Thermal Imaging

[hectorthetester]

Hello fellow sparks,looking for some advice on carrying out thermal imaging on switchgear.My boss has given me a Fluke Ti 125 camera to use.What temperatures should i be concerned with? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Doc Hudson]

The first question I would be asking is what does your boss want you to look for, why has he issued you with this kit? You have made no mention of any type of switch gear or the type of installation you are looking at. Some equipment, controls and cables are designed to run at higher temperatures anyway. So without a little more info it may be a bit of pot luck.

Doc H.

 

[hectorthetester]

The first question I would be asking is what does your boss want you to look for, why has he issued you with this kit? You have made no mention of any type of switch gear or the type of installation you are looking at. Some equipment, controls and cables are designed to run at higher temperatures anyway. So without a little more info it may be a bit of pot luck.

Doc H.

Hello Doc H,

To be truthful i dont know why i have been issued specifically with this kit (camera is on hire from a test equipment company) The contract i am carrying out is for a local authority (public conveniances,offices,depots,schools etc..) I have been instructed i cannot isolate any circuits so i will be removing front covers (where possible) on main panels and distribution boards.

Regards

HTT

 

[hectorthetester]

We do thermal imaging and to be honest you really need to have gone on a Flir (or equivalent) course to be able to set the camera up for what your doing and then interpret the results.

I can show you a high (I think its posted here somewhere) temperature on a 600 amp from memory mains feed, absolutely nothing wrong with it as it was reflection from tape on the crimp giving a different temp reading.

Probably not what you want to hear but your boss should send you on a course.

And remember Risk Assessments and Method Statements, especially if you cannot isolate.

One good tip is always take a reading at 90 degrees, the further off 90 you are the more likely to introduce an error.

To tell you the truth,i thought attending  a training course would be recommended.

Thanks for the advice.

HTT