LEARNING ADVANTAGE - 7632 Learning Advantage Student Thermometers, Pack of 10

Got these to mount in work closets for easy temperature checks. They're easy to break, so I wouldn't carry them around, but work fine. Can't beat the price

For all those complaining about accuracy "out of the box" you have obviously had no mechanical training at all. Yes, these read all over the place when you get'em. That's why they are cheap. However, it is dead easy to get each and every one spot on. They are mounted on a thin plastic card. The scale is easy to read and the card, though thin, is durable enough to get the job done. The actual bulb tube is mounted to the card with two plastic clips. LOOK VERY CLOSELY at the °C side of the GLASS TUBE (not the plastic) almost around to the back side. You will see a tiny black marked etched into the glass. That black mark represents the 20°C calibration mark. Move that to line up with 20°C and move the plastic clips in to grip the tube at that spot... done. You can check this with a reference thermometer that is accurate and see that it works. The more accurate your reference the better. I used two K-type digital thermistor thermometers. Just adjust by sliding the clips up or down as needed . Now every single one is reading within 1/2°C of each other and that is close enough for government work. If you are running a physics lab, then look elsewhere. These work for me.

I bought this for my homeschooled children and they are loving the thermometer practice, putting them all over the house and checking random temps. I've seen some reviews saying they were inaccurate. When I lined them all up, a few were a few degrees off but I simply moved the tube until they all lined up. Really not a big deal. The tube is tough to move on some but if it moves too easily, you can tape it once you get it into the correct position. But when my kids put them in ice, it hit exactly at 32 degrees so it's accurate!!

Backing is flexible and thin. OK as it allows the thermometer to register changes in temperature quickly. Tube slips up and down in the backing. Holding the calibration with a dot of glue solves the problem. At this price point, I was able to put thermometers everywhere I was interested in temperatures: in rooms, garages, attics, sheds, freezers, fridges, beehives.

I put them all over my house, they all seem to read the same. The red alcohol was separated in one, but it was easy to fix by dipping in warm/hot water (140f, didn't want to warp the plastic) until the liquid rejoined. I even trimmed the edges of one down and put it in my aquarium, it seems to read water as accurately as air. I have a lot of other thermometers I tested them against. I wouldn't say a plastic thermometer has extreme precision, but it's good enough for me.