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Any recommendations?

I'm never sure about the digital ones.  I've had those be way off however the two you have may be fine.  You just have to test them on a known source and see which are the closest.  I've used the two on the bottom for years and have never had an issue with them.  They are bi-metal and typically acurate.

Al,  Thanks for the post!  My brain has been on vacation since last November, I think.  I never thought to test them with a known source. I'm off to google!

Quote from: cindybman on March 02, 2015, 10:22:28 PM
Any recommendations?

You need to find one of the four that reads a tad above 32F in a stabilized mixture of ice and water.  An ice/water mixture at equilibrium has a temperature of 32F (0C) regardless of altitude or atmospheric pressure, unlike boiling which depends upon both.  This one becomes your standard.  You may be able to adjust the mechanical ones by loosening the nut in back and turning the dial.  Get all that you can reading about 32 F in the ice water.  Then put them all in a pot of water around 90F, give or take and see what they read.  If you've got three calibrated in the ice water and two read the same thing in the warmer water then I'd pick one of these and let it go at that.  If all three read the same thing then pick the one you like.  If they all disagree at the warmer temperature you pretty much are going to have to choose blindly or buy or borrow a fifth one and try again.  On the other hand if the calibrated ones cluster within a degree or two of each other at the warmer temps then pick the one you like and let it go at that.  A couple of degrees really aren't going to matter.  Confused yet?   

There is a way to calibrate at 98.6º F ...

Quote from: awakephd on March 03, 2015, 02:24:11 AM
There is a way to calibrate at 98.6º F ...

Yeah, you mean like on CSI where they take the liver temperature?

-Boofer-

Quote from: awakephd on March 03, 2015, 02:24:11 AM
There is a way to calibrate at 98.6º F ...

Yeah, but after you calibrate it, you'll never want to use it!

Ha! You all went in a different direction than I was thinking. I was thinking of something that someone said on this forum a while back -- one of the more accurate but cheap thermometers available is a simple glass *oral* (guess I'd better stress that!) people thermometer. You wouldn't want to use it for cheese, since it is glass (not to mention the limited range), but you could warm some water up to, say, 100˚ using your cheese thermometer, then check against the oral thermometer ... voila!

Excellent idea.  The "short" range should help but the fact is that a medical thermometer is likely to be more accurate within that range if for no other reason that there are lawyers out there ready to pounce if it is not accurate and problems ensue as a result of said error.  I can see the late night TV ads now:  "Did your cheese suffer because the thermometer you used was not correct?  Call now, you may be entitled to compensation!"   

OK, I'm embarrassed that I thought of doing something else to the thermometer!! Oops.

Good ideas!  Thank you!

Oh, don't be embarrassed. Usually I'm among the first in line to see and point such things!