Spent $300 on a new high-temp camera for flue inspections last fall and it caught a hairline crack in a liner that would have been invisible otherwise.

Has anyone else found a specific tool that paid for itself by catching something you'd normally miss?

3 comments

3 Comments

Spending hundreds on a single-use tool seems wild. Most hairline cracks get caught during a normal visual check if you know what to look for. That money could go toward better basic training or more versatile equipment. A lot of these niche gadgets just create extra steps for problems that rarely happen. Feels like solving a problem that doesn't really exist most days.

casey7871mo ago

Our shop wasted $800 on an ultrasonic tester that sat unused for two years. The real issue is buying gear for that one-in-a-thousand scenario instead of fixing daily inspection habits. It just becomes expensive clutter that makes managers feel better about checking a box.

miller.paul24d ago

Totally agree with @morgan_jenkins90 lol. It's like buying a fancy bottle opener when a lighter works fine. Just ends up collecting dust.