respond to the temperatures and demands a battery renewal for maintenance.

Fan

[Vandecruz]

Hi Robert,

If U want a fast respond thermometer, I would suggest a conventional thermometer esp those that are sold for photography darkroom process. They are lasting & sensitive to temperatures. Like any digital or electronic products, there will always be a lag in getting the info. Moreover after certain period its battery will only be weaker thus there will be a much weaker respond to the tempertures and demands a battery renewal for maintenance.

Fan

Hi i am interested to get something like what you recommended too but do you have a photo of this thermometer to share with us thank alot

[mikmik]

Hi Vandecruz,

Here are the pics on the type of photography thermometer. I've been using this one for more than 15 years without any problems. I think U may get it at Peninsula Excelsior Hotel / Shopping Ctr, there is a shop at the corner on the 1st floor by the name of Ruby Photo if I'm not mistaken. They sell all the photography equipment.

Thanks.
Fan

[RHX]

Why would you want a fast response digital thermometer? Fast/Huge temperature fluctuation will kill fishes & shrimps. By the way thoses are not digital thermometers, & yes they are the best, maintenance free & shows real time temperature.

[Shadow]

Fast/Huge temperature fluctuation will kill fishes & shrimps.

Isn't that why you want to have response thermometer , preventing huge fluctuation

[Vandecruz]

Thank alot Milk for sharing the photo of the thermometer you recommended to us and at least now i have a idea how its look like but may i know what the main different between this Photography thermometer compared to the normal mecury thermometer sold in lfs,thanks alot

[mikmik]

Based on what I've seen in lfs are mostly thermometers which increases or decreases its readings by 1.0 on its markings : 24 - 25 - 26 etc. Whereas this particular type of thermometer has readings based on 0.5 : 24 - 24.5 - 25 - 25.5 etc (look closely at the middle pic) With that to some degree we may get a more precise temperature readings.

Another difference is the whatever blue liquid that they used in the thermometer is somewhat lighter as compared to mercury which has a slight density. As such it reacts better & faster to temperatures. Apart from that it is also for easy & quick reading. Anyway take a look at the ADA new thermometer, it is not mercury either.

[Vandecruz]

Thank alot Milk for your detail infos,most probably i will just go down one of the day when i am free to get a few

[tawauboy]

Isn't that why you want to have response thermometer , preventing huge fluctuation

how would a quick response thermometer prevent huge fluctuation?

[tawauboy]

Based on what I've seen in lfs are mostly thermometers which increases or decreases its readings by 1.0 on its markings : 24 - 25 - 26 etc. Whereas this particular type of thermometer has readings based on 0.5 : 24 - 24.5 - 25 - 25.5 etc (look closely at the middle pic) With that to some degree we may get a more precise temperature readings.

smaller resolution has no bearing on accuracy.
thermometer accuracy depends on thermometer types and calibration of thermometer manufacturing process. a laboratory thermometer would be more accurate.

[mikmik]

how would a quick response thermometer prevent huge fluctuation?

The reason for having a fast respond thermometer is to quickly & effectively realize the various increase or decrease in temperatures. It is a preventive measure for those who may experience situations or environmental conditions that are rather unpredictable. Not every flats, floors, houses, offices, buildings, placement or position of the tank, or the size of the tank would react on the same way as far as temperature is concern......

Bottom line is to quickly realize the problem & find a way to deal with the conditions & hopefully stablize them for as long as possible be it with a chiller, heater or whatever means possible. Fish tanks are generally very prone to environmental temperature changes as the body of water is rather limited esp the smaller tanks, unlike the rivers, lakes or seas which are more stable due to its size, currents & volume.

[mikmik]

smaller resolution has no bearing on accuracy.
thermometer accuracy depends on thermometer types and calibration of thermometer manufacturing process. a laboratory thermometer would be more accurate.

Of course, without any doubt a laboratory thermometer particularly a digital one that uses microprocessor to linearize the response of the thermocouple in order to achieve high degree accuracy and resolution may range from -200C - 999.9C would definitely be more accurate, even as accurate as +/-0.005C.

However, availability & cost may always be a factor for some. Either in purchasing it or maintaining it for calibration as these instruments are not widely commercialize & mainly used for industrial purposes. Besides, the required temperatures for a tank would only be in the range of 20C - 30C. With that, the -200C - 999.9C can be rather quite redundant unless anyone might want to use it to check their chicken in the freezer or roasting in the oven. Hehehe.... Another point is the water chiller or heater can only be set to 1.0C or the least 0.5C & thus there isn't any need to be as accurate as +/-0.005C as no one would recommend a tank temperature to be 25.515C or 25.345C etc.

