I finally caved and bought a thermal camera for diagnosing fridge issues. Wish I'd done it years ago.

For the longest time I thought those things were overkill for a basic repair guy like me. But a few months back I had this Walker unit in a deli that was cooling fine on the display but cycling too often. Spent two hours chasing my tail, checking pressures, cleaning coils. Buddy of mine stopped by with his little FLIR, pointed it at the evap, and spotted a patch of ice near the back in 10 seconds. Evap fan was dying. Ordered one that week. Cost me about $250. Anyone else have a tool they were dead wrong about?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_roberts3d agoOG Member

That's how it goes with a lot of stuff. You think you're saving money by not buying the fancy tool, but really you're just burning time and getting frustrated. It's like when I finally got a decent instant pot after years of thinking they were just another gadget cluttering up the counter. Now I use it three times a week for beans and stews, stuff I used to mess up on the stove all the time. Sometimes the right tool just makes the whole job less of a headache, even if it stings to pay for it upfront.

the_jennifer3d ago

Had the same exact thing with a good chef's knife, bought cheap ones for years and finally got a real one.

beth_reed3d ago

Man, a buddy of mine had a similar thing with a laser thermometer. He spent an hour trying to figure out why a freezer was struggling, finally used it and realized the door seal was shot. Said he felt like an idiot.