Best way to calibrate temp sensors?

[beelzerob]

I have Datanab temp sensors scattered throughout my house, and I'd like to calibrate them so I can make smart decisions about where to direct the heat.

I had a cheapo thermometer I bought (probably at Walmart) that has a display, and a little sensor at the end of a wire. So, though I didn't think the cheapo thermometer was correct, I figured I could at least calibrate all the datanab sensors to this cheapo thermom and then they may still be wrong, but at least they'd be wrong to the same standard.

However, I found my simple mercury thermometer and it was giving entirely different readings. Granted, it's a pretty coarse scale to read from...no digital readout there...but might correct things back to within a degree.

Is the mercury thermometer probably the most accurate of all the "sensors" here? Maybe I could calibrate the cheapo therm to the mercury, and then use the cheapo to calibrate the datanab sensors?

Or is there an easier, cheaper, or more reliable way? (preferably all 3)

 

[Steve]

I always heard that the old ole mercury thermometer was the gold standard to go from. Maybe whats needed is a mercury thermometer with a digital readout.

 

[beelzerob]

Well, even with an analog scale to try and read, good ol' mercury was giving some interesting info. It said it was 63 where the HVAC controller was, which was reading 68. I'm beginning to understand now where all the whining about the cold was coming from...

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

One good cal point would be an ice-water bath (freezing). Are the sensors waterproof where they could be 'dunked' in water? Hopefully they would be linear from there. Do you have a link on the specs of the sensors?

 

[beelzerob]

One good cal point would be an ice-water bath (freezing). Are the sensors waterproof where they could be 'dunked' in water? Hopefully they would be linear from there. Do you have a link on the specs of the sensors?

I don't have a link for the datanab sensors...toymaster might. The cheapo sensor I got could be dunked. I guess that would be a good calibration point, and hope they're linear.

 

[Steve]

One good cal point would be an ice-water bath (freezing). Are the sensors waterproof where they could be 'dunked' in water? Hopefully they would be linear from there. Do you have a link on the specs of the sensors?

I don't have a link for the datanab sensors...toymaster might.

Fo real? The almighty beelzerob couldn't come up with datanab.com??? Here are the sensors.