The Market's Flooded With Cheap IR Thermometers—Does Fontana Forni's Model Earn Its High Price?
Published On: 3/17/2026
Fontana Forni IR Thermometer is a compact infrared thermometer with an adjustable emissivity control. It has a 12:1 sensitivity window, about average for this type of thermometer. This means that it is sensitive to the temperature in a one foot diameter circle 12 feet from the gun. Click here to learn more about how infrared thermometers work.
Because the emissivity of the surface being measured affects the reading, one cannot expect great accuracy from an IR gun without knowing the subject’s emissivity and adjusting the thermometer to that value. Many objects have an emissivity close to 0.95. But many do not. Adjust expectations accordingly.
Conclusion
The market is flooded with inexpensive thermometers that perform like this one, so a price tag of over $50 seems a bit excessive. While this unit performed well, it doesn’t have a feature set that would set it apart from its lower-priced competitors. Caveat emptor!
Product Information:
-
Thermometer Function:Infrared Gun
-
Item Price :53.00
*Price Subject To Change -
Where to buy: ** buying from one of these suppliers will help support this website.
-
Probe:Infrared
-
Battery Type:AAA x 2 (supplied)
-
Safe Operating Range:
-
Min & Max Temp:-58°F - 986°F (-50 to 530°C)
-
Display Precision:0.1°
-
Actual Temp at 32 Degrees:29
-
Speed from 32 to 212 Degrees:n/a
-
Speed from 32 to 212 Degrees:n/a
-
Numbers Display Size:Temp: 0.4" (10mm)
-
Water Resistance Rating:
-
C/F Switch:Built in CF switch
-
Backlight:Built in Backlight
-
Adjustable Options:
-
Auto shutoff:Has Auto Shutoff
-
Color Options:
-
Additional Features:12:1 measurement circle
-
Included:Thermometer and instructions
Manufacturer:
-
Fontana Forni
Fontana Forni metal ovens are made in Italy. Metal pizza ovens heat up faster than heavy brick and cast refractory ovens, but they cool off faster as well. They are also much lighter and may be moved around a patio or balcony with ease.
Fontana Forni offers some unique features, such as integrated convection fans and interior lights, not commonly found on most backyard pizza ovens. They sell related accessories as well.
Related articles
- How to Buy the Best Infrared Thermometer
- Best Cooking Thermometers, 200+ Lab Tested And Reviewed (4 Pages, 1 Article)
- About The AmazingRibs.com Food Temperature Safety Guides
Related reviews
High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!
Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.
Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.
Post comments and questions below
1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.
3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.
4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.
5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.
Moderators