Had to pick between a $400 thermal imager and a $80 non-contact voltage tester for a big troubleshooting job

Got called out to a 12-unit apartment building in Tacoma where half the units had flickering lights. Landlord wanted it fixed fast. I could either buy a cheap tool and spend more time poking around, or invest in a better one and find the problem quicker. I went with the thermal imager, and it paid off. Found a hot neutral connection at a junction box in under an hour that the voltage tester would have taken all day to trace. Anyone have a go-to tool for quick fault finding in multi-unit buildings?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_linda2mo ago

My old boss in Seattle swore by his thermal camera for apartment calls.

kellymurphy2mo ago

Glad the thermal camera worked out, but I gotta say a non-contact tester would not have helped find a hot neutral at all. Those things only pick up voltage on hot conductors, not current flow or heat. You would have been poking at a dead wire. For that kind of fault, you really needed the imager or maybe a clamp meter to check for current imbalance. Just wanted to point that out so nobody else wastes a day trying to trace heat with a voltage stick.

danieljenkins1mo ago

Yeah fair point. I used to think a voltage tester was enough but that job changed my mind.