An Infrared Thermometer for the Home Workshop

Hello everyone!
Today I’d like to introduce you to a new and very useful tool: the PM6530D infrared thermometer. You can set the material’s emissivity on this thermometer to get more accurate surface temperature readings. It also has UV LEDs and a temperature and humidity sensor, and you can connect an external thermocouple. A built-in laser pointer helps illuminate the surface being measured.

If you’re looking for a professional tool such as a thermal imager, I recommend reading this review (Thermal Imagers: What Are They and “How Do They Work”?) by KIRICH

The PM6530D is sold under various brands. In my case, the tool is unbranded, with no name or colorful packaging. That doesn’t affect its functionality; only the label on the tool changes.




The infrared thermometer comes with a holster that can be attached to a belt. The housing has a connector for an external thermocouple, which is also included with the thermometer.




The thermometer is available in three versions: PM6350A / PM6350B / PM6350D, but only the PM6350D comes with a thermocouple.
I recommend keeping the manual, as it contains a table of emissivity values.
“The emissivity of an infrared thermometer (infrared temperature meter, infrared pyrometer, non-contact thermometer): if an object’s surface is very smooth, such as stainless steel, its emissivity is low, which reduces the accuracy of the readings.”

Manual in English




Let me list all the additional features once again: the housing has two UV LEDs that are switched on with a separate button. There is a circular laser pointer, also switched on with a separate button. An LED indicates measurement accuracy: if it lights up red, the readings are inaccurate; if it lights up green, the readings will be as accurate as possible.



The pyrometer has a very large, informative display. For its price, it's quite an advanced instrument.
1) ambient temperature
2) humidity
3) dew point
4) object temperature
5) laser spot indicator
6) °C or °F
7) thermocouple connection
8) scan indicator
9) emissivity coefficient
10) battery level
11) high temperature HI (the measured temperature is above the range of the PM6350D)

The laser pointer is very useful, as it lets you see exactly where the temperature is being measured.
The D:S = 12:1 ratio means that for every 12 cm between the instrument and the object being measured, the laser spot grows by exactly 1 cm.



Measurement accuracy depends on various factors: whether the object is wet or dry, glossy or matte. And don't forget the emissivity table.
In my experience, the measurement angle also affects accuracy. Holding the instrument at a right angle (90°) gives more accurate readings.




My small thermometer collection. None of these tools and instruments is calibrated very accurately, and two identical thermometers can show different temperatures, so you need to account for measurement error. Accurate instruments cost much more, although even the big brands probably have issues—after all, they're still made in the same places and at the same factories.



Let's move on to the tests. I measured boiling water simultaneously with the pyrometer and the thermocouple. Because of the steam, the infrared thermometer reads a little low.



Next, I measured a burner that was set to 300°.



Next, I measured the pot's body. As you can see, it's glossy, and the readings fluctuated by up to 10°.



And now let's head to the freezer, which is set to -16°C. The reading on a frozen draniki pancake was -17°.



I was curious to run one more test with a TEFAL kettle. It has a built-in thermocouple in the base and a display showing the water temperature inside the kettle.
Taking measurement error into account, the readings are accurate to within +-
Water in the TEFAL kettle: 56°C
Infrared thermometer: 54.3°C
Thermocouple: 58.4°C



The infrared thermometer's thermocouple has a temperature measurement range of -10°C to 537°C. The MASTECH MS8229 multimeter, which can also be connected to a thermocouple, can measure much higher temperatures. I tested two thermocouples in a burner flame. As soon as the temperature reached 537°C, HI appeared on the infrared thermometer's display, indicating that the pyrometer's maximum temperature measurement limit had been exceeded.




I almost always take tools apart to fix manufacturing defects or remove excess hot glue. The main board and infrared sensor are screwed in, while the laser and temperature sensor are glued in with hot glue. At least the soldering is neat, so I didn't have to fix anything there.





Pros:
This thermometer is a perfectly decent working tool. The pyrometer runs on a 9V battery, and to save power it switches off after 15 seconds. The large color display shows all the information, and its backlight makes the readings easy to see in daylight. The emissivity coefficient helps you measure the surface temperature of different materials accurately. The tool’s functionality has also been expanded with built-in sensors, including an ambient temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, which are used to calculate the dew point.

Cons:
The maximum temperature this tool can measure with a thermocouple is 537°C. As a reminder, the MASTECH MS8229 multimeter can measure temperatures up to 1000°C with a thermocouple.

If you’re looking for affordable, feature-packed instruments and tools on AliExpress, I recommend visiting the official PEAKMETER store. They have a wide selection of affordable tools, including the PEAKMETER PM6530D reviewed here.