1 : MARATHON BA030001 Vertical Outdoor Thermometer - 16-Inch

I read all of the reviews including the negative ones before purchasing one. I have to say that one that I rec'd was accurate and for the issue of reading it, if you're too far back from anything it is going to be harder to read. I have mine mounted in my horse barn and I can read it from a distance. I used the screws that came with it even though I had longer screws and the original ones worked well, keeping in mind that it is in a barn and no doubt will be bumped by people or horses, I have no issues. I was more than pleased with the size of it as I wanted something larger. In the last week we had a wide swing in temperature ranging from -10c to +8 and it is accurate.

Got two of these. One is mounted about four feet outside the back door. It is hard to read because where it had to be mounted is not directly in front of the door window but about 25-30 degrees off to the side of the viewing area. It’s easy to see and read as long as one is standing exactly directly in front of it. A large ancient certified professional mercury thermometer was retrieved from its hallowed box in its sacred storage trunk and used to test these humble plastic and glass contraptions and they are both surprisingly accurate and consistent with each other. I’m happy I can actually see them without having to almost put my nose to them, and I do love having simple analog devices instead of ever more battery powered digital stuff. These thermometers come in simple cardboard boxes with no padding or protection whatsoever, and they were both tossed in a huge Amazon box (with two rain gauges) with no air bag padding or packing whatsoever. Usually I get everything, even pillows, thoroughly and tightly stuffed into boxes with little air bags; in this case, not a single little airbag was used, and this shipment could definitely have used much better packing - guess I was just plain lucky that none of the thermometers broke.

This is a good deck thermometer. Its big, and clear, but like all thermometers of this type, have a narrow field of view where the tiny red line is magnified by the glass to be clear and wide. That is you have to view it from just the right spot for it to be clear. The exaggerated height is good for resolution, but its no good if you cant see the red line at all. So looking across a deck, its unlikely you will be able to see the red line at all because you are not in 'just the right place'. You really still need to walk right up to it to read the temperature. If its functionality you want, get a digital one (for accuracy of +/- 1 deg) or a circular one for clarity at a distance. This giant thermometer is more about looks than functionality. If you think its not accurate you can slide the glass thermometer part up or down in the plastic housing to make it read what you think it should be at the specific temperature at that moment - no guarantees it will be correct when the temp changes by 10 deg.

I bought two of these ,and they read exactly the same. I also checked them against a digital thermometer, and the reading was the same as the digital thermometer. Also, I like this size ; it makes them easy to read them. I bought them for the inside of my garage and pole barn. So, being plastic is not a problem. Even outside, it probably wouldn't be a problem being plastic. I always mount all thermometers in the shade so I get an accurate reading. They always read high in the direct sun. These will do the job for me, and I don't have to worry about rust.

I chose this thermometer because of its size and legibility. These two seemed worth the small extra cost. The temp reading is consistently 1.5 to 2.0°F higher than our other thermometers. This seems to be 'normal' for this type of bulb thermometer and now I know what the difference is and that it's consistent, it's no problem to live with it.