Theย DeWalt DCT414S1 12V MAX Infrared Thermometer Kit is a great additionย to DeWaltโs compact 12V lineup. This tool will be a great asset toย the electrical, plumbing, and especially HVAC (air mechanical)ย tradesmen. Infrared thermometers provide safe, easy, and accurateย non-contact temperature readings which are ideal under hazardousย conditions and for hard-to-reach objects. The DeWalt Infraredย Thermometer has good ergonomics, making it easy to handle.
The laserย is bright and can easily be seen under nearly any lighting condition.ย With a wide temperature range of -20ยบ F to 932ยบ F, most usersย should find this more than adequate for most situations. The greenย backlit LCD screen is easy to read in both bright sunlight and in theย dark. There are three programmable alarms, both audio andย patent-pending LED lights. The infrared comes with a nice hard case,ย one battery, a 40-minute charger, and an instruction leaflet.
DeWalt DCT414S1 Infrared Thermometer Features
Asย we mentioned, the 1-1/4โณ LCD is very easy to read, regardless ofย the lighting conditions. Below the LCD are five buttons for selectingย between Fahrenheit and Celsius, programing alarms and changingย emissivity (EMS). Emissivity is the ability of a surface to radiateย heat. There are two holes on the front of the gun. The lower of theย two is the laser and the larger upper hole is the infrared reader.ย The infrared reads at a ratio of distance verse spot (D:S).
Thisย particular infrared thermometer has a D:S ratio of 12:1, which isย fairly common for this price range. What this means is that at 12ย inches the reading spot is around 1 inch and is growing in a coneย that progressively gets larger as it moves away from the tool. Theย closer you are, the more pin-point your reading will be. With theย alarm feature, users can set a high/low limit temperature range. Thisย alarm system is unique in that it allows users to choose audio and/orย two LED lights (red for the high limit and blue for the low limit) toย alert them when temperatures outside of the set range are detected.ย
There are three programmable alarms with adjustable emissivity. Theย EMS range is from 1.00 to 0.10. The default setting of the gun isย 0.95, which works well on most surfaces. A chart is included in theย instruction leaflet that provides the EMS of many common materials.
Testingย and Use
Rightย out of the box, the DeWalt DCT414S1 12V MAX Infrared Thermometer wasย easy to use. We simply installed the battery and held the triggerย down for a few seconds to turn it on. When the laser comes on, it isย ready to read any surface temperature. I tested the infrared onย various materials, using both the EMS default setting of 0.95 andย each materialโs appropriate EMS setting. In the majority of cases,ย the two readings were very close.
However, there was a significantย difference with some materials. One way of overcoming this is toย place masking tape on the object and read off the tape with the EMSย set to default 0.95. One thing that we picked up on as weย spent more time with the DeWalt Infrared Thermometer is that theย laser is not quite close enough to the infrared sensor. This causesย temperature readings to be above the laser dot about 3/4 of an inchย at 12 inches. When we tested it at two feet, the laser was still notย reading in the infrared spot, which would be approximately two inchesย in diameter. Even though the laser was too low, it was easy enough toย compensate to get an accurate reading once we spent a little timeย with the tool and learned its parameters. As with any laser, rememberย to never point the laser in your, or any bystanderโs, eyes.
Conclusion
Theย DeWalt DCT414S1 12V MAX Infrared Thermometer Kit is a great tool toย add to your collection. This is especially true if you are in theย mechanical or electrical trades and you already have other DeWalt 12Vย tools. It is very easy to use and serves its function well. From whatย we can tell, it should prove to be as rugged as other DeWalt toolsย and products. Maybe down the road, we will see DeWalt make an infraredย thermometer with a tighter D:S ratio. Overall, we give the DeWaltย Infrared Thermometer a Value rating of 7/10 thanks to its reasonableย price, nice hard case, and useful features. For our Performance scoreย we gave the tool a 7/10; if the laser was aimed better or locatedย closer to the infrared sensor to get greater pin-point accuracy itย would have received a few more performance points.
