I've just received my Ryobi SW-638E. It was extremely cheap on eBay for some reason: approx. £15.
I initially thought it would be useful for performing a thermal analysis of the house (finding cold spots that require insulation) and checking the temperature of confit oil; but I feel there could be so much more.
Confirming the temperature of the oven
Our oven instructions say not to put anything on the bottom of the oven, which I've not taken much notice of. But the Ryobi showed the back top of the oven was around the dialled temperature of 220°, but the bottom was over 300° as the oven warmed up! So the element must be in the bottom of the oven and the instructions are probably sensible.
Checking heat loss in door panels
I have a wooden front door with several frosted glass panels. The panels measure a good few degrees lower than the surrounding door so perhaps some improvised double-glazing would be worth a try?
To be continued ...
Resources
http://www.allqa.com/IR.htm
http://www.omega.com/prodinfo/infraredthermometer.html
http://food-management.com/food-safety/best-practices-ir-thermometer-use-part-1
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Infrared-Thermometer-and-Its-Uses&id=3840914
