Reason #32 to have a good thermal camera....

[Barking Sands]

Last week the storm surge brought the waters to just under the shore power plugs, about 2 feet over the dock. I sprayed contact cleaner in the receptacles and the SP cord and cleaned contacts with Scotchbrite then a light coating od Dow Corning DC4. All seems to be good. Today I was doing some routine Mx on the gen but the condition of the pedestal was still in the back of my head. I then remembered I had the thermal cam. Turned the AC full cold and loaded up the system and then snanned the receptacles. Looks decent. I will now scan every few weeks to check for excessive heat. Checked the boat side too with similar readings. As of now all is good. If you dont have one..consider it. Its already saved me a tremendous amount if time and money.

 

[Barking Sands]

Here is the unit I purchased. Currenly $399 but it appears there is a $60 off coupon now. There are other models and makes too including some cheaper options.

https://amzn.to/3EoT9tA

 

[Blissboat]

Here is the unit I purchased. Currenly $399 but it appears there is a $60 off coupon now. There are other models and makes too including some cheaper options.

https://amzn.to/3EoT9tA

Thanks for sharing - that does look pretty darn nifty.

I used to just walk around and touch things to see if they felt too warm . . .

 

[tpfbdf]

Very slick. I use an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of batteries when I'm charging them (non boating project). Super handy... can even provide a clue tracking pesky water leaks.

 

[Max1]

After reading this post, and thinking about it a bit, I realize that this would be a very handy tool to have on the boat, as well as at home. I've been looking around for different cameras and I noticed a very distinct difference in the resolution of the cameras. The one I have my mind on is a 256x192 resolution. Is that adequate? I noticed there's a distinct correlation between resolution and price. Definitely cheaper ones with a lot less resolution I would like to stay away from but is there any need to go higher than 256 by 192?

 

[Barking Sands]

After reading this post, and thinking about it a bit, I realize that this would be a very handy tool to have on the boat, as well as at home. I've been looking around for different cameras and I noticed a very distinct difference in the resolution of the cameras. The one I have my mind on is a 256x192 resolution. Is that adequate? I noticed there's a distinct correlation between resolution and price. Definitely cheaper ones with a lot less resolution I would like to stay away from but is there any need to go higher than 256 by 192?

The one I have has less resolution than what you describe and I find it more than adequate. I tell you what, I wont be caught without one again. You have a different feeling about a boat with old wiri g after you scan it, find some number of problems you would not have seen otherwise, fix those issues, scan again and all looks good. I just know there are half a dozen wire issues that would still be on my boat right now had I not had this scanner.

And I am currently testing my inverter/charger set up with big lithium batterries on the bench. When pulling high current its imperative to check for heat issues. And its surprising how what looks like a quality crimp on a clean terminal may still have exsessive resistance causing heat.