[RHX]

To be honest, we do not need such fast respone time in thermometers like stock market indicators. Heck, even stock market graphs don't even show per second volume transactions.

Even if your tank is newly setup where the parameters are unstable, there is still no need for such instruments where you need constant monitoring. To have the temperature increase by 1 degree in 7 ~ 8 seconds is ALOT! It's like pouring hot water into your tank just to detect the such changes in 7 ~ 8 seconds.

Even if you put ice in your tank, it will still need at least a few minutes to have the temperature drop 1 degree. IMO, response time of 7 ~ 8 seconds is more than sufficient.

If you really want real time temperatures, a normal thermometer will do the job.

[Shadow]

You are right, there probably no practical reason to have fast response in fish tank. I was a shock when realise that my digital termometer resnponse time 7~8 second make it impossible to use it to measure other thing beside fish tank water temperature.

[tawauboy]

The reason for having a fast respond thermometer is to quickly & effectively realize the various increase or decrease in temperatures. It is a preventive measure for those who may experience situations or environmental conditions that are rather unpredictable. Not every flats, floors, houses, offices, buildings, placement or position of the tank, or the size of the tank would react on the same way as far as temperature is concern......

Bottom line is to quickly realize the problem & find a way to deal with the conditions & hopefully stablize them for as long as possible be it with a chiller, heater or whatever means possible. Fish tanks are generally very prone to environmental temperature changes as the body of water is rather limited esp the smaller tanks, unlike the rivers, lakes or seas which are more stable due to its size, currents & volume.

a slow response thermometer can handle the situations that you have described. tank temperature does not change quickly with a change in ambient temperature. even with a failing chiller or heater, a normal thermometer can still handle it.

a fast response thermometer is an overkill.

[tawauboy]

Of course, without any doubt a laboratory thermometer particularly a digital one that uses microprocessor to linearize the response of the thermocouple in order to achieve high degree accuracy and resolution may range from -200C - 999.9C would definitely be more accurate, even as accurate as +/-0.005C.

However, availability & cost may always be a factor for some. Either in purchasing it or maintaining it for calibration as these instruments are not widely commercialize & mainly used for industrial purposes. Besides, the required temperatures for a tank would only be in the range of 20C - 30C. With that, the -200C - 999.9C can be rather quite redundant unless anyone might want to use it to check their chicken in the freezer or roasting in the oven. Hehehe.... Another point is the water chiller or heater can only be set to 1.0C or the least 0.5C & thus there isn't any need to be as accurate as +/-0.005C as no one would recommend a tank temperature to be 25.515C or 25.345C etc.

well, there are many types of laboratory thermometers available. one which can measure the temperature range between freezing water and boiling water will be sufficient.

actually a digital temperature sensor (a transistor) is quite linear. all it needs is calibration and a microprocessor to perform the conversion. a 2-point calibration will improve the accuracy.

accuracy is different from resolution. accuracy is the closeness of measured reading to an accepted standard (SI).

[gemo82]

Wah all bros here flaunting their technical knowledge.

To me, 7-8 seconds is "real-time" enough. My reaction time to do something about the temperature will make increasing the response time by a few seconds insignificant. Furthermore, I do not usually stare at the thermometer all the time to notice such fast response. It makes sense for fast response time if it is the thermostat of the chiller, so that things will be remedied fast automatically.

Thermometer for me now is just to check once in a while when I'm free to see if temperature remains in the acceptable range. It proved its worth recently when my fans broke down, and tempertature shot up to 30.4 degress celsius one afternoon!!

So to me, that kind of response time is good enough. I would rather try to increase the response time for my CO2 indicator, which I am helplessly clueless as to how.

[Shadow]

well the idea was originally to compare the water temperature shown on the Chiller and the real temperature on the tank. Thus accuracy and response can really make different. For example if you want to know the water temperature comming out from the chiller. I'm curently DIY-ing temperature controller, thus I need fast response termometer to do initial calibration. Another DIY project that is in my list is temperature data logger. Not sure the application, it just something fun to do during my free time

[tawauboy]

is it really necessary to get the chiller display to show the same temperature as the tank water temperature? and quite likely you'll have another thermometer in your tank.

what you should find out is the offset between the chilled water temperature and tank water temperature. assuming that you have set 25 degrees on your chiller and your measured tank water temperature is 26 degrees. knowing the offset, you can set the chiller to give you the desired tank water temperature. wouldn't this be an easier way?

the chiller may have built-in safety cutoff mechanism that uses the chiller temperature probe as sensor input. by adding an external temperature controller, would you be bypassing some of the safety mechanism? or your external temperature controller will cut-off the mains when desired temperature is reached?