Thermometer recommendations please

‘Afternoon all
My wife and I are just starting to get over our first tastes of COVID, and realised that the thermometer we have is an ancient mercury-in-glass one that I’ve owned for probably forty years. I tried a search for NHS approved ones that are a bit more techy but the results weren’t that clear - lots of “this device is sold to NHS sites. However, that shouldn’t be taken as NHS approval”, and similar.
It may, of course, simply be that COVID has muddied my search skills somewhat, but I’d be grateful if any of you lovely folk could give me any recommendations.
Ta
Mick

 

Stick with what you have. It is going to cost you nowt even if you live to the age of Methusela.

Whatever you imagine you might gain by going "techy", is precisely that - imagination.

Because I needed an accurate standard around human body temp., to calibrate other thermometers, and did not already own a clinical thermometer, I did buy an Omron digital 5-6-7 years ago. Very well known laboratory equipment brand but so far as I could tell all guarantee accuracy of +/- 0.1C, IF USED CORRECTLY.

 

After breaking our 40 Yr old Mercury thermometer I bought a Kinetic Wellbeing electronic jobbie. Billed as 'In association with St John Ambulance.'
Works well.
From Well Pharmacy. Under £20 IIRC.

 

Sorry - should have pointed out that the mercury has broken up and no amount of shaking will convince it to become a useable thermometer, which is the drive behind the need for a replacement.

 

Here's the one I got. Many similar online, mostly a bit pricier .....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15546012...d=link&campid=5338728743&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

 

Get another glass one. A techy one won't last 40 years.

 

I won’t either though!

 

So defeatist!

 

Put it in the freezer. If that doesn't work, be VERY careful, but dip quickly into very warm water - that will also join the column up again.

Mercury-in-glass thermometers are almsot totally unobtainium today, even for laboratory use.

 

By careful, I mean, point it away from you - if you are too ambitious, either the bulb or the other end will crack.
I have done both (freezing and heating, not destruction) numerous times over the years - just part of working in lab's and using them for hobbies.

 

I’ll try that - cheers. I’d assumed mercury ones weren’t available nowadays simply on health and safety grounds so didn’t even bother looking those up, but it appears similar ones are available using different materials in place of the mercury, although I have no idea if they work as well.

 

But don’t go from freezer to very warm water in one go, I’d suggest?

 

To be honest, you'd probably be OK, but just not worth the small risk.

 

Liquid-in-glass are now all alcohol. Back in the day we always regarded them as very second-class, but maybe clinical ones, only having to be accurate AT one temperatuire, aren't so bad.

Back in around 1975, a physics teacher had nothing better to do than work out how much liquid mercury would be needed in a classroom, to take the vapour level above the TLV - it turned out to be VERY little, so mercury disappeared from schools PDQ, and pretty much everywhere within 20 years. So the story goes.

Certainly until around that time, we played flick football with beads of mercury on the lab' benches at school.

 

I was still using Mercury thermometers and open Mercury barometers in ALevel physics in 1982.

 

Braun Thermoscan in-ear

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LX5Y7RG/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

A pulse oximeter is a good investment too

https://www.amazon.co.uk/pulse-oximeter/s?k=pulse+oximeter

 

I did A levels in 1977 and mercury was "purged" from the lab's 1-2 years before that.

As I worked in chemistry lab's of one kind or another for over 20 years after leaving school, I saw mercury, in all forms, gradually get removed. Even the Fortin's barometer was removed for specialist disposal when I worked for GE around 20 years ago, and that was in a factory that used plenty of mercury every day (to make discharge lamps).

 

Coincidentally we picked up the OxiPro model just a few days ago.

 

In the 50s I remember buying mercury from a chemist to play with. Imagine that happening today!
We bought mercury thermometers (they came 2 in a card box) not that long ago. The only drawback is you have to wait 2 minutes to get a reliable reading.
I have a fair few ccs of mercury - in glass sealed tubes - as the temperature compensated pendulum in a French 4 glass clock circa 1880.

 

We used to float keys in mercury in physics classes in the 60s. Never did me any harm.