Thermal imaging gun vs. my old clamp meter, I was dead wrong

I fought buying a thermal camera for two years. Kept telling myself a good clamp meter and experience was enough. Then I got a call about a breaker that kept tripping in a restaurant in Biloxi. Loads checked fine, voltage was okay, but the panel smelled hot. Rented a thermal gun for $85 for the day. Pointed it at the panel and saw the main lug glowing at 190 degrees. Loose connection you could not find with any meter. That one find paid for the gun ten times over in labor and saved me from chasing a ghost all afternoon. Now I own one and use it on every service call where something feels off. Anyone else come around on a tool they swore was a gimmick?

1 comments

1 Comment

wesley_fox921mo ago

Hold on, $85 to rent a tool that shows you what you already suspected? That main lug glowing hot is just a loose connection, and any decent sparky can find those with a wiggle test and some feel. I'm not saying it's useless, but I've seen guys chase hotspots with those things on panels that were just warm from normal load, then get all worried for nothing. For a one-off call, sure, you made your money back. But acting like this thing is the holy grail of troubleshooting because you missed an obvious loose lug feels like a stretch. I'd rather spend that cash on a good IR thermometer and stick with my meter for most jobs.