I too was curious about exactly how to use an IR gun.

I think it would give a fairly accurate reading of the head temp though.

And speaking of senders, I'm *not* using the sender that came with the
new Hastings gauge I bought. The gauge is connected to the "gauge"
side of the ECT sensor (it has 2 parts. 1 for ECU, the other for the
gauge)

I know there is a part that can be put in a rad hose, in line. It has
a threaded hole for an aftermarket sensor.

Neil.

On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 7:37 AM, Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@cfu.net> wrote:
..... > Although these readings are to the extreme ends of
> the scale, I have often wondered how accurate the readings are in
> automotive usage.  If you aim the beam at a radiator hose, I'm sure
> it's giving you an accurate reading on the rubber hose temp. but
> wouldn't the coolant inside the hose be even hotter(at operating
> temperature anyway)?  I believe the gun has uses for comparative
> temp. values like checking the difference in areas of a radiator and
> the hoses before and after the thermostat, but I fail to see how we
> can say for sure that a temp gauge is inaccurate when we're not
> measuring the actual coolant.  My water temp VDO gauge reads high
> because I have a 150C gauge and I'm pretty sure I have a 250F sending unit.
> YMMV
>
> DM&FS
>
> At 05:02 AM 7/7/2008, Frank Condelli wrote:
>>
>> In a message dated 06/07/2008 11:26:02 A.M. Central Standard Time,
>> LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:
>>
>> IR guns  locally are expensive, so I'm hoping the Vanagon gauge will
>> suffice for  now.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Do  you not have a Princess Auto there ?  They have some pretty good cheap
>> ones. You can always order from their online site or call head office in
>> Winnipeg.
>> _Click  here: Princess Auto official website - Princess Auto serves
>> Barrie,
>> Ontario  Canada and is found in BarrieDirect.info_
>> (http://members.barriedirect.info/Princess_Auto-I/website/)
>>