uecember 2011 | vol.

4, lssue 3





LABORATORY THERMOMETERS
1ypes of 1hermometers

1he Lypes of LhermomeLers used ln Lhe laboraLory
lnclude parLlal lmmerslon, LoLal lmmerslon, llquld
fllled (mercury, splrlL fllled, or a nonLoxlc llquld), dlal
LhermomeLers, and dlglLal LhermomeLers. arLlal
lmmerslon LhermomeLers have a mark on Lhe sLem
of Lhe LhermomeLer lndlcaLlng Lhe lengLh LhaL needs
Lo be lnserLed or lmmersed ln Lhe ob[ecL belng
monlLored, e.g. llquld, waLer baLh, or heaL block.
1oLal lmmerslon LhermomeLers are consldered more
accuraLe Lhan parLlal lmmerslon because Lhe
LhermomeLer ls LoLally lmmersed ln Lhe envlronmenL
LhaL ls belng monlLored, e.g. refrlgeraLor or freezer,
and Lhese LhermomeLers are noL affecLed by
exLernal facLors.

Mercury I|||ed 1hermometers

AlLhough mercury fllled LhermomeLers are accuraLe,
some sLaLes ouLlaw Lhe sale and shlpmenL of
mercury fllled LhermomeLers and are asklng
hosplLals and laboraLorles Lo phase ouL Lhe use of
Lhls Lype of LhermomeLer. lf you are sLlll uslng a
mercury fllled LhermomeLer, you musL have a
mercury splll klL ln Lhe lab ln case of breakage.
Mercury ls consldered a hazardous wasLe producL
and musL be dlsposed of wlLh oLher hazardous
chemlcal wasLe.

1ypes of Cert|f|cat|ons

MosL all laboraLory personnel have heard of Lhe
deslgnaLlon, nlS1, whlch sLands for naLlonal lnsLlLuLe
of SLandards and 1echnology, a non-regulaLory
federal agency under Lhe ueparLmenL of Commerce.
1he mlsslon of nlS1 ls Lo cerLlfy and provlde
sLandard reference maLerlals or S8Ms LhaL can be
used Lo supporL Lhe LraceablllLy of measuremenLs,
l.e. reproduclblllLy. A nlS1 CerLlfled LhermomeLer
wlll come wlLh a nlS1 CerLlflcaLe of CallbraLlon and
usually a prlce Lag of abouL $300 and up!

A nlS1 CerLlfled LhermomeLer has been LesLed
agalnsL reference sLandards and has performed
wlLhln a sLandard accuracy and lf noL, lL was
ad[usLed. lL ls sold wlLh a nlS1 cerLlflcaLe and
lncludes an explraLlon daLe so Lhe user wlll know
when Lo have lL reLesLed or recallbraLed.

A nlS1 1raceable

LhermomeLer means LhaL Lhe

LhermomeLer would noL have been LesLed agalnsL a
nlS1 sLandard reference maLerlal, buL was LesLed
agalnsL an lLem LhaL can be Lraced back Lo a nlS1
sLandard reference and has a paper Lrall LhaL leads
back Lo Lhe nlS1 reference. 1here are several
vendors LhaL sell nlS1 1raceable

LhermomeLers ln
elLher a parLlal or LoLal Lype of LhermomeLer wlLh
llquld fllled glass or wlLh dlglLal readouLs. A nlS1
1raceable

CerLlflcaLe wlll accompany Lhe

LhermomeLer and wlll lnclude an explraLlon daLe
wlLh Lhe paperwork. 1he nlS1 1raceable

LhermomeLers have a prlce Lag sLarLlng aL abouL $40
each and are very affordable for laboraLorles
needlng accuraLe LhermomeLers.

Dec|d|ng What 1ype to urchase

1he blggesL dlfference ln a nlS1 CerLlfled and a nlS1
1raceable

ls Lhe paperwork LhaL wlll accompany Lhe

LhermomeLer. 1he end user musL declde how
lmporLanL Lhe documenLaLlon ls for Lhelr parLlcular
appllcaLlon. When you purchase a nlS1 CerLlfled
LhermomeLer, you are geLLlng a LhermomeLer LhaL
has been LesLed for accuracy and can be used as a
reference for LesLlng oLher LhermomeLers LhaL are
noL nlS1 CerLlfled.

1he user musL also declde wheLher Lhey need a
parLlal lmmerslon LhermomeLer for use ln
monlLorlng a waLer baLh, or a LoLal lmmerslon
LhermomeLer for use ln monlLorlng room
LemperaLure or a refrlgeraLor or freezer.





