Using the
MH-1® outside of automotive environment
With all new technology, it takes time for the benefits to become fully apparent:
yet already the MH-1 has been adopted for many uses, here are just some of
them.
Around
the house
The MH-1, becomes indispensable
around the house once you see the things it can do. You can take a temperature
check on almost everything, making sure that your home is running efficiently:
and of course efficiency can mean savings in energy and costs. Some examples
of what the MH-1 can do are:
-
- Check the room temperatures are correct; you may find those radiators
and/or the thermostat can be better adjusted.
- Accurately locate draughts from doors and windows. A replaced window or
door seal can make a significant difference to heat loss.
- Test the quality of lagging on the plumbing and the insulation in your
loft is efficient.
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Around
the graden
The MH-1 is very useful in the garden, for either the professional or amateur
gardener.
- Take temperature/frost checks on soil for good plant care.
- Regular thermometers only give average overall temperatures. If you have
a greenhouse, the MH-1 is an
ideal way to check and maintain temperatures in "special growing areas" out
of draughts.
- The MH-1 is equally useful
for monitoring your paddling/swimming pool too.
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Food
Preparation
There are many applications in food preparation where correct temperature
is important and when achieved, can make the difference between a mediocre
creation and a true masterpiece. In regular cookery such as bread making, in
the preparation of jams and preserves or even in the art of specialist cheese
making the MH-1 is an invaluable
aid. However, another important reason for using an MH-1 is
to check that food is stored/served at the correct temperature, thus helping
to make sure it is free from deadly bacteria. Using the MH-1,
you can monitor the temperature of any prepared foods that are waiting to be
served. If hot cooked foods measure below 60ºC (140ºF), you know they are in
the danger zone. If cold prepared food temperatures climb above 4.5ºC (40ºF)
they will be subject to rapid bacteria growth.
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In
the Kitchen
There are many uses for the MH-1 around
the kitchen and everyone will find their own extra uses. However, some of the
main reasons to keep the MH-1 handy
(magnetised onto your fridge or cooker of course) are: -
- Boiling water is an easy temperature to regulate; it stops getting hotter
once it starts to boil. Heating oil up to the correct temperature is very
difficult. To be good at it, you need to have either years of experience,
cooking, frying or just lightly colouring a whole multitude of different
foodstuffs before you become totally proficient- or you can use the MH-1!
- Perfect crispy chips every time!
- All fridges and freezers have variations in temperatures, especially when
they become ready for de-frosting. With the MH-1 you
can regularly test and "balance" the contents, making sure the
stock it is more accurately and evenly chilled.
- Test the temperature of your oven or hob; all cookers have their own unique
operating temperatures. You will be able to set an exact oven temperature
for that perfect cake!
- Take a temperature check around the room, and keep your wine in the place
that is best suited to that particular wine/temperature you require.
* N.B. Because all pots and pans have a different I.R. emissivity, due
to their variety of materials, colours and finishes, it is recommended that
for reliability of temperature readings, you aim the MH-1 at
the food being cooked or at the black "I.R. Spot" on the pan -
where available.
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Industry
The MH-1 is a very useful tool
to have around the workplace; its uses are endless - as with uses in the home,
just some examples: -
- Canteen - food safety. - Using the MH-1,
you can monitor the temperature of any prepared foods that are waiting to
be served. If hot cooked foods measure below 60ºC (140ºF), you know they
are in the danger zone. If cold prepared food temperatures climb above 4.5ºC
(40ºF) they will be subject to rapid bacteria growth.
- Equipment Maintenance. - Check moving parts in motors and gear work for
hot spots. Temperature change can indicate developing problems in many types
of equipment, from ovens and boilers to freezers. Routine temperature audits
of generators and their bearings can prevent expensive repairs.
- Process/Production. - Monitor process line equipment. Take intermittent
spot checks on the temperature of different products on production lines
from plastic mouldings to chocolate bars.
- Health and Safety - working environment temperatures. - Whilst British
legislation does not set a maximum working temperature, it is interesting
that the World Health Organisation recommends a maximum air temperature of
24°C (75°F) for workers to work comfortably. Because of the nature
of the industry we work in, there will always be concerns about working temperatures.
From one extreme to the other, the heat of oven work to the cold of the frozen
food plant, temperature is a serious health & safety issue. Too much
heat and we run the risk of serious fatigue, heat stroke and even death,
likewise too much exposure to cold can cause frost bite, hypothermia, comma
and possible fatality.
Extremes of temperature can cause extremes of consequence.
