Thermal Imaging on a Survey

[Rivers2Seas]

Do you think it is important to have a thermal imaging as part of a survey?

[AnchorageGuy]

To survey what. Surveyors are getting very creative in find ways to use technology to get more from potential customers. Chuck

[David_Old_Jersey]

No.

Unless you suspect it is on fire.

[S/V Antares]

Do termites make heat on a wooden boat? Seems unneeded and another fee. Did a surveyor offer this service?

[James S]

I don't think I would dismiss thermal imaging straight away.

Depending on certain conditions you may be able to see otherwise hidden blisters or delamination.
I'm thinking that the heat gain or thermal mass would be affected by these problems and may cause them to show up on thermal imaging.
Just thinking out loud!
I also wouldn't mind having a look at an elecrical pannel or other electrical distrabution areas with thermal imaging.

[EddieS]

We use thermal imaging on elecrtical equipment all the time, and it is informative. The problem is how do rate hot spots. If a connection is hotter than the surrounding connections is it failing, or are there more amps going through it at the time?
Thanks
Ed

[SuenosAzules]

I agree with EddieS on this. I use thermal imaging in my surveys, but it depends on the boat and the issues that are found. Depending on what kind of survey it is, I may or may not charge extra. If it is an hourly rate for a damage claim inspection, I will not charge extra. I use it as an extra tool to help establish my findings (such as in delamination issues, or faulty electrical equipment). If the Client wants it as part of a pre-purchase survey, then I may add an extra charge, because it will make the survey inspection and report writing phases longer to do. Thermal imaging is great for finding heat anomalies where you would not otherwise see it. It sees thermal radiation so no light at all is needed. You can actually see the thermal raditation with an infrared camera in complete darkness. I have some sample infrared images on my website and in blogs that I have written.

[minaret]

We do thermal imaging in our yard, and it is awesome as long as you know what you are looking for. It can be time consuming as it involves heating up large areas of the boat and then imaging as it cools, so you can more clearly see the dissimilar rate of cooling in delams, voids, core panels, etc. I usually only do this if an issue is suspected for some other reason.