Mini hand held heat sensors / thermometers.

[lesjcbs]

Has anyone here used a hand held mini heat sensing IR thermometer gun to detect hot spots from buried metals in the ground? Kellyco once sold them and claimed that when the ground heats up from sun light throughout the day, metals in the ground heat up also. Thus, after the sun goes down and things start to cool off, the buried metals, that keeps its heat longer than dirt, cools down slower leaving a hot spot to be detected. Fluke, Craftsman and other such companies make and sell them

Anyone know anything about this?

 

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[Msbeepbeep]

Don't know about that, but wouldn't a thermal camera do the same thing?

 

[lesjcbs]

Don't know about that, but wouldn't a thermal camera do the same thing?

Aside from the massive difference in prices, IR cameras being extremely expensive and the mini hand held thermometers being much less expensive, it seems it would be about the same as they both sense the same thing. The thing remaining then is for the user to become very skillful at using their instrument, be it a camera or the hand held thermometer. The IR camera shows a picture on the screen and the thermometer shows temperature numbers on the screen.

I hope someone who has worked with a mini hand held thermometer in locating buried metals weighs in on this and tells what their experience has been.

 

[Jason in Enid]

That's one of those things that is an academic study only. Is seems to be a reasonable theory, but it doesn't work. Earth is a amazing insulator, and you just aren't going to see any temperature difference from something buried.

 

[lesjcbs]

That's one of those things that is an academic study only. Is seems to be a reasonable theory, but it doesn't work. Earth is a amazing insulator, and you just aren't going to see any temperature difference from something buried.

Jason; Thanks for your input which begs this question: If the earth is that good of an insulator, how do IR cameras detect heat radiating through the dirt from a buried object? I am assuming here that both the thermometer and the IR cameras detects the same kind of energy but their displays are different ie., one shows a picture and the other shows temperature numbers.

 

[Jason in Enid]

They don't. It would take a huge, dense, massive item within a few inches of the surface for there to be any residual heat.

Think about this. Have you EVER dug a hole? Ever dug more than a few inches deep? On the hottest day, how much cooler was that ground down there? Why was it cooler? The sun's heat doesn't penetrate. Before the days of refrigeration, people dug "root cellars". It was just a hole in the ground, probably not more than a few inches deep at the roof. They did this because it was ALWAYS cooler in the summer and it never froze in the winter.

 

[Crappies-n-Coins]

I have a IR gun type from Harbor Freight, I think it was around $35. I don't use it for the purpose you're asking about, so no help there. I also have no knowledge of it either, but it would seem to me that even stones/rock on, or just under the surface of the soil would retain heat longer than the surrounding soil once the sun set, so it seems you'd be digging a lot of false readings. Why wouldn't you just use a metal detector in your hunt for gold?

Not knocking what you're wanting to do, just posting to let you know where to buy a decent/inexpensive IR thermometer.

 

[lesjcbs]

I have a IR gun type from Harbor Freight, I think it was around $35. I don't use it for the purpose you're asking about, so no help there. I also have no knowledge of it either, but it would seem to me that even stones/rock on, or just under the surface of the soil would retain heat longer than the surrounding soil once the sun set, so it seems you'd be digging a lot of false readings. Why wouldn't you just use a metal detector in your hunt for gold?

Not knocking what you're wanting to do, just posting to let you know where to buy a decent/inexpensive IR thermometer.

Thanks for you kind input. No offense taken. Kellyco sold them once for that purpose but I guess they did not do that well.

I keep finding information about using thermal imaging Cameras in treasure hunting. They pick up and show a glow on the screen where something is buried, sometimes for long periods of time. Have you had any experience with thermal imaging Cameras?

 

[Crappies-n-Coins]

Have you had any experience with thermal imaging Cameras?

Sorry, no I do not.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Have you had any experience with thermal imaging Cameras?

Yes, I use them for work all the time.

 

[airscapes]

The IR thermometer has a laser point to show where it is centered but it's field of view is not a laser pointer.. at a few feet the detected spot grows large and the farther you are from the surface the larger the spot. The temp is an average of the complete area of view. You would need to craw around and use it like a pinpointer to find something small and again as previously stated.. rocks under the surface would be more likely to cause a cold spot than a hot spot..

 

[lesjcbs]

The IR thermometer has a laser point to show where it is centered but it's field of view is not a laser pointer.. at a few feet the detected spot grows large and the farther you are from the surface the larger the spot. The temp is an average of the complete area of view. You would need to craw around and use it like a pinpointer to find something small and again as previously stated.. rocks under the surface would be more likely to cause a cold spot than a hot spot..

I have several metal detectors that I use but I am new and fascinated about his idea of finding treasure with a Thermal Imaging Camera. This morning as I was looking at things about this subject, it became clear that the Thermal Imaging Camera is the best way of the two to go.

 

[lesjcbs]

Yes, I use them for work all the time.

Jason: Sorry I missed your post reply to my question.

So other than the IR thermometer showing temperature numbers and a Thermal Imaging Camera showing a picture, how does a Thermal Imaging Camera work in comparison to an IR hand held thermometer? Do they both sense the same energy / radiation etc?

 

[Jason in Enid]

Yes. An IR thermometer is just going to give you the general temp of the area you are pointing at. the camera shows you everything, even finger-tip size heat variations from across a room. thermal cameras ARENT cheap, and I don't recommend spending that kind of money on a theory that they will find treasure.

 

[GA_Boy]

That's one of those things that is an academic study only. Is seems to be a reasonable theory, but it doesn't work. Earth is a amazing insulator, and you just aren't going to see any temperature difference from something buried.

I don't have any scientific evidence to support it but I AGREE. I do know if you dig a 5' deep ditch in Georgia the average ground temperature at that depth is around 53*, regardless of ambient temperature.
Marvin