Loading…
28
Bought a $150 thermal camera for my phone and it actually found a leak in seconds
I always thought those cheap phone attachment thermal cams were a gimmick for hobbyists. Last week on a fridge call, I was about to start the whole gas leak soap test routine. On a whim, I pulled out the little FLIR One I got on sale. I just scanned the lines and bam, a clear cold spot showed the exact leak at a joint I would have missed. Saved me at least an hour of messing around. Anyone else using these for quick checks, or do you stick to the old methods?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
shane2446mo ago
Wait, a warm spot for a refrigerant leak? That's the opposite of what I would have guessed. I always assumed the escaping gas would be colder. Makes sense when you think about the expansion though.
6
schmidt.grace7mo ago
You said it found a clear cold spot, but just to be precise, refrigerant leaks usually show up as a warm spot on the thermal cam because the gas cools as it expands out of the line. So it's a hot signature, not a cold one. Still a huge time saver though, I use mine for finding bad capacitors on boards all the time.
4