As part of our car item month of August, you’re going to see a lot of posts this month in regards to car items.  A lot of these items you have probably heard of, but there may be a few where you’re thinking, “What the heck do I need this for?”

When you think of an infrared thermometer, you’re probably wondering why you would even need one while working on a car and let me explain why you should consider one.

Let’s say that you’re going to work on a hard part of the car.  You just shut it off.  With your anti-freeze and other components, the last thing that you want to do is touch the item and burn your finger.  To save yourself from being annoyed and frustrated with a burnt fingertip, this tool can prevent it each and every time.

Not only can you use these tools when working on the car, it works wonders on other items too in the house, outside, as well as other heavy duty machinery.

If you’re looking to purchase one, plan on saving around $40 – $100 for one that is going to work.  You don’t want to be too cheap because what you’re going to find out is that you’re going to get what you pay for.

I did some research on some major e-commerce sites and here’s what I came up with as the best infrared thermometers on the market today…

Fluke 62 Mini Infrared Thermometer (around $100): This is a rather expensive unit but again, you’re going to want to get something that is going to work.  This is one of the highest rated guns on the market and has some of the best accuracy in it’s class.

Kintrex IRT0421 Non-Contact (around $50): Another great model that isn’t going to break the bank.  High reviews, it can measure all the way up to 932 degrees, as well as give you a response time within 1 second.

Kintrex IRT0401 (around $20): This is a cooler design as it’s going to be able to wrap around your wrist, or if you wish, you can attach it something such as your key chain.  For $20, you can beat the price, as it is very similar to the IRT0421 but only smaller.

Actron CP7875 (around $20): This reader was actually on the Amazon’s best seller’s list for automotive products.  It has a 4 star review, it’s the cheapest in price on the list and can give you instant, yet accurate responses.

Most of the guns are going to do the same thing.  The true question is how big do you want it, what brand do you want, as well as what are you looking to spend?

Be sure to poke around at some of these on the market.  Just don’t be too cheap because again, you may get what you pay for!