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.

Wait up, you're kind of mixing two different things together. A one-time savings deal and a repeatable pattern aren't the same concept at all. The pattern isn't about saving money once, it's about the same kind of trigger happening each time so you know to look for it again. If the same setup keeps popping up and the outcome is the same, that's a pattern you can count on. You just gotta track it a few times before you trust it fully.

Read a review saying they caught fire if you preheat too long.

Whoa, a "network recovery fee"? That one's wild, what's that even supposed to be?

You ever notice how the old heads always seem to have some simple trick that makes you wonder why you were overcomplicating things for so long? Its like they watched us struggle with fancy tools and just shook their heads. I had a similar thing happen at my buddy's auto shop last year. His grandpa came in, saw us fighting with a digital torque wrench, and just walked over with a regular ratchet and a piece of chalk. Told us to mark the bolt with a line and turn it a quarter past. Worked perfect every time after that. Sometimes we get so caught up in all the new stuff we forget the basics that actually work better. Glad you found that straight razor trick.