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Musical
Instruments
All serious musicians know how important the effects of temperature (and
humidity) are for the correct operation and performance of their instruments:
be they wooden, brass or any other material.
- Differences in ambient temperatures, i.e. going from cold to hot or vice
versa need an acclimatisation period for best operation. E.g. unloading your
guitar, saxophone or drum kit out of a cold car boot or van, and taking it
straight into a warm club, it will need some time before it equalises. The MH-1 will
give you an accurate temperature of both instrument and venue, allowing you
to determine the best conditions for your gig.
- When not being played, store your instrument in a room of the correct
temperature. If wooden, stringed instruments are stored in conditions which
are either too hot or too cold, the problems you can encounter include warped
soundboards and necks, cracks, finish cracks, blemishes, high action buzzing,
loose joints, loose braces and struts.
- For brass instruments, distortions and intonation problems are the main
symptoms due to wrong temperature.
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Pets
As with humans, all animals are prone to illness and sickness and temperature
is of vital importance. The MH-1 can
be a useful aid in maintaining the health of your pet.
- It can be used purely for checking the temperature of your pet.
- Helps in setting the ambient temperature in your pet alligator's vivarium!
- You need never wonder whether the temperature in the car is too hot for
your dog again, one press of the button reveals how hot a parked car has
become.
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Educational/Fun
The MH-1 is definitely not
a toy - but the uses children will find for it can be both educational and
fun.
- The MH-1 is ideal for monitoring
temperatures in charts or graph making.
- Games of "magic" will be invented. E.g. The child with the MH-1 can
tell you which of the fruit on the table you have been holding in your hand
- without touching it, or which seat you have been sitting on, etc.
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Beverages
The MH-1 non-contact thermometer
has been specifically designed for the beverage industry.
In today's competitive environment with consumers becoming ever more demanding,
it is vital to know the temperatures at which products are being stored - and
served. Many flavour profiles of modern beverage products rely on being served
at a recommended temperature. When this is not carried through; then not only
is the product served warm, but the flavour changes with the temperature and
the consumer can make a lifetime decision about the product that is probably
incorrect.
The MH-1 is a vital tool for
carrying out an occasional quality check and because of its low cost (and the
fact that it is non-contact) it can become part of the continual quality check
that should be part of the regime of every serving session.
- Know the actual storage temperature of your product, allowing you to make
judgment calls as to how long the bottles will take to chill down - once
they have been loaded into the fridge.
- Use the MH-1 to check the
fridges: find out if the fridge is working at the optimum desired temperature.
- Identify the "sweet spot" in a fridge - the MH-1 makes
this easy. There can be as much as 6°C difference between shelves.
- Check the serving temperature throughout the session, without contaminating
a single product. The MH-1 is
non-contact.
- Check the serving temperature of keg product before and after it has been
through the chiller. This indicates whether the chiller is working as intended.
- Run the MH-1 along pipe work
and check if the insulation has any "Hot Spots".
- The MH-1 will be just as
valuable in checking the serving temperatures of wine, food and coffee; your
customer environment and even the heating and cooling systems of the establishment.
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Medical
The MH-1 is not a medical
thermometer and should not be used as such. However, research has
shown that checking the temperature of parts of the body can monitor certain
conditions, e.g.: -
- Joint inflammation: - can be monitored using the MH-1 as
a screening tool. Inflamed joints are invariably hotter than the surrounding
tissue. The MH-1 is a way of
measuring and recording these changes, detecting any pattern there may be,
which could lead to the cause of the flare-up.
- Neuropathy: - is damage to the nervous pathways. The MH-1 is
a valuable tool to monitor performance of circulation with reference to the
temperatures of the extremities, such as toes and fingertips. It can also
help reduce serious injuries from contact with items that are extremely hot
or cold. NOTE: People who suffer from neuropathy have the
added concern that any injury sustained on their outer limbs is likely to
have problems compounded by poor healing.
- Asthma & Respiratory Problems: - are areas where the MH-1 can
also be useful. People who suffer with these problems or who are caring for
someone who suffers, can detect when the oxygen uptake drops and given the
relevent assistance. An extreme example of this type of lack of oxygen results
in cold fingertips. With the introduction of oxygen, the fingers will warm
up again naturally.
- Diabetes: - can cause nerve damage, which can then produce ulcers on the
feet of sufferers, because they cannot feel that their foot is sore from
an injury. The onset of diabetes can be detected by an increased differential
in core body temperature and the feet.
For more information on these and many other uses that the MH-1 might
help with, it is recommended that you contact your own doctor for the relevant
information.
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