hayden_rivera•26d agoProlific Poster

Bought a $300 thermal camera for inspections and it's a total game changer

I got a Flir One Pro to check for heat loss and hidden blockages after a job in Denver. It showed me a weak spot in a flue liner I would have totally missed with just a mirror and light. Has anyone else started using these for their sweeps?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencerperez26d ago

Honestly that sounds like a huge waste of money. A good mirror and a bright light have never failed me in twenty years. You're just adding a fancy gadget that gives you more info than you actually need, and it'll make you second guess your own eyes and experience. That flue liner weak spot probably wasn't even a real problem, just a temperature difference that looks scary on a screen. Now you're gonna end up selling people repairs they don't really need because the picture looks bad. It's a solution looking for a problem.

the_morgan26d ago

My last thermal scan found a 400-degree hot spot SpencerPerez, right where the mirror showed just some soot. That weak spot was real and getting worse. The camera shows heat patterns our eyes can't see, so we fix actual problems instead of guessing. It's not about selling extra work, it's about catching small issues before they become big ones.

rosel5024d ago

Used to be right there with you on the mirror and light. Then we did a scan on an old brick chimney that looked solid, just needed a little repointing. The thermal showed a hidden vertical crack full of heat running up the back, completely invisible from the outside or with a mirror. Would've sealed it right over a potential fire. Now I see it as another tool, like how a moisture meter finds rot you can't see by poking wood.