[hdavis]

Here's a quick look from inside - wetness was obvious in the middle of the ceiling, but you couldn't tell it had traveled to the wall and down (old pic)

 

[rrk]

Which camera are you using?

 

[tjbnwi]

Is that a clock, hands appear to be at 9 o'clock(red towards the bottom of picture)?

Tom

 

[GO Remodeling]

Which camera are you using?

Also, how much? I've been thinking I might want to get one.lq

 

[hdavis]

Which camera are you using?

That's a Fluke Ti25 - barely good enough to be useful, but good enough.

 

[hdavis]

Is that a clock, hands appear to be at 9 o'clock(red towards the bottom of picture)?

Tom

No, there's an exhaust fan there, so it shows up hot when it runs.

 

[hdavis]

Also, how much? I've been thinking I might want to get one.lq

I think you can get a TI25 for $5500 now.

 

[jlsconstruction]

So for $5500 you get a camera that hardly works..... Wonder how bad the $1000 ones are

 

[GO Remodeling]

That's a Fluke Ti25 - barely good enough to be useful, but good enough.

Why is it so useless? What features do you wish it had?

 

[hdavis]

So for $5500 you get a camera that hardly works..... Wonder how bad the $1000 ones are

I'm tempted to find out.

Barely works, meaning it's technically just good enough to check insulation and spot moisture issues. It's still good enough to be able to spot drywall screws in the outside walls (the screws are colder), and view structural elements through plaster walls. Air leakage shows up if you have a good sized leak. I've used it a lot over the years.

 

[hdavis]

Why is it so useless? What features do you wish it had?

Not useless, but just barely good enough to get the job done. When I bought this one, there was a big jump (like double) for a unit with better sensitivity and more imager elements.

 

[GO Remodeling]

How old is your flir? With the way prices drop in electronics a good one shouldn't be as expensive. Or am I doing wishfull thinking?

 

[rrk]

How old is your flir? With the way prices drop in electronics a good one shouldn't be as expensive. Or am I doing wishfull thinking?

The price only drops in the stuff we don't need:laughing:

 

[GO Remodeling]

The price only drops in the stuff we don't need:laughing:

Lol. That's pretty true.

 

[hdavis]

How old is your flir? With the way prices drop in electronics a good one shouldn't be as expensive. Or am I doing wishfull thinking?

5 years, I think. I got it when it first came out, and yes, the price has come down by ~1500-2000 since I bought it.

There have been some new products introduced since then in the lower price brackets, but I haven't checked all the technical specs to see how they stack up. FLIR's latest low end product announcement (supposed to be under $350) for the iPhone doesn't seem to have any technical specs at all that I can find.

Specs for the Ti25 are
Accuracy +- 2 degrees C
Thermal sensitivity <= 0.09 degrees C (30C target temp).
Array size 160X120

It comes with a calibration certificate, which is important if you're using it for anything quantitative.

 

[GO Remodeling]

I heard of a guy that did a hack on a $1000 dollar model which upgrades it to about the $3000 model. It's suppose to be on a you tube video but I haven't looked for it yet.

 

[GO Remodeling]

What training did you get in operating and analysis?

 

[hdavis]

What training did you get in operating and analysis?

This was years ago - I used some much more expensive equipment for industrial applications. The operation and interpretation are the same, but there are techniques that are used on buildings that I didn't use before. Mostly I use it for checking insulation in remodels, but I've also used it to find framing in old post and beam and balloon framed structures.

Fluke has some good introductory materials on using thermal imaging for building / maintenance.

Evaluating roofs can be a big problem, but finding water in ceilings and walls is very doable.