Whats your favourite device for IR inspections

[Marco Polo]

Looking to hear opinions. Fluke or FLIR?

[Marc]

Flir, especially since my new Flir ONE just arrived in the mail.

Reminds me of hamburger ads. They look big in the ads but tiny once they land in your hands.

Marc

[Charles46]

My choice was and still is Flir.

[Erby]

How does your FLIR ONE work Marc?

[Marc]

Haven't had much time to toy with it but it seems very easy to use. Had to discard my Otter Box because it's too thick for the FLIR One to plug in.

Definition doesn't seem to agree with advertised specs but I'm still learning.

Definitely like it so far. It's my first IR camera and a keeper.

Marc

[kurt]

They both deliver the same thing. It's not about the device as much as it's about how it's used. Different brands, different software, same output. Hi rez vs. low rez debate continues to no apparent agreement.

I'm curious about the Flir One.

[inspector57]

I got the Flir One and have similar experience to Marc.

I had to modify my Otter box to use it on my iPad mini. Basically there can be NOTHING between the Flir One and the phone or iPad.

I'm happy with what I got for the price I paid.

[Jim Katen]

Haven't had much time to toy with it but it seems very easy to use. Had to discard my Otter Box because it's too thick for the FLIR One to plug in.

Definition doesn't seem to agree with advertised specs but I'm still learning.

Definitely like it so far. It's my first IR camera and a keeper.

Marc

What about using it with something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Female-Extension- ... b+extender

[Marc]

The charge port on my Iphone 5s is not a micro USB port, neither is the plug on my Iphone compatible Flir One.

I'm guessing its an Apple proprietary configuration. You have to specify IOS or Android when you buy the Flir One.

Plus, I think there's a required spatial relationship between Flir One and phone because some information from the phone's camera is superimposed over the IR image.

Marc

[Jim Katen]

The charge port on my Iphone 5s is not a micro USB port, neither is the plug on my Iphone compatible Flir One.

I'm guessing its an Apple proprietary configuration. You have to specify IOS or Android when you buy the Flir One.

Plus, I think there's a required spatial relationship between Flir One and phone because some information from the phone's camera is superimposed over the IR image.

Marc

I'm sure that someone makes a similar connector with an Apple configuration. If the Flir One is working in concert with the phone's camera, there will always be some parallax error that varies with the distance to the subject. After you get more than a foot or two away, another half-inch of extra separation between the phone lens and the Flir One lens shouldn't make much difference.

[inspector57]

Something like this might work but as Marc mentioned, I'm not sure about the camera issue but each iPhone, iPad, iPad mini, etc. will already have a different distance to the camera so I don't think that is going to make a difference. For $5 it might be worth simple trial and error.

[In-Depth]

I'm happy with my Flir E6

[Mike Lamb]

I bought a Milwaukee IR camera for $2500 on a trial basis. It was the one I believe Kogel uses. It had the 160 x 120 pixel resolution. While it showed images of moisture that visually illustrated what I already knew, the cost did not justify the results to me. I returned it after a month and got my money back from Home Depot.

I purchased the Flir One (at Marc's recommendation) for my iPhone which also has a 160 x 120 resolution and after one day of use I am so far happy with it. I got it yesterday morning and used it in the afternoon. I?m getting the same results at about 1/10 the cost of the bigger camera. $260 delivered plus $20 for an extension that can be used with my OtterBox.

I recognize the lower resolution is inferior to the better cameras in imaging and thermal accuracy, (320 x 240), but so far this relatively cheap device is doing what I want it to do which is to supply a visual record of moisture behind a wall. I wish I had it last week when I found high moisture in walls with little to no visual evidence to support my moisture meter. The sellers have balked at my findings. They see no problems so there are no problems. Some IR resolution would?ve helped.

Yesterday?s job, my moisture meter was jumping out of the gym when I ran it across the lower ceramic tiles in this newly tiled shower stall. The IR image while a little fuzzy helps illustrate my findings in my report.

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[Erby]

My FLIR C2 has gotten me some good results.

