Infrared temp gun: reliability and recommendations

[anvilring]

I have an old, but highly reliable standard thermocouple temperature control, but an infrared temp gun would be so much easier to use. No fooling about with a thermocouple and so on. How reliable are they at high temperature? and if so any recommendations? You can get low temp guns for a few bucks, but it looks like the high heat ones are 250 plus.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

They are reliable in the lab, but those are expensive, and used in controled testing.

For forging use, they have too many issues. Emisivity is the biggest one.

Also, many of the lower cost units are only about 3% accurate in the upper ranges, so it could be reading +/- 45 degrees at 1500. A 90 degree spread isn't of much use in HT. Even the 1% lab grade ones will have a spread of 30 degrees at 1500.

For reading the oil temp, checking temper temps, and other similar testing below 900F they are pretty useful. For forging and HT, they are not.