Still think thermal cameras are overkill for appliance work

I saw a post here last month where everyone was praising FLIR cameras for finding bad relays. Tried a cheap $40 thermal cam attachment on my phone for a fridge compressor that was cycling on and off, it showed a hot spot on the start relay that looked obvious. I still think most of the time your multimeter plus a good listen tells you the same thing, but that one job last Tuesday changed my mind a little. Anyone else find these things actually save time or just a gimmick for most calls?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscar39012d ago

Wait, you tried one of those phone attachments? I grabbed a seek thermal off craigslist for cheap last year, thought it was a toy. Then I had a dishwasher that kept flooding, no obvious leaks anywhere, but the thermal cam showed the water inlet valve was getting hot way before it should open. Saved me an hour of chasing a ghost on the board. For tricky intermittent stuff I think they can be clutch, but yeah for a standard bad start cap or stuck contactor you can hear that with your ears. Still not sure I'd buy a standalone unit but the phone ones have their moments.

dakota_fox12d ago

Bought one of those phone thermal cams thinking id look like some kinda pro appliance detective. First thing I used it on was my own fridge that was making a weird noise. Pointed it at the compressor and found out the dog had been sleeping right there the whole night - just body heat. Realized I spent 40 bucks to confirm my labrador is warm. Still, it did help me spot a failing relay on a dryer once so I guess im not totally hopeless with it.