Wheel Bearing Temperature

[BaysideBruce]

Hi,
I just bought a new Craftsman Multimeter.  My old one (21 yrs) finally gave out.  The new one has an IR temperature readout.  You point the meter at an object and it reads the temperature of that object.  I've tried it on my cats and does a great job.  A nice additional toy to play with.  So now I can measure the temperature of my wheel bearings. I am assuming that this would be a good way to determine if they need to be overhauled and repacked.  Does anyone know what is the normal temperature for trailer wheel bearings??

Thanks

[Tim5055]

Lacking an actual answer for your question I will just tell you my method.

Evertime I stop I place the back of my hand against the end of the hub.  If it is warm, but cool enough to keep my hand against it everything is OK.  If it is too hot to keep your hand on, problems are afoot.

You may want to check it each time you tow to develope an historical average for your unit.

Now for the real question, what is the make and model of the meter

[BaysideBruce]

Since you asked...  it's a Craftsman Model 81079.  I bought it for $99.  It has a little laser pointer so you'll know where the IR sensor is pointing.  I checked out the halogen light bulb in our house and boy is that hot!  Over 168 degrees and that is just the glass covering.  I plan on making a chart on the bearing temperature just for the fun of it.  One more fun thing to do while camping that's not really required, but it will be fun to track....

[mike4947]

Dexter give the maximum bearing temp for normal operation as 140 degrees at the hub.

You also have to take into account if you use the brakes a lot it will show an immediate high reading, but Dexter recommends waiting for a minute after stopping to allow the residual surface heat generated by the brakes to disapate. Then take the reading.