Would like to own a thermal camera to check ourselves how it's going (second fix just about to start)

[CalvinHobbes]

After the floor goes in we should be starting second fix so I was dreaming about a thermal camera. It's just we might spot things now before the blower test etc.

Bearing in mind I shouldn't be buying anything extra, looked at this - seems reasonable, whatcha think?

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/HIKMICRO-Resolution-Portable-Handheld-4°F-752°F/dp/B0CF28BNNX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19OU5HHOX69MV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.O2qS4JY8inHG_iqrbgo2cUpXiqWPbJoXwPR14vq6su9PoFguvL3rBKMlyeros__upzbjNGEt25G6N2WoJyH-Dcm0haQH2tdmf6CWPtdQYv33JlZLkyobKKCr730j2K7sQozfGIKxKjO59V0KHXCeiobhJpycD2A1cqkM35xyQbizMKp36cknGGqywUIHoYfuAuXhlGjcP3JAuzkqx0n-_R1bUfo75wFxA859bZ0l0Lc.SuL5RZbDZHtHAad8H3uVrwbwtNHSrl3IeSBFx_MvvyU&dib_tag=se&keywords=thermal+imaging&psr=EY17&qid=1728001199&s=todays-deals&sprefix=thermal+imaging%2Ctodays-deals%2C96&sr=1-1-catcorr&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.23648568-4ba5-49f2-9aa6-31ae75f1e9cd

[ToughButterCup]

I have no experience of this particular camera.

What i can say is that it took me a while to understand the images produced (Bosch GTC ) . You might see a cool spot: OK. But is that spot cool enough to make any difference to the overall 'picture' ?. Put another way, is it worth making any effort to remediate the difference? That means looking at whether the camera you buy allows you to choose the temperature range - and to (re)set the graduation of temperatures shown in the image. Will the camera allow you to search for a wide range of temperature difference - or merely a narrow temperature difference?

 

Yes, I submitted to the tempation of  scanning the results of a fart - there is a marked temperature difference.  Dog farts are the hottest overall. Hamsters fart continuously.

[Thorfun]

I bought a FLIR one that plugs in to my iPhone. 

[Iceverge]

Bought the USB C Flir for android. 

 

The resolution isn't mega but its good enough for DIY. Think it was about £150.

 

 

Here's a pic of the UVC with the hot tap running. 

 

You can see the hotspots of the pipe going to the bathroom and the blanking plug. 

 

The dark blue line on the right is the cold inlet with the expansion vessel top left. 

 

The diagonal line is the vacuum cleaner!

 

 

One of our windows from the inside. 

 

Our front door from the inside.

 

 

It does a hybrid photo if you have lightning so appears better than it is resolution wise. You can see the thermal bridging at the locks, hinges and thresholds. 

[MikeGrahamT21]

Current best ones for phones are Topdon TC01/02 and Infiray P2 Pro, both of which use the same hardware, but the Topdon has a battery built in also. I'm planning on getting an Infiray P2 Pro soon to get to the finer details of the thermal improvement journey

[FarmerN]

Is hireing a good one an option?

We have finished our build so be hard to fix a problem, but would still be interestin to see where we went wrong.

[Kelvin]

If you are an Octopus customer they will loan you one for free. However they are in short supply and high demand. I applied last year and missed the cut but they’ve said I’m a priority this year. Too late now as the house is built. 

[marshian]

33 minutes ago, FarmerN said:

Is hireing a good one an option?

We have finished our build so be hard to fix a problem, but would still be interestin to see where we went wrong.

 

Luckily we have a fairly good one at my workplace and I've got permission to borrow it this winter - seems a bit pointless to look at much at this time of year - you really want to use one when the house is up to temp and it's cold outside to show the biggest leakages (IMO - happy to be shown to be wrong)

[ToughButterCup]

5 hours ago, marshian said:

... you really want to use one when the house is up to temp and it's cold outside to show the biggest leakages ...

 

A cool morning will do - when there's little sunlight - because that can 'get-in-the-way'. 

[MikeGrahamT21]

Minimum 10C difference between in and out apparently, for the best images

[twice round the block]

A thermal is of no use during the construction process.

You need the place finished, with the heating on and use it on a cold evening or morning when there is not too much moisture content in the air.

 

You will have to go through the whole display menu ie. white hot, black hot, ultra marine etc to try and work out what's going on in different areas of the build as they all portray different image's and intensity.

[Nick Laslett]

I bought the Guide PC 210. 
 

https://eleshop.eu/knowledgebase/UTi260B_vs_PC210/

 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/guide-pc210-review/
 

markb1980 at EEV forum really seems to know his stuff. He wrote a book. 
 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Infrared-thermography-beginners-Mark-B/dp/B0B5KXF41Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3IUDP7CJKUFGP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tyFhuO8wrYjwmuUycnw68w.sH0VNpTfuos04SuArsEtQJN4EmF2ISFEBM9W03XLmjE&dib_tag=se&keywords=B0B5KXF41Q&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1728078389&sprefix=b0b5kxf41q%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

 

Best thing about the Thermal Camera is looking at the body heat reflection from the windows.