View Full Version : Minimum-registering thermometer?
OldStormcrow
01-05-2009, 15:35
Many years ago I used to have a thermometer that registered the previous night's minimum temperature with blue mercury and the current temp with red mercury. You had to "clear" it by shaking it back down. This one was made of glass, so, of course I felt obliged to sit on it and break it inside my tent one night, probably contaminating the whole inside area quite nicely. I have seen a few of the new-fangled digital models, but most are getting lousy reviews. Most outfitters I have called and asked about these act like I am speaking Martian to them. Have any of you folks seen one of these lately?
The digital dangler (http://www.rei.com/product/745064)
OldStormcrow
01-05-2009, 16:02
The digital dangler (http://www.rei.com/product/745064)
That's one of the "non-water resistant" ones, according to the customer reviews.
4eyedbuzzard
01-05-2009, 16:49
Many years ago I used to have a thermometer that registered the previous night's minimum temperature with blue mercury and the current temp with red mercury. You had to "clear" it by shaking it back down. This one was made of glass, so, of course I felt obliged to sit on it and break it inside my tent one night, probably contaminating the whole inside area quite nicely. I have seen a few of the new-fangled digital models, but most are getting lousy reviews. Most outfitters I have called and asked about these act like I am speaking Martian to them. Have any of you folks seen one of these lately?
Mercury thermometers are always silver. Yours was likely an alcohol or spirit filled thermometer.
You're looking for something like this (http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=8489) I assume, only smaller?
OldStormcrow
01-05-2009, 16:55
Hmmm....perhaps I won't get mercury poisoning from my tent, after all. Yes, 4eyed, that is basically what they look like, only smaller. My friend had one that had a metal tab to indicate the medium and you just slid it back up. The digital ones that I have seen don't work under 0 degrees, and that's when you really get curious as to the what the minimum was.
how about a cooking thermometer that registers minimum and maximum?
http://www.inspectusa.com/product_info.php?products_id=122
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=thermometer+max+min&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=1144800881&ref=pd_sl_55kedpi8va_b
You have to watch out. #11 for instance is advertised as waterproof. However, the base/monitor portion is weather resistant.
I have several differing versions of wireless thermometers around. All the outdoor sensor units say weather resistant.
Couple cheap plastic ones! I need to look for #4.
Can never have enough.
Maybe the Dangler. Take that to NH with me.
Desert Reprobate
01-05-2009, 21:11
REI used to carry one that only had one tube. I bought an electronic one at Bass Pro Shop. The first time I used it, I left it on the top of the car. It fell off and the next car drove over it. The belt clip is gone but the thermometer is still working.
Rain Man
01-05-2009, 22:24
The digital dangler (http://www.rei.com/product/745064)
I've had two "Danglers" and they aren't worth the eight bucks. The first never worked right and Campmor sent me a new one. The new one has now failed.
They are very hard to set, re-set, and generally "manage" with that tiny push button (?) hole in the back. They are not nearly sturdy enough for the out-of-doors.
I can't recommend Danglers.
Rain:sunMan
.
Thanks for the info on the dangler.
A barometer would be very useful also, except I suppose these days instead of a barometer you could just stay connected to weather channels or the internet. I read "The Lost Patrol" in the library yesterday, about a patrol up in the Yukon that got lost and froze to death in January 1909. The carried barometers as well as thermometers. Interesting the story only reports the daily temperatures, and doesn't mention anything about the use of the barometers other than that everyone seemed to carry one.
Here is an interesting description on the use of barometers...
http://www.medfordclock.com/bfacts.html
The Yukon is so freaking beautiful. I could live in White Horse.
Taylor used to make one that was glass, sized and shaped like a Bic pen, and packed in an aluminum tube to protect it. Had small metal indicators that would mark high and low. Hiked with a guy who had one, but I have never been able to find one like it.
The Yukon is so freaking beautiful. I could live in White Horse.It was an interesting read. I wonder how developed it is now, over that route the Lost patrol took. It was the winter of 1910/1911, not 1908/1909. They got lost and froze between Fort McPherson and Dawson. They made it about 2/3 of the way, got lost, then froze on the way back after running out of food and dogs. One of the 4 men was an American, a veteran of the Spanish American War.
http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Yukon/lost_patrol.htm
Here is a better link...
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Force/en/adventures/adventures/lostpatrol/
Rain Man didn't care for the dangler, saying:
"I've had two "Danglers" and they aren't worth the eight bucks. The first never worked right and Campmor sent me a new one. The new one has now failed.
They are very hard to set, re-set, and generally "manage" with that tiny push button (?) hole in the back. They are not nearly sturdy enough for the out-of-doors."
Interesting to read that. FWIW --- just two experiences aren't what you would call exhaustive (!) --- I've carried one of these quite a few miles last year and this year and had no problem. Indeed, they're a bit of a PITA to set, but that's a one-time issue. It takes a short learning curve to remember to push and hold to reset the recorded high/low temps, but I didn't find this to be a problem. I only carried mine for maybe a quarter of my trip this year, but I had it on a mini-caribeener on my pack strap, i.e., exposed to elements, dust etc in SoCal and it held up fine. So from my experience, it seemed plenty durable enough for outdoor use, I probably carried it for a month and a half or so this year.
I do have slight doubts about the temperature accuracy, but I've had that for every thermometer I've used. I recall hiking with someone for a while where we discovered that my current-temp readings were consistently a few degrees lower than the little analog/mercury (or whatever now) mini zipper-pull thermometer he had got from REI.
If you want to be pretty precise about your temperature measurements, consider doing some testing ahead of time in known high and low temperature locations to sort of mentally "calibrate" your unit (as there's no actual on-unit calibration possible).
I found mine to be very useful in 2007 when preparing for my long hike, as I took it with me whenever I did a shakedown hike, both in pretty high and pretty low snowy temperatures. It helped give me a more absolute comparison point when considering what gear was appropriate for what conditions, for example, out of wind in a tent with clothes on I'm okay in my 32 degree rated bag down to a temperature of about X.