Spent $150 on a thermal camera for my phone and it found a leak in seconds

I was working on a fridge that wasn't cooling right, and the usual checks came up empty. I bought a cheap thermal camera attachment for my phone, about $150, and pointed it at the lines. Instantly, I saw a cold spot on the evaporator coil that I would have missed. It saved me an hour of guesswork and pulling panels. Has anyone else found a good use for these little thermal gadgets on the job?

3 comments

3 Comments

rivera.shane19d ago

Buddy found a hot circuit breaker with one last week.

owens.laura18d agoMost Upvoted

That sounds like a serious safety issue.

fionat5518d ago

Got to clear this up, that's not a safety issue by itself. A warm breaker just means it's doing its job under load. Now, what @rivera.shane's buddy found, a hot breaker, that's a different story and needs a pro to look at it right away. The real danger is if it's too hot to touch or you smell burning plastic. That's when you've got a serious problem that could start a fire.