Several times now, I've found leaky tile showers or bathtub traps where there was no visible signs of leakage.

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Or missing insulation where I couldn't get to the edge of the ceiling in the attic to see it well for a regular photo.

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I thought about the FLIR ONE back in March when I bought the C2 but it just seemed too flimsy at the connection to the IPhone. But then, I also had the Otterbox issue.

The C2 resolution is plenty for what I'm doing with it.

[Mike Lamb]

The visual pic of something that "is wet", when the naked eye can't see it is a powerful image for a client to see. Most people don't know or care that this device only captures temperatures and the HI has to interpret what the temps mean.

[Erby]

Yeah, showing the client and realtor the live image on the camera they were talking about seeing the wet spot through the drywall. I had to explain that all they were seeing was the drywall surface temperature differential caused by the evaporative cooling effect of the water on top of the drywall.

A few minutes later, they were back to talking about the seeing the wet spot on the ceiling.

Ah well, I'm a hero for finding it and it'll get fixed. I guess that's all that's important. It isn't the first time. Won't be the last time.

What really surprised me in the training was how short of time it takes for that evaporative cooling effect to transmit through the drywall.

[Marc]

Yeah, showing the client and realtor the live image on the camera they were talking about seeing the wet spot through the drywall. I had to explain that all they were seeing was the drywall surface temperature differential caused by the evaporative cooling effect of the water on top of the drywall.

A few minutes later, they were back to talking about the seeing the wet spot on the ceiling.

Ah well, I'm a hero for finding it and it'll get fixed. I guess that's all that's important. It isn't the first time. Won't be the last time.

What really surprised me in the training was how short of time it takes for that evaporative cooling effect to transmit through the drywall.

I'm sure this is what you meant to say but the 'cooling effect' doesn't transmit through the drywall, rather, it occurs at the interior surface of the drywall where the evaporation takes place..

Marc

[Erby]

You might want to rethink that Marc. The thermal camera only sees the surface of the drywall. If the cooling effect doesn't transmit through the drywall, how does the camera see the temperature differential it creates?

Kind of like when you put a can of beer in a cooler of ice. The cooling effect transmits through the can AND the beer, cooling both.

Of course, if you just want to argue semantics, we could do that too.

[Marc]

You might want to rethink that Marc. The thermal camera only sees the surface of the drywall. If the cooling effect doesn't transmit through the drywall, how does the camera see the temperature differential it creates?

Kind of like when you put a can of beer in a cooler of ice. The cooling effect transmits through the can AND the beer, cooling both.

Of course, if you just want to argue semantics, we could do that too.

The cooling effect doesn't take place until evaporation does. Evaporation, and cooling, both take place at the same time and same place...on the interior side of the drywall surface where the camera can detect the change in temperature.

The only thing migrating through the drywall is the moisture.

I've never taken any IR camera courses and don't plan to, don't need it. My understanding of IR comes from two courses in thermodynamics I took in college.

Marc

[Charlie R]

I have been using the FLIR E-6 for about a year, easy to use, no issues. Resolution is OK, certainly helps find issues.

[Erby]

So Marc, you're saying that there is no temperature change on the visible surface side of the drywall? The side both I and the camera can see.

[Marc]

So Marc, you're saying that there is no temperature change on the visible surface side of the drywall? The side both I and the camera can see.

By 'interior side' I mean the side you can see.

Marc

[Chad Fabry]

If there's water in a stud cavity, and it's drying, that cavity and the drywall covering the cavity will be cooler than adjacent drier cavities, even if the drywall is bone dry. Evaporation through the exterior and or stack effect will produce cooler temperatures on the interior wall surface- even if the interior wall materials are impervious.

[kurt]

When you figure this out, then I want to know....does the airplane fly because there's low pressure on the top of the wing or because the air is pushing on the bottom of the wing?

[Marc]

When you figure this out, then I want to know....does the airplane fly because there's low pressure on the top of the wing or because the air is pushing on the bottom of the wing?

I dunno fer sure. I do know it's a pressure differential between the top and bottom.

Chad's got a point.

Marc