Thermocouple Thermometer, RISEPRO 4 Channel K Type Digital Thermometer Thermocouple -200~1372°C/2501°F Sensor HT-9815

I am a Deputy Fire Chief, and purchased this multi-channel thermocouple thermometer to use in a fire training event. We constructed a small model of a building to demonstrate fire behavior and ventilation impacts. The “building” has 4 “rooms” and an attic. The lead instructor thought it would be neat to be able to measure the temperature in each compartment as part of the demonstration. A brief search on Amazon led us to this item.The reviews were decent, though several indicated an innaccuracy of 10-15F. With our use, and the temperatures we would be measuring, we decided that was perfectly acceptable. For the less than $40 price (in March of 2023), it seemed worth the try, and the return policies minimized the risk.Overall, I am very impressed, and so were the firefighters. Having the simultaneous temperature for all 4 compartments added a significant piece of understanding to the demonstration. We reached temperatures of over 1,500F during the experiment, and the thermocouple leads survived. I did not expect that at all. The unit is simple and easy to use, setup was quick, the tester is rugged, ergonomic and durable, the leads clearly hold up to high temperatures, and the display is clear. My only complaint is that the leads are pretty short, around 3 feet or so. We definitely could have used 2-3 times that. I don’t recall the lead length being clearly described in the listing, or I would have likely tried to get longer ones. The good news is if you want longer, higher temp ratings, or just replacements, there are plenty of other leads available.Certainly not a precise scientific instrument, it doesn’t meet any real calibration standards, but in our experience it worked very well for our amateur application.I’ve included photos that show temperature readings at different times in the demonstration, the thermocouples post-demo, and the burn box we used.

I use this for my metal melting furnace/fire ant nest cast making and lost wax burnout kiln. It's very easy to use, and super handy. I have seen other reviews that suggest this unit might not read accurately within 10-15 degrees. For me that is just not an issue. I have not checked the accuracy against anything else other than watching metal that I know the melting temp of, and for how I'm using it I have no problems. There are very accurate thermocouples out there, but a lot more $$$$ than this one.If you can live with an error of +- 10 - 15 degrees at around 1200 + F then this is all you need.My sole negative comment regards the plugs where the actual thermocouple plugs in. The male plug ends are clearly of different sizes, but the holes in the unit appear to be the same size. There is a very hard to see + - sign stamped in the plastic to direct getting the correct plug lined up in the correct hole. Using this thing in the field casting fire ant nests, I got tired of putting my glasses on to see the tiny symbol and marked it heavily with a sharpie so I could see it better.Edit: This unit has a LCD screen. Today, while using my wax burnout kiln outdoors to avoid wax fumes, I did not notice the sun angle had moved to place the screen in full sunlight. I got the dreaded LCD "black screen". Could not read anything on the display -totally blacked out. The unit was hot. I picked it up and carried it back inside the AC and all was well after just a few minutes. I've used it many times outdoors, just be sure not to leave it in direct sunlight on a hot day. My understanding of LCD blackout is that generally it will completely recover unless you let this happen too many times.

A really nice instrument for the modest price. Calibration is not traceable to NIST or any other standard I am aware of. It works fine for candy making, baking, brewing, smoking, grilling, incubators, and refrigerant measurements. Which are the uses I need it for. If you are trying to prove net energy release from tabletop cold fusion, maybe get something calibrated to a recognized standard. Comes with four basic type "K" bare bead thermocouples. The supplied thermocouples have polymer insulation, so not great for much above 230 degrees F. for extended periods. The supplied thermocouples do work fine for refrigerant line measurements. I bought inexpensive bare bead thermocouples with ceramic insulation, that easily withstand my 550 degree bread oven. A probe with a pointed stainless steel tube is nice for grilling, and similar baking, brewing, type purposes where you insert it. One problem will miniature type K, thermocouple connectors (The little 2-pin yellow plugs) is they tend to get lose with use, especially if you accidentally force one into the receptacle backwards. Nice handy instrument, with a quality look and feel.

In several reviews of this product, people are complaining about poor accuracy. What people fail to realize is that accuracy is a function of the thermocouple you are using, and NOT the thermocouple reader. All a thermocouple reader does is convert the voltage across the thermocouple to a temperature reading. If the thermocouple isn't producing an accurate voltage, then you are going to get an inaccurate temperature reading.If you want highly accurate results, put your money into a high quality thermocouple probe. But using a cheap reader like this is just fine. In fact, you can make your own highly accurate thermocouple reader with an Arduino and a few parts. The magic sauce for accuracy is the actual probe.You can turn off the auto-power-off function of this reader, which is very convenient.This is a decent quality four channel reader that supports several different probe types at a reasonable cost. I've been using mine for a bit over a month now with zero complaints.