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Vent: Bought a $150 thermal camera for my phone and it saved my bacon on a Reno job
I was working on a kitchen remodel in a 70s house, and the homeowner kept complaining about a breaker tripping for no clear reason. I checked all the usual stuff, load, connections, you know the drill. Nothing. I almost told them it was a ghost in the machine. Then I remembered this little thermal camera attachment I bought on a whim about six months back. I clipped it on, scanned the wall behind the new fridge location, and bam. A perfect hot spot right where an old, buried junction box was. The insulation had degraded and it was arcing inside the wall. Without that camera, I would have been chasing my tail for hours, maybe even caused a fire. It paid for itself right there. Anyone have a favorite diagnostic tool that seemed like a splurge but turned out to be a lifesaver?
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perry.phoenix10d ago
That "ghost in the machine" feeling is the worst. I keep a cheap borescope for peeking inside walls before I cut, it's saved me from hitting pipes more than once.
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lindab493d ago
Totally get that ghost feeling, makes you want to pull your hair out. I bought one of those thermal cams too after seeing a demo, felt like such a gadget geek. Mine helped find a hot water line leak under a slab last year, it was wild. @the_wesley is onto something with the moisture meter, those simple tools are clutch. Honestly half the job is just figuring out where to look without tearing the whole place apart first.
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