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To quantify rangeland fire behavior, thermocouple datalogger systems are used to measure flame temperature. Current systems are either small and operate few thermocouples or operate many and are large; all of these systems are moderately to very expensive/unit and constrained to few replicates, which limits insight into spatial variability. Open source microcontrollers provide low-cost solutions for collecting environmental data, but have not been developed specifically for fire science. We conducted trials between two different systems, a commercial data logger (Campbell Scientific CR1000) and an open-source microcontroller (Arduino). Using eight k-type thermocouples/system exposed to temperatures expected in wildland fire conditions, we compared the systems in terms of (1) their response to changing temperatures with a Bunsen burner and burning plant material (e.g. grass, twigs), and (2) consistency in logging a constant temperature for four settings on a drying oven. These trials demonstrate the systems are consistent in their sensor performance and response with greater variability occurring among thermocouples than between the systems. The affordability, portability, and accuracy of open-source systems in measuring temperature introduces the ability to place more sensors across a landscape to measure spatial variability, and allows for better understanding of fire behavior in heterogeneous grassland fuelbeds.