Using an IR Thermometer

[DLLNP]

Hi Everyone,

I sure this is just me being overly paranoid but I will see what you guys think!

I recently picked up an IR temp gun to verify that my thermostat probe was reading accurately but ran into a slight problem (or maybe not a problem at all). When I measure the temperature of the hot spot on top of the paper towel substrate I have (I.e where the snake would physically touch) the gun reads around 83 degrees.... but when I pull back the paper towel and measure the temperature of the bottom of the tub (the actual plastic) it hits around 90-91 which is where am aiming for.

I am assuming that when the snake coils up on the paper towel it will eventually conduct the heat of the tub below rather than just the 83 degree paper... would anyone else agree with that? or should I aim to have the surface of the paper towel read the ideal hotspot temp?

Thanks!

Dillon