Estimating Temperature by Touch

I vaguely remember an engineer mentioning an old rule of thumb for quickly estimating temperatures on circuit boards: you put your finger on a component, and it went something like this:

Feels cool ... 25 to 35 deg C Neutral ... 37 Warm ... 40 to ? Very warm ... ? Hot ... ? Makes a blister... ?

Does anybody have the numbers that go in here?

Wood

Reply to
Woody Brison
Loading thread data ...

Don't know about that but I used to know someone who used his tongue as a voltmeter for determining the voltage of batteries.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

formatting link

Reply to
N Cook

I added some above. For most folks, 70 is about as hot as one can stand for a second or two (does depend on calluses, though).

Reply to
Charles Schuler

I can touch a smooth metal surface at 50C forever, 60C for about 2 seconds, and can interpolate pretty well berween.

Calibrate yourself!

John

Reply to
John Larkin

Mmm...

I have measured the "surface" temp of a 60W typical bulb and came out appox 80C with temp probe attachment for multimeter.

Cheers, Wizard

Reply to
Jason D.

I used to do temperature testing of RF equipment in a walkin temperature chamber and changed cables at 80 deg C. Screwing and unscrewing N connectors bare-handed was a real challenge. 80 C is definitely in the hot range.

I also once had to install some electronics on an all steel crane while it was operating over a furnace. The temperature on the crane was 155 F or about 68 C.

Reply to
jgreimer

Very Hot .........."Sun of a Bitch Ar!"

--
Real Programmers Do things like this.
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5
Reply to
Jamie

Confirmed.

50C is now the legislated limit for hot water systems as it will not scold. 60C maybe 5 secs max. depending on your level of tolerance to pain. It is the legislated as the cut off point as well.
Reply to
Terry Smith

One can check those small 9V batteries with pretty good accuracy. It became habit forming just like jolts from the old 75 and 90 volt B batteries. What else can you legally do when a kid at home?

Reply to
H. Dziardziel

I pothe hethe the guyth thut torkth like thus

David

N Cook wrote:

Reply to
quietguy

Hi!

I can second that. My IR thermometer (at a few inches) said my 130V 60W bulbs were between 86 and 90 degrees C.

William

Reply to
William R. Walsh

Yea. 113F and you will let go. Blisters at 150F.. However, my wife is a cook and most of her finger tips have been burnt over the years. She can hold 150 for several seconds. I know. She passes hot dishes to me and I drop them.

Harold

Reply to
Harold Ryan

Here we go again...it wasn't a pleasant experience when I checked my old cellphone PS...10.6 V, 850 mA...I thought that the top of my head was going to come off. :-)

Tom

Reply to
Tom MacIntyre

I have skin on my fingertips that's like a baby's skin...those well-known Samsung vertical IC heatsinks are hotter than I can handle.

Tom

Reply to
Tom MacIntyre

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.