Thermal imaging cameras have plenty of uses in Canberra. A thermal imaging camera can be used to find hot and cold water leaks, electrical faults, friction in machinery and heat loss in buildings.
We mainly use a thermal camera in Canberra to help find water leaks in hot and cold pipes. Getting the location of a water leak wrong can be a very expensive mistake. As plumbers in Canberra, we take three steps to confirm the location of water leaks.
We first trace the location of the copper water pipes with an electronic pipe and cable locator. We then use a ground microphone with amplifier and audio logger. If we are still unsure, or we are looking for plastic pipes, we then we use the Flir thermal imaging camera to confirm the location of water leaks under slabs and in walls.
The effectiveness of thermal cameras can be seen below. To the naked eye everything appears normal, as can be seen by the photo of the toilet. However, when the thermal image mode is turned on, the dark patch in the corner reveals a cold area in the slab to the left of the toilet. This is the most likely location of the cold water leak.
Again, as can be seen in the picture of the shower floor, to the naked eye everything appears normal. However, when the thermal image camera mode is turned on, the light patch near the shower screen reveals the most likely location of the hot water leak.
Using the thermal camera has helped confirm the location of both water leaks. Given that the owners do not have spare floor tiles and the tiles are no longer made, we decided that chopping up the floor to fix the water leaks was not viable. Therefore, a re-route of the water pipes was more practical.
