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Got talked into trying a thermal camera for diagnosing fridge issues. Now I'm a believer.
I always thought thermal cameras were overkill for appliance repair, just some fancy gadget for the big shops. But last month a buddy let me borrow his Flir One for a tricky fridge in Lethbridge that was cycling weird. Found a bad seal in about 2 minutes that I would've spent an hour chasing with my hand. Has anyone else had a tool they were dead wrong about?
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jakewilliams8d ago
My buddy Rick was the same way, swore those things were a gimmick for guys with too much money. Then his shop got a call about a restaurant cooler in Taber that was icing up like crazy, he spent two hours guessing before he borrowed a camera from another tech. Found the refrigerant leak in the evaporator in maybe three minutes, right where the tube had rubbed against a bracket. Now he won't even go on a service call without one, says it makes him look like a wizard to the customers. That story alone almost convinced me to grab one, even though I'm still a weekend warrior with my own fridge.
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ben82719d ago
Grab one and never look back. I still use the hand test for a quick check, but the thermal gun or camera saves me so much time on fridge seals and condenser issues. You can spot a failing compressor before it fully dies by checking the delta between the lines. Just make sure you adjust the emissivity setting or the readings will be off on shiny surfaces.
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davis.gavin19d ago
@ben827 you ever found a thermal camera actually miss something important though?
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