Hot take: I spent $500 on a thermal camera for my phone and it's been a total game changer for finding hot spots.

I was working on a panel upgrade in an old house in Tacoma and kept having a breaker trip under load. My regular tools weren't showing the issue. I bit the bullet and got one of those FLIR phone attachments. First real use, I found a loose neutral connection on a shared circuit that was getting seriously warm under the drywall. It would have taken me hours to trace otherwise. But I've talked to guys who say it's a waste, that a good clamp meter and experience is all you need, and the camera just makes you lazy about proper diagnostics. For me, seeing the heat pattern made the problem obvious fast, and I could show the homeowner exactly what was going on. What's your view, are these imaging tools a smart investment or just a flashy extra?

3 comments

3 Comments

cooper.phoenix2mo ago

Totally worth it! That visual proof saves so much time and shows the client the real danger.

lucashart2mo ago

My Flir One found a hot splice in a Chicago apartment that my meter missed. The picture convinced the landlord to pay for a full rewire.

grace_bailey2mo ago

Oh man, you're hitting on exactly what I found with mine. That loose neutral you caught is textbook - I had almost the same situation where a breaker kept tripping and I couldn't find the hot spot with anything else. The thermal camera lit it up like a Christmas tree. And @cooper.phoenix is totally right about the client proof part. When you can show someone a picture of a glowing junction box behind their wall, they stop arguing about whether the work is needed. I've had homeowners go from skeptical to writing a check on the spot after seeing those heat signatures. Yeah, some old school guys say it's cheating, but for me it's just another tool in the belt, not a replacement for knowing what you're doing.