(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

So....digital or mercury

R

rrlund

Well-known Member
So which is more likely to be right,a good old fashioned mercury thermometer of the new digital jobs?
When I started the wifes truck this morning,the digital in it said -3. I walked to the barn and mercury on the north side said -7. She said when she got to town it was -12. Got chores done an hour and a half later and got in her truck to go to breakfast,the digital said -10. I pulled up in front of the barn and the mercury said +5.
Seems to me the thermometer was mercury when invented,so that should be the real temp shouldn't it? Looks like those digital things are just a suggestion.
 
Most commercially available digital thermometers are quite inaccurate, especially at low temperatures.

Dean
 
Hello rrlund,
s I think that spirit or mercury thermometers are more accurate. I use my sirit one to check the accuracy of the other ones i have, digital or dial. Just remember that: He who has one thermometer knows what the temperature is,
He who has two, never knows for sure,
Guido.
a30597.jpg
 
I won't say the digital are the best,however in your case or most cases the sun doesn't affect them the way it does a mercury so they stay more even or accurate.
 
On a vehicle it depends on where the sender is. Most are low in between the grill and radiator where they get the actual air temp when the vehicle is moving, but if the vehicle stops they can pick up a bit of engine heat.

Usually after a vehicle has been parked for a while, you need to drive a mile or two to get the exact temp.
 
Most digital ones automatically shut down at -20 to -22 degrees. So in this part of the US it must never get any colder than that, huh?
 
I dunno... but I do suspect that where you are taking the reading at different locations you could very well have different temperatures... I've nver had any wild readings on a digital that I would seriously question but that's not to say they're perfectly accurate. At -5 F does it really matter? Still just plain cold.

Rod
 
Great subject of discussion. It reminds me of my parents and their friends all talking about the amount of rain they received the night before. My mom and dad even had their "own" rain gauges, and argued over the amount. One would say, "I had 7 tenths", and the other would say, "I had 1 inch exactly". Like the temperatures discussed, I guess we're really not trying to get the "exact" number, but we would like to know, on a relative scale, how warm or cold it is, or how much rain we had. Different temperature transducers, different signal conditioners/converters, and the accuracy of where the mercury thermometers were mounted all attribute to the differences.
All I know is, in N.W. Ohio it is cold! After reading some of the other posts, it's even colder in other places. Now, my mom and dad went down to Florida for the rest of the winter. By phone, I know it is a lot warmer where they are. It's "exactly" 42 degrees warmer than it is here!

Randy
 
The ones in our GM vehicles seem to be very accurate,and it is surprising how much the temperature changes as you drive. We have an Oregon scientific digital indoor outdoor wireless that is very good, and it goes down to -40! In our fishouse we have an old Springfield tube type mercury indoor-outdoor that is also very accurate. The new cheap digital ones are not very good and only go down to -22F
 
First off, your "mercury" thermometer contains no mercury. Alcohol, maybe. And it was never intended to be particularly accurate.

If I had to rely on a thermometer, I'd trust the digital reading from any late-model vehicle before I'd trust an old liquid thermometer. However, the vehicle temperature is normally read from the intake air and is most accurate when you're driving down the road.
 
Like others, I don't know for certain, but I would guess, as with most measurement tools, you usually get what you pay for. I would guess an inexpensive digital thermometer would probably not be as accurate as an expensive alcohol or mercury thermometer and vice-versa.
 
I have looked at thermometers at Menard's more than once.... Checked out a dozen; and didn't find two that read the same..

I believe the old fashoned true mercury thermometers are scarce...
 
I have an actual lab grade MERCURY thermometer. Column is actually silver. Thermometers with red or blue fluid are alcohol. Not that it makes much difference, all can be calibrated accurately if the manufacturer wants to go to the trouble. Now to your question... I have a couple digital thermometers that track quite well with the lab thermometer... One, a Taylor is very close. My GM cars have a digital that tracks well too. Really like that the digital stores max/m in temps. If I can remember to reset it, that is.
 
Mercury has a bad reputation for nastying the enviornment. Few if any mecury thermometers have been made in the past few years, and if they were made, they were for laboratory use. You'll not find them on the consumer market.
 
Have you priced mercury lately? The only thermometers that ever used mercury were those that needed to be very accurate: medical, laboratory, photo processing. Those have almost universally been replaced by digital thermometers: easier to use, more environmentally friendly, but not necessarily more accurate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

3
Flat tire on my Dodge 3500
Replies
12
Views
1K
MARK ROBKE
M
super99
Lost my phone
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
wp6529
W
big tee
Reminds me of the old story--
2 3
Replies
42
Views
2K
Masseyharrisnut
M
M
Oliver 1650
Replies
12
Views
540
used red MN
U
R
Computer question
Replies
11
Views
936
Janicholson
Janicholson
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top