Disposable thermometers?

Disposables tend to be chemical-based rather than liquid (mercury or alcohol) and can be affected by temp extremes over time, not to mention moisture.

Newer liquid column thermometers do not have mercury in them but rather alcohol, just as an FYI. I still have a few dozen merc thermometers around because I could get them cheap at the time and they are durable and accurate, though a pain at 5 minutes roasting time required for an accurate reading. But they can also be used for rectal temps, something you can't get with a paper strip thermometer.

In my experience the digital thermometers last several years of intermittent use. At $5 each I can afford to toss one every few years. I do recommend that you have at least one for everybody to avoid cross-contamination, or otherwise make religious use of cover sheaths. Those tend to come on boxes of 100 or more. The plastic wrap style seems to work well and is by far the cheapest.

RR

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Disposable thermometers?