Shoutout to the $200 thermal camera I bought for my phone

I was chasing a weird voltage drop on a hardwired smoke detector loop in an old house, and the thing lit up a hot spot in the wall where a nail had nicked the wire. Saved me probably three hours of fishing new wire. Anyone have a favorite brand for these, or is the accessory one good enough?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy_jackson1mo ago

Heard about a buddy who used one to find a draft in his apartment. Turned out his window seal was totally shot. Those little cameras are so handy for weird stuff like that.

simonp471mo ago

My old landlord in Chicago actually tried that trick, @wendy_jackson. Those cameras mostly show surface temperature differences, not air movement. A real draft needs a smoke pencil or an incense stick to track the actual air flow, because cold surfaces don't always mean air is leaking in.

ryanh561mo ago

Yeah that's a good point about the smoke test. I mean the thermal camera shows you where it's cold, but you're right, that doesn't always mean air is moving. I've used both before and the incense stick is way better for actually seeing the draft path. The camera is still useful for finding the general spot though, like if you have a big cold patch on the wall.