riley_taylor•1mo agoTop Commenter

Spent $300 on a thermal camera for a tricky crawl space and it paid off big time

I was on a job in Austin last month trying to find a wire break in a finished basement. The crawl space was a nightmare, all insulation and tight corners. I finally caved and bought a basic FLIR thermal camera. It showed a cold spot right where the wire was pinched behind a joist. Found it in ten minutes instead of three hours of fishing. Anyone else use thermal for fault finding, or got a better tool for that?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith2741mo ago

My old boss in Houston swore by his thermal cam for finding wet spots under floors. That cold spot trick you mentioned is exactly how he taught me to trace lines without tearing everything out. For three hundred bucks, you basically bought back a full day of work on future jobs, which is a solid deal. I still keep a cheap voltage sniffer in my bag too, but for hidden breaks, the camera is hard to beat.

calebfisher1mo ago

Honestly, I used to think those things were a total gimmick. This story makes a pretty solid case for them though, doesn't it?

noah_murray1mo ago

Wait, you spent three hundred bucks on a FLIR just for that one job? That's a serious gamble, man. I would've been sweating bullets hoping it actually worked.