AnoLher conslderaLlon ls Lhe LemperaLure range
belng monlLored and wheLher Lhe LhermomeLer Lhey
wlll be purchaslng ls callbraLed or cerLlfled aL LhaL
range. 8udgeL ls always a concern, and Lhe user
should noL sacrlflce accuracy because of money. All
nlS1 CerLlfled and nlS1 1raceable

LhermomeLers
wlll have a sLaLemenL abouL accuracy ln Lhelr
descrlpLlon. lor example, a nlS1 1raceable

LhermomeLer may sLaLe Lhe range as -30C Lo +70C
and wlll have an accuracy of 1C. Cn Lhe oLher
hand a nlS1 CerLlfled LhermomeLer may sLaLe LhaL lL
ls cerLlfled aL flve LemperaLures wlLh correcLlon
facLors and LesLed aL 0C (lce polnL), assurlng Lhe
user very accuraLe measuremenLs.

ear|y 1hermometer Check

lL ls recommended by Lhe Cllnlcal and LaboraLory
SLandards lnsLlLuLe (CLSl) Lo check or verlfy all
LhermomeLers ln use ln Lhe laboraLory. 1he annual
check requlres Lhe user Lo check a reference or nlS1
CerLlfled LhermomeLer aL 0C (lce polnL) each year
by lmmerslng Lhe nlS1 LhermomeLer lnLo a slush
baLh of dlsLllled waLer and documenLlng Lhe readlng
on a log sheeL. Checklng Lhe nlS1 LhermomeLer aL
Lhe lce polnL ls a sufflclenL check for verlfylng oLher
LhermomeLers aL LemperaLure readlngs up Lo 100C.
AfLer Lhe lce polnL ls verlfled, Lhe user can verlfy
oLher LhermomeLers by lmmerslng Lhe nlS1
LhermomeLer and Lhe ln use" LhermomeLer
LogeLher ln a llke envlronmenL and recordlng Lhe
readlng on a log sheeL. lL ls recommended Lo LesL
LhermomeLers used ln Lhe lab aL Lhree dlfferenL
LemperaLures. lor example, a refrlgeraLor
LhermomeLer may be used Lo Lake dally readlngs
LhaL should fall beLween a 2-10C range, so Lhls
LhermomeLer would be checked aL 0, 3, and 10C
and documenLed. When performlng Lhe yearly
checks, lL helps Lo flrsL sorL Lhe LhermomeLers
accordlng Lo Lhelr funcLlon. lor example, all
refrlgeraLors could be LesLed LogeLher and all
lncubaLors could be LesLed LogeLher. ulglLal
LhermomeLers are Lhe excepLlon and only need Lo be
LesLed aL one polnL, Lhe LemperaLure Lhey are used
Lo monlLor. 1o be CLlA compllanL, all records relaLlng
Lo yearly LhermomeLer checks should be kepL
currenL and easlly accesslble.




rob|ems w|th 1hermometers

Cccaslonally Lhe user may experlence problems
when performlng Lhe yearly LhermomeLer check. lf a
LhermomeLer has a greaLer Lhan 1C devlaLlon
relaLlve Lo Lhe reference LhermomeLer, lL needs Lo
be replaced. ulglLal LhermomeLers LhaL have a
greaLer Lhan 2C devlaLlon relaLlve Lo Lhe reference
LhermomeLer should be replaced. Llquld fllled
column LhermomeLers wlLh breaks ln Lhe column
should elLher be dlscarded or manlpulaLed Lo Lry and
re-connecL Lhe column. lease refer Lo
manufacLurer's lnsLrucLlons and recommendaLlons
before aLLempLlng Lo re-unlLe columns. 1he user
should check all LhermomeLers for bubbles, cracks,
and separaLlons ln Lhe column each Llme Lhe
LhermomeLer ls read.

D|ana Scarborough, AAS, CLA (ASC)

keferences:

CLSl C31-A, LaboraLory lnsLrumenL
lmplemenLaLlon, verlflcaLlon, and MalnLenance,
Approved Culdellne, Aprll 2009.

nCSLP 1hermomeLer CallbraLlon rocedure",
revlsed March 2011.

WhaL ls 1raceablllLy?"
hLLp://www.epa.gov/hg/LraceablllLy.hLm, accessed
november 14, 2011.

2 locts

5ofety lofo Oolloe Nl51 ooJ l5O uocomeot
Nombet. 194.
hLLp://www.labsafeLy.com/reflnfo/ezfacLs/ezf194.hL
m, accessed CcLober 10, 2011.