thermometer calibration

How to Calibrate a Thermometer

By Gregory Scott McGuire

Think of a good thermometer as the crescent wrench of your food safety program. Without it, you have no idea what the temperature of your food products are, either when you cook them or when you store them. And that means you can't tighten the bolts of your food safety program, locking out food borne illnesses and locking in food quality.

The problem with thermometers is that they lose their bearings over time and use. If you're using that thermometer to make sure food is staying out of the danger zone, and your thermometer is more than a couple degrees Fahrenheit off, you're taking a risk your restaurant really can't afford. Luckily, calibrating a thermometer is easy and it should be done regularly in your restaurant.

You should re-calibrate your thermometer if:

* You dropped it (especially if it's a dial thermometer)
* Before you use it for the first time
* If you use the same thermometer to measure very cold and very hot temperatures
* Daily or weekly if you use the same thermometer multiple times

Most health inspectors will recommend daily recalibration if you are checking many temperatures throughout the day (and hopefully, for the sake of your food safety program, you are!).

There are two methods for calibrating thermometers:

Ice point. Fill an insulated glass with crushed ice and then add a little water. Let it sit for at least five minutes and then insert the sensing part of the thermometer into the cup. Make sure the sensor is in the middle of the glass and at least an inch from the sides, bottom, and top of the glass. Hold it there for 30 seconds or until the dial stops moving or the digital thermometer beeps. Your thermometer should be reading 32 degrees Fahrenheit after 30 seconds. If it's not, it needs to be recalibrated. The ice point method is the most accurate way to calibrate a thermometer.

Boiling point. Boil at least six inches of water. Once the water has reached a rolling boil, stick the sensor part of the thermometer into the middle of the water, taking care to keep it at least two inches from the sides, top, and bottom. After 30 seconds, the thermometer should read 212 degrees Fahrenheit if you're at 1,000 feet or less of elevation. See below if you are at a higher altitude. If it doesn't read 212, your thermometer needs to be recalibrated.

Changes in boiling point temperature by elevation:

Sea Level: 212 degrees Fahrenheit
1,000 feet: 210 degrees Fahrenheit
2,000 feet: 208 degrees Fahrenheit
3,000 feet: 206.4 degrees Fahrenheit
4,000 feet: 204.5 degrees Fahrenheit
5,000 feet: 202.75 degrees Fahrenheit
8,000 feet: 197.5 degrees Fahrenheit

How To Calibrate A Thermometer

Dial thermometers have a little screw or nut that adjusts the dial to the correct temperature. Simply turn the adjuster until the dial reads the correct temperature according to the method you're using to calibrate.

Digital thermometers have a reset button. Simply push that button when you're at the temperature point and your thermometer is ready to go.

If you have employees who regularly take temperature readings, train them on how to calibrate thermometers correctly. Of course, simply showing an employee how to calibrate a thermometer isn't enough to ensure calibration is happening on a regular schedule and to the correct specifications. You must trust but verify. The easiest way to do this is to schedule a time for all employees to calibrate their thermometers. That way you can ensure calibration is done regularly and accurately.

Calibration Services

Calibration Services

By Fernando Hernandez

Calibration is simple, once you understand the basics. Simply put, Calibration is the method of adjusting and evaluating the values of a gadget for its accuracy and precision when compared to another of accurate and unvarying standard. Calibration checks, determines and corrects all instruments that use quantitative measurements so that the results are absolutely correct. Remember, Calibration is vital as it is similar to having an insurance policy for your equipments.

Calibration, as a method which cannot accept faulty, shortcut processes, as crucial businesses and people rely on the results of the measurements that undergo this process. Laboratories, medical/healthcare, engineering, measuring device manufacturers, research & development, markets, testing, aviation, manufacturing, processing plants are some businesses that undergo the process of calibration so that in case there are errors, they can be adjusted (through calibration constants) until the results are spot-on perfect. Equipments that have passed a calibration program will have an accurate recall list of its test, measurement and diagnostic equipment.

Calibration weight sets are popularly available in the following configurations:
# 1g-50g

# 1g-100g

# 1g-200g

# 1g-500g

# 1g-1kg

# 1g-2 kg

# 1g-5 kg

# 1g-10 kg

# 1mg-5g

# 1mg-100g

# 1mg-200g

# 1mg-500g

# 1mg-1kg

# 1mg-2 kg

# 1mg-5 kg

# 1mg-10 kg

Individual Calibration weights are available in the following configurations:
# 1g

# 2g

# 5g

# 10g

# 20g

# 30g

# 50g

# 100g

# 200g

# 300g

# 500g

# 1kg

# 2kg

# 3kg

# 5kg

# 10kg

# 20kg

# 50kg

# 100kg

Points to remember while choosing a company that offers calibration services:
# A company/ business with an excellent track record.

# Go for a company/business with good customer reviews.

# Look for referrals.

# If possible, look for client reviews and accordingly choose the Calibration technician you think is best.

# Always opt for ISO accredited calibration services. ISO/IEC 17025 is the required standard that businesses offering Calibration services have to pass. In simple words, ISO/IEC 17025 is the general requirement for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

# Standards of calibration, of the company/business you are hiring should meet Level I Tractability requirements.

Now-a-days, the market is chock-a-block with instruments/machines/gadgets to calibrate medical/laboratorial instruments. Some of them are:>
# Dry Block System

# Liquid bath

# Fixed points

# ABB Instruments: This comes in a multitude of options fitting different purposes like Actuators/Positioners, Analytical instruments,

# Flow measurement, Pressure measurement, Recorders/Indicators, Temperature measurement, Process Controllers, Level measurement etc.

# Kaye instruments: Validation systems, Calibration equipment, Pressure instruments, Industrial Measurements, Sensors and Accessories.

# Vaisala Instruments: Purpose of Vaisala is to measure humidity for calibration and adjustment services. There are many types of instruments to measure ammonia, dewpoint, carbon dioxide, barometric pressure etc.

Instrument Calibration

What is the Need For Instrument Calibration?

By Ritchie Smythe

 

You will be well aware of the fact that the instrument calibration plays an important role in any manufacturing industry. Behind the origin of any successful product is a perfect calibration. Instrument calibration is not just used in just a particular part of the manufacturing process. Instrument calibrations is done right from the design stages of the products itself. The design instruments such as the drafting tools should be calibrated properly to generate flawless designs that will increase the productivity ad reduce the wastage. This article is all about the need for the instrument calibration.

The main motive of instruments calibration is to ensure the proper functionality of the measuring and manufacturing instruments. Usually the instrument calibration is done in a manufacturing plant as a part of regular maintenance. All the instruments used in a manufacturing process such as the calipers, oscilloscopes etc will have standard points which will be used as reference points. Any slight deviation in these standard points will lead to a complete failure of the final product.

 This is where the instruments calibration comes in handy. The instrument calibration makes sure that the standard point remains in the accurate position. As the instruments will be tested and certified for proper functionality, you don't have to fear about the project getting stopped in the midway. Hence instruments calibration plays an important role in getting a continuous work flow. Without instrument calibrations it is merely impossible to run a manufacturing plant with great profits.

Most importantly, instruments calibration is legally mandatory for any manufacturing plant. Though the small manufacturing units are exempted from this, calibrating the instruments will help in getting certification such as the ISO. If you are running a huge manufacturing plant which manufactures consumer products such as the cars, instruments calibration is mandatory. If you ignore this, your manufacturing plant will fall into legal issues.
Apart from the above mentioned necessities of instrument calibration there is one most important need of it.

Without instrument calibration, you cannot manufacture quality products that will satisfy the clients. Hence you have to do instruments calibration at least once a year to ensure the quality of the products manufactured in the plant and build reputation worldwide.

These are only a few of the bunch of benefits that can be obtained with instrument